Trampoline education

We are looking at a trampoline as a Christmas present for our kids. Other than the broken bone potential, what should we know about them? Size? Shape? Anchoring? Safety net? Tips, tricks, advice?

Thanks for the collective wisdom!

Safety net, Yes.

Check your homeowners insurance. A lot of them specifically exclude them without a rider.

Bah Humbug.

We never had any safety nets or anything, that way you could do really stupid stuff. Like, um, jump a bike off a roof onto one. Maybe. Probably. It never happened. My friend put bacon grease on his, then invited his hated neighbor to come over.

Your kids will love it, and I doubt they will hurt themselves bad.

My wife is an X-ray tech. A trampoline will definitely not be in our kids' future. She's not a safety freak (she let's me race my Miata), but there are some things our kids will never do. And after hearing some of her stories, I'm oKay with that.

Big net, big diameter, limited to no toys on the trampoline, no one is allowed to jump while the zipper flap is open, put them away at parties, no climbing underneath, etc...

Basically I love ours but they are a giant Pain in the Ass when anyone but our kids are over. The net is great but it turns the trampoline into a giant WWF ring.

Toyman01 wrote: Safety net, Yes. Check your homeowners insurance. A lot of them specifically exclude them without a rider.

+1

Here in Tx a friend of mine had his insurance pulled after he got one and the company found out. (no i don't know which company it was) But they reintsted his policy after he got rid of it.

Bad idea. Nine years in ER (surgical), 20 in radiology... seen enough, don't do it. Auto racing is safer, IMNTBHO.

I'm sure you can find the statistics on trampoline injuries compared to bicycles, etc.. Unless it's favorable, I don't really want to know.

Hmmm. A little more of a downer than I'd hoped for.

To the medical folks who've responded, do you know if the safety net mitigates any of the issues?

MrJoshua wrote: The net is great but it turns the trampoline into a giant WWF ring.

Go on...

Osterkraut wrote:

MrJoshua wrote: The net is great but it turns the trampoline into a giant WWF ring.

Go on...

Nothing fun: Kid throws himself headfirst into the net to see how far he can bounce, sisters kids try to see how out of shape they can get while airborne and slam into the net, stuff like that.

To the medical folks who've responded, do you know if the safety net mitigates any of the issues?

Sorry for the knee jerk reaction to a fun toy. I'm sure the nets are better than not having something to prevent falling off. The potential for spine injuries while falling off or hitting the supports is why these were taken out of gym classes when I was in school in the 60s.

We've had one for over 20 years and love it. One of the best aerobic exercises you could ask for. We've never had any injuries more than a bruise from having 2 people on there at one time. (not a good idea)

My doctor even recommended it as a way to strengthen my back muscles.

I can do flips, but rarely do. But do lots of flip flops where you land on back and then flop over to belly back and forth as many times as you can. Hard work. Mix it up with switching ends and side to side and you'll really get a fun work out.

I've never had an insurance problem thru multiple carriers.

We bought a ring net once but quickly lost it somewhere. As long as you have rules, such as one person at a time and jumping towards the center then things will work out.

Rectangular tramps are much better than circular ones. Circular ones seem dead by comparison.

Friend had one in elementary school.

Big rectangular one with the mesh skin, not the crappy solid ones. No covers over the springs, no safety net.

Not one of us got seriously mangled. A good crotching here and there, the one bad incident with the bowling ball on the tramp with us.

Other than that, a good time was had by all.

Shawn

I had one when I was little. There wasn't a net but my parents had strict rules for use.

We weren't allowed to wrestle. We still did. I broke my friend's collarbone.

Bad idea. Badddd idea. Hospital insurance is mandatory. I got to watch stitches applied to my head with a mirror. Bad idea. Baddddd idea.

If you get one, anchor it down well. Both neighbors across the street have trampolines, and both have been in my yard, including one that took out the front fender and hood on our minivan, the aluminum garage door and some siding trim after taking flight over a 4 foot fence. The frickin' Bob Costas didn't even pay my insurance deductible either.

My parents moved into a new house and one of their neighbors recently put a trampoline in their back yard. Too bad their yard angles rather steeply downward, towards the forest. We've been waiting to see how far up in the trees those kids get caught.

Fun for one season, then the allure wears off. Besides that, in one summer, with only one kid on at a time, we had 2 concussions, three sprained ankles, and lots of other "owwies". And we weren't wimps or stupid either.

carguy123 wrote: Rectangular tramps are much better than circular ones. Circular ones seem dead by comparison.

Safety-wise, comparing round and rectangular tramps is apples and oranges. The technique is different for jumping on each of them, as are the safety consequences.

By nature, a rectangular shape will tend to propel the jumper away from the 'safety' of the center, meaning it's up to them to make the corrections to avoid the dreaded ball drop. They do offer more spring for those who learn how to use the 'sweet spot' .

OTOH, a round shape will tend to propel the jumper back towards the safe center, meaning the learning curve is much shorter, and safer for the novice. Performance-wise, there is no 'sweet spot'.

For these physical reasons, spring pads are more useful on a rectangular tramp, whereas pads on a round one are just short of frivolous. The whole 'net' thing is just marketing to sell you an accessory you don't need.

A trampoline offers great exersise, and teaches coordination skills not learned with most 'toys' (diving boards being the main exception). Riding a bicycle or a skateboard is as dangerous (if not more) as doing flips on a tramp. When viewed as a tool for gymnastic training (as opposed to a 'fun toy'), there are certain advantages to the trampoline, but for the uncoordinated user, the springbed may not be the best option.

My opinion: start the kids off with a plain round one, and if they express interest and develop the gym skills, trade it in on a larger rectangular one with pads.

My brother's head made it through the springs, Hopefully your kids have big heads .

footinmouth wrote: My brother's head made it through the springs, Hopefully your kids have big heads .

Must be what saved me as a kid.

MrJoshua wrote:

footinmouth wrote: My brother's head made it through the springs, Hopefully your kids have big heads .

Must be what saved me as a kid.

In m experience, it's not your head going between the springs that's traumatic.. it's getting your now-swollen ears back out from between them!

Tramopolin?!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceWZ624wBVA

I remember a story from middle school where a girls little brother landed on the springs at about the ame time that someone else was landing. apparently one of Little bros beans ended up in the spring. I think he ended up missing a week of school while the swelling went down.