backyard trampoline?

[lukenick1]

My almost 10yr old is begging for a trampoline for his birthday. I am very hesitant. Please give me your opinion on them, are they dangerous?

 

[cyndiloveswalt]

My DH was against a trampoline for a long time, mostly because he didn't want to have to move it to cut grass. I finally talked him into it. My kids LOVE it and use it all the time! It is great exercise. My boys are 9 and 14 and we have had it about 2 yrs. we get a lot of neighborhood kids on it too. Never had any kind of injury. I recommend it, I'm all for anything that keeps my kids outside and active.

 

[2littleprincesses]

Just a warning that your homeowners policy may drop you if they find out you have a trampoline.

 

[pearlieq]

Both my uncle (in his late 40s) and cousin (in his early 20s) shattered their ankles on theirs. Plus, you might want to see if your homeowners insurance would go up if you got one.

Do you have one of those bounce places by you? Maybe a punch card or annual pass would satisfy the urge with less hassle or risk.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

Trampolines are considered an attractive nuisance and will impact your homeowners insurance. If you don't notify your insurance company and someone gets hurt, it could get mighty expensive.

 

[usd2bmd]

First thing I would do is contact your homeowners insurance company and if you don't own your house, contact your landlord.

Some insurance companies will cancel you if they find out you have one as they are a serious liability issue.

We have friends who have one as well as a full enclosure with a small opening that the kids use to get on and off it. I have seen a boy (6 maybe 7 at the time) fall out through that small opening. he landed about 5 feet away from it after being propelled from the trampoline. Luckily he wasn't seriously injured. But all it takes is to land wrong.

I think they are dangerous, but they are also a magnet for neighborhood kids who may not follow safety instructions.
Just my two cents.

 

[Southernmiss]

Knock on wood. We have had one for years with no issues. It has been great fun for our 4. It's about 12 years old now and showing it's age. We may get rid if it this summer.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

My kids have wanted one for years but my DH will not allow it. With that, and the kids DR telling us not to get one due to it being so dangerous, we haven't bought one and will not do it. The homeowners ins is another big reason to avoid it.

 

[MSSANDRA]

Check your insurance first. In can really be an issue. I would allow one but our best friend neighbors got one so all the kids bounce there. It has an enclosure and they keep it well maintained and we supervise closely and so far so good. We however have rental property and it is in the contract that no trampolines are allowed. We simply do not want that liability.

 

[jackie101]

We have 4children 12,11,9, & 9 and have had one for 3yrs...they love it. No regrets or injuries

 

[Donnainnj]

My little guy, pre-k, reported one of his classmates broke his leg this week on his trampoline. Went to Mother's Day tea today, and the poor little guy is in a cast, and wheel chair.
Donna

 

[mrsstats]

Insurance is a real issue. Also, most doctors think they are dangerous. Google it and see what you find

 

[akcire]

Neighbor got sued after kid fell and broke his leg badly. Lost home owners and now can't get insurance. Spent about $20,000 settling the case out of pocket plus has to deal with the loon mother of the kid who got injured. We all thought she was a loon before her unsupervised kid trespassed and broke his leg.

I'm in the no trampoline group.

 

[aprilgail2]

My daughter begged me for one. I said- fine lets go talk to insurance agent and see what they say, if they have no problem with it I will get it. Well he told us not only would they drop us if they found out we had one but if someone got hurt on it and sued us we could potentially lose the house- yup, that made my mind up--none for us thank you!

 

[nugov2]

It must vary by area. State Farm has no issue with a trampoline and 80% of the people in our area have one. We do not have one b/c my husband doesn't want to move it to cut the lawn, but I called to find out because my dd really wants one and I think as long as you have an enclosure and you don't allow multiple children on at a time it is OK. I know different strokes for different folks, though. Kids can break an arm or leg, but can on a bike. My neighbors child broke their arm on their bike, my friend growing up broke their collar bone falling off their bike. Accidents happen you just have to be cautious.

Just quick statistics on bicycle and trampoline injuries...just quickly googled just to give an idea on that in reality they are both just as dangerous for kids.

In 2001, 134 children ages 14 and under died in bicycle-related crashes.
• In 2002, nearly 288,900 children ages 14 and under were treated in hospital emergency rooms for bicyclerelated
injuries. Nearly half (47 percent) of children ages 14 and under hospitalized for bicycle-related
injuries are diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury

trampoline injury rates were 70 injuries per 100,000 children ages 0- to 4-years-old and 160 injuries per 100,000 5- to 14-year-olds, for a total of 98,000 injuries that year

 

[reneaterry]

Didn't know anything about insurance not covering trampolines. We bought one at Christmas and the girls love it. But they can only jump with us out there and only one at a time.

 

[angwill]

It must vary by area. State Farm has no issue with a trampoline and 80% of the people in our area have one. We do not have one b/c my husband doesn't want to move it to cut the lawn, but I called to find out because my dd really wants one and I think as long as you have an enclosure and you don't allow multiple children on at a time it is OK. I know different strokes for different folks, though. Kids can break an arm or leg, but can on a bike. My neighbors child broke their arm on their bike, my friend growing up broke their collar bone falling off their bike. Accidents happen you just have to be cautious.

Just quick statistics on bicycle and trampoline injuries...just quickly googled just to give an idea on that in reality they are both just as dangerous for kids.

In 2001, 134 children ages 14 and under died in bicycle-related crashes.
• In 2002, nearly 288,900 children ages 14 and under were treated in hospital emergency rooms for bicyclerelated
injuries. Nearly half (47 percent) of children ages 14 and under hospitalized for bicycle-related
injuries are diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury

trampoline injury rates were 70 injuries per 100,000 children ages 0- to 4-years-old and 160 injuries per 100,000 5- to 14-year-olds, for a total of 98,000 injuries that year

Same here. We have State Farm and they had no issues with us having a trampoline. We are in the country and have only one neighbor and they have one too. Knock on wood none of the kids have had any injuries on them and really enjoy them. We were against getting one for a long time due to worry of injury but once the neighbors had theirs for a few years and and all the kids enjoying it and never getting hurt we caved and got one too. We have had ours for maybe 6 or 7 years now. My son's injuries he has had over the years were from playing sports at school or riding his skateboard.

 

[squirrel]

My sister has one at her house and my nieces have enjoyed using it for over two years without any injuries. I was worried that my niece would break something before our WDW trip in 2011. Now if we can get through the next 4 months, we will have a cast free cruise/DL trip.

 

[chris31997]

Check with insurance. I think the horse is offically dead

A couple of options if you want:

You can get letters from friends that the parents allow kids to be on it and will not hold you responsible. You can also post jump at your own risk. MIL did this when they owned a pool.

Another option is an inflatable bounce house/pool/water slide. That way it is only used when it is up and under supervision.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Check with your City about rules and regulations. Our city requires a fence to be installed around the property if you have one.