Tramps

[FMCoug]

We had a tramp for years in Texas. It was pretty old though so we didn't bring it with us. No injuries on ours.

Interestingly, our pediatrician there was in support of it (which is going against what he is supposed to say I think). His view is that childhood obesity is THE biggest issue facing kids today, and anything that gets them active is a good thing

Something is wrong with the picture when we think like this:

XBox = safe = good
Trampoline = dangerous = bad

[minn_stat]

Originally Posted by marsupial

We're spending Xmas in Utah this year so I was thinking it would be nice to just do a family gift before we go instead of hauling a bunch of crap back and forth and paying extra to check all that luggage. I know the kids would love a trampoline. I'd like it because it would be something they could do outside and get exercise, but I am concerned about how dangerous they are, as well as the liability of someone else's kid getting seriously injured at our house. Am I being overly-cautious?

I've also thought about a playground set, but I think my son would be pissed as he thinks he is too old for playgrounds.

Anyway, you all are a bunch of lawyers and dads. What is your opinion on trampolines?

(Alternate gift ideas that would appeal to a 3-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy are welcomed as well.)

We've had a tramp for three years, our kids love it. It is the hangout place for many of the neighborhood kids.

A neighbor kid broke his arm on ours, but it was because he and his brother got in a fight while on the edge of the trampoline, outside the netting. His brother pushed him off the edge.

Another issue to worry about...

I got a call from my wife just a couple of hours ago. I try to keep a watch on the weather forecast, and if high winds are anticipated, we generally drop the netting to reduce the force of the wind on the tramp. Well this morning, strong winds unexpectedly accompanied a storm, and our tramp ended up in the neighbor's yard two houses down. Minor damage to one bush in our yard, but the yard next door had a bit more damage. A couple of good gouges in their grass, some minor damage to one tree, but it pretty much destroyed two bushes. I went home and dragged the pieces back to our yard - the tramp might be salvageable. The neighbors weren't home, but I'm anticipating putting out a couple of hundred dollars to cover the damage.

[minn_stat]

When we were considering getting one, I did a fair bit of investigation on the injury rates for tramps. Unfortunately, I didn't keep the information, but the basic conclusion I came to was that they weren't as dangerous as they are often made out to be.

The figures I found indicated something like 100,000 tramp-related injuries in the US per year, which seemed pretty high at first glance. But when I compared these numbers to those related to automobiles, and normalized both numbers based on the number of tramps/cars in the United States, the rates were pretty comparable. Basically, I concluded that if you have both a tramp and a car, the likelihood of ending up in the hospital in a given year due to tramp injuries was about the same as being hospitalized due to a car accident.

[landpoke]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski

I saw a program on TV indicating that 80% of tramp injuries are from falling off.

I'm sorry I didn't see this thread/post earlier or I would have given it the approbation it so richly deserves.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

Originally Posted by marsupial

We're spending Xmas in Utah this year so I was thinking it would be nice to just do a family gift before we go instead of hauling a bunch of crap back and forth and paying extra to check all that luggage. I know the kids would love a trampoline. I'd like it because it would be something they could do outside and get exercise, but I am concerned about how dangerous they are, as well as the liability of someone else's kid getting seriously injured at our house. Am I being overly-cautious?

I've also thought about a playground set, but I think my son would be pissed as he thinks he is too old for playgrounds.

Anyway, you all are a bunch of lawyers and dads. What is your opinion on trampolines?

(Alternate gift ideas that would appeal to a 3-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy are welcomed as well.)

I have a 4 and 6 year old boy, we got a tramp that is just as wide as others but shorter only like 2 feet off the ground. They can't fall very far, but it is still plenty bouncy. If you have seen Knocked Up, I believe it is a similar model to the one you see Seth Rogen jumping on while playing with his future nieces. That way you don't have to put the stupid walls up around the outside. It is adult friendly also, the box said something like 450 lbs. Great fun.