Trampolines in the garden

[Maggie2008]

My neighbours next door have one and I hate it. All the kids from the street seem to congregate there, shouting and screaming and arguing who goes next etc. If I didn't mind a house next to a childrens playground then I would have bought one there.
The easiest way to fall out with a neighbour I feel, get a trampoline!

[zanussi101]

we inherited a trampoline when we bought our house. we don't have kids yet but it's great for when we have friends with children visiting and I can tell you the "hysterical screaming" wasn't nearly as bad as that coming from next door where the kids were just running around the garden- i guess it depends on the children! Our friend's daughter had so much fun she's now signed up for trampoline lessons. It was also great on new years eve after a few fizzy wines not to mention doubling as a hammock after a hard day weeding!

[mapcr77]

we go 4 lots of walks & visits to park as well as lottie,but when theres dinner to cook,laundry to be done etc etc,not easy to drop all 2 go 4 a walk!also think theres as much danger involved with a wobbly kid on a bike as there is on an enclosed trampoline!

I don't have children myself, but I don't think the two can be compared. Skills on the bike improve over time, and cycling is a great exercise and a practical way of transport that you can enjoy throughout your life. As for when there are other things to do, there's also books to read. Maybe I was an unusual child, but I loved reading, and the only risk is paper cuts!

[BarleySugar]

Next door but one have quite a large one, and the children (11-14 yrs) bounce so high they can look over the 6ft fence between us. The little girl next door (3-4yrs) has a small one, with a handle to hold on to, but she often climbs on the stack of garden chairs, then jumps from there onto the trampoline. Her parents are usually inside playing on the Wii, cos I can hear them, and they know she does it anyway. There's nothing wrong with children playing in the garden, but if I'm outside when she's doing something I think is dangerous I feel very uncomfortable, because I feel responsible. I know her parents would kick up if I told her not to do something (having heard her mother having a row with another neighbour over 'interfering'). Not that it would stop me in an emergency, but ....

[di]

I don't have children myself, but I don't think the two can be compared. Skills on the bike improve over time, and cycling is a great exercise and a practical way of transport that you can enjoy throughout your life. As for when there are other things to do, there's also books to read. Maybe I was an unusual child, but I loved reading, and the only risk is paper cuts!

daisy(5)has just sat & read 2 books to daddy,she loves it & is amazing us how well she's doing!but books read she's not used up an awful lot of physical energy! maybe bike skills do improve with age just unfortun8 that when they do have a fall its usually off the pavement into the road;andi has the car 4 work during the week,daisy usually skips to school & Ash manages the mile walk 2 nursery on his feet;getting to see a lot more interesting stuff than if he were whizzing passed on a bike!I womder if 50yrs ago same conversations re bikes instead of trampolines were going on?time moves on & I guess we can either move with them or not.

[Hans Mum]

we've got one & 14yo still uses it, we've got a biggish garden so its not such a problem and at least it is a form of exercise, it does need supervision but i'm usually in garden anyway and we are strict about 1 child at a time, as the neighbours either side have got one there's not a problem there, one point though you have to move it around the lawn regularly or you get lots of growth underneath it, far in excess of the rest of the lawn,it acts like some kind of greenhouse & any weeds shooot up

[Nicos]

We had neighbours with a trampoline and there garden was full of ALL the neighbours kids ALL summer ( fortunately we could escape to the lottie)
and most of the time pre and post school.

Fortunately they moved house and took the darned thing with them!


( One of the problems isn't just the extra noise from the kids but the fact that when they bounce high they can see into other people's gardens in both directions for several houses each way, and privacy is lost)

They don't really make for happy neighbours unless you are taking ( and feeding) their kids off their hands for hours on end!

[jackie j]

Never mind the kids I want one. !!!!

[Nicos]

Here's some information about injuries from trampolining

Trampoline Injuries

[bluebluepaula]

Hi, if you get a older person to go to who gets a discount card to go to focus they get 10% off every thing any day of the week. Last year we bought one for our kids with a enclosure to keep them from falling out took my mum with me and it price was £100 but we got it for £90 a lot of money i know, but the kids and adults have a great time, and it keeps them fit and tires them out as well, cant be bad! And its still looks good this year and is still safe and wearing well.

[Alison]

The girl next door to us has one and I think it's a great form of exercise for her - I don't particularly like kids but am very happy to hear her and her friends playing outside on a nice day - am FAR more worried about the previous kids who you never saw because they were sat on their backsides all day playing on the computer.

[willowstar]

my SIL had a trampoline and I LOVED it...really good fun for me and OH when we went to visit and we don't have kids! also lovely for sunbathing and just relaxing on.

[Flummery]

Hope she gets fed up fast - you can grow beans up it then!

[mapcr77]

am FAR more worried about the previous kids who you never saw because they were sat on their backsides all day playing on the computer.

Maybe they were young gardeners reading the posts in the Grapevine!

[Claire72]

My two have one, it is a 12 ft one, and it is great.
They don't have a net, OH was going to dig a pit for it, but hasn't yet. We only have one neighbour, our trampoline is far away down the bottom of the garden away from their house, unfortunately, theirs couldn't get any closer to our fence if they tried (this is despite them having nearly half an acre of garden in the other direction from our house, but that is a different story )
Trampolines are great exercise, I was shattered after a few minutes bouncing, my kids also go for walks and cycle rides
You have to decide what is better for you, we have a massive garden, so it didn't take up any wanted space, you need to find a compromise, or you will fall out over it, which will be a shame