Trampolines in the garden

[Arachne]

I'd love one, myself (given OH's being all strict on keeping the lawn and not growing veg there, might as well stick a trampoline on it!).

I'd be *very* wary about leaving a 5-year-old unsupervised on a trampoline - safety net or no.

[squashysu]

I would have one for myself, but forget the kids ha ha !! my son would break something......

My garden slopes, so the grass is intact and the kids know they wont get one, so no arguments for me!!

SS

[Flummery]

I keep reading the title of this thread and trying to sing it to the tune of 'Mandolines in the Moonlight'! Giving me age away there eh?

[Herbie]

We have a trampoline for our two youngsters. It has the net for safety purposes. We got it last summer and to tell the truth the kids love it. They get plenty of exercise from it and they are out in the fresh air. They are supervised and we have ground rules not too much noise and one at a time. The noise rule works, as if they can't keep the noise down then they have to come in. The noise usually starts when they are both on there at the same time! For my youngest (9 year old) it has helped maintain her weight as she is prone to pile on the pounds, she eats healthly just too much of the wrong stuff as also suffered from asthma and got out of breth quickly so for us it has helped keep our daughters health at a steady level also improved her confidence. The asthma has gone and she is now exploring other sprts such as swimming and her bike/scooter.
We often take the dog on walks etc but she finds the trampoline much more fun.

[Tracey]

We've had a trampoline for the last 3 years, our kids are 13 and 11. Our children love it and Sam does some fantastic somersaults on it. It's a great form of exercise, as well as all the swimming and cycling they do. When they were younger we had a slide, swing and paddling pool in the garden for them. I wouldn't have been too worried to have a trampoline in the garden when they were five.

[Two_Sheds]

I've compromised.
Tesco had reduced their kiddy trampoline (it's the smallest one I can find, and it has a safety cage too: perfect) ...
... to £25 (half price) so I quickly snapped one up before OH comes home. If he doesn't like it, he can take it back can't he?

[HeyWayne]

I still think bouncy grass is the way forward....

sounds like you got a bargain though TS! Well doned.

[sharonr]

We had a huge 15 foot trampoline in our back garden a few years ago.
My son loved it and at least he was getting fresh air when he was on it, and the dogs loved laying under it as we have a south facing garden with very little shade. But the problem I found with it was the grass underneath didn`t do very well as the sun and rain couldn`t get to it. And then one very windy night the wind got underneath it and lifted it up(we have a very exposed garden).I was awoken by a strange noise at about 4am, looked out of the bedroom window couldn`t see much as it was dark, but I could see something up against the since removed 25 foot Leylandi trees. So I put the outside light on and the trampoline was leaning up against them. So me and the OH went outside in our jammies and had to lay it upside down on the ground. It`s still there 2 years later with lots of junk on top of it which needs to go to the tip.
My 13 year old son still want`s another one, I`m hoping that by the time we get around to it he willbe to old and won`t want one anymore.

[Maf]

Many moons ago there used to be trampolines at the end of the pier in Blackpool.

No nets or saftey barriers, just dirty great trampos less than a foot away from the end of the pier

Ah those heady days before personal injury lawyers

[Starchild]

Ideally, I want one that will break after a couple of goes ~ then I can reclaim the garden for plants

Aaah now that's easy, where we used to live some darlings near us had one and used to use it to get enough height to throw water bombs at my kids and our old cat. The even used it to throw fireworks and various human waste products into our garden! I got my revenge though. Dark night and stanley knife slitting underneath of it, not all teh way through, just enough to give way after a couple of bounces.*


*not advocating anyone else doing this at all, the circumstances were extreme and we lived in an area where the police wouldn't enter it was that bad*

[Kristen]

Who needs a pier ...

[di]

Hope you've done a proper risk assessment for that Kristen!!

[SlugLobber]

Or just keep the fire going when they're trampolining?

That's exactly what I was thinking, ha ha! If he does get one of the large monstrosities, make sure you have a go and report back, won't you? It's always interesting riding past one of these. Ponies aren't sure what to make of flying nippers!