I have a 4 year old and a 10 year old. They've been begging me for a bouncy house or a trampoline for a while now but I've always pooh-poohed it away because of the stories I've heard about injuries. Given the covid-19 lockdown, however, I'm rethinking as it would be entertaining and a good workout. What do you think? Good idea or bad? And, if good, which one is better?
I think a bounce house might be a safer option than a trampoline.
Both need to be well supervised.
At least with the bounce house it’s only available when you inflate it so no one can use it when you’ve turned it off.
Some home owners insurance don’t like trampolines and I don’t know how they feel about bounce houses.
Additional:
Others make some good points.
Forget both the trampoline and the bounce house.
Do you know what we use to jump with when we were kids?
A piece of clothes line.
In other words - jump ropes.
Simple to store, no insurance qualifications, doesn’t cost much, uses no electricity.
We need to rethink buying expensive equipment for exercise/playtime.
A shorter piece of rope an individual jumper can use.
A longer piece can be used with 2 or more jumpers.
My sister and I use to tie one end to a tree so one could swing while the other jumped.
If we had 3 kids we didn’t need the tree.
Two long ropes with 2 people to swing means you can learn double dutch.
Watch it on Youtube - it’s amazing and a total workout for everyone.
There are so many jump rope rhymes.
With all that’s going on right now it’s time for jump ropes to be making a big come back.
A piece of chalk and a few pebbles and you can play hopscotch.
Driveways or sidewalks will work to chalk out the grid.
Knot tying - there are many places online to teach how to tie basic knots.
Whether you are a boyscout/girlscout, into boating, or camping knot tying is a great skill and all you need is a short length of rope.
Rope is endlessly entertaining as long as the kids aren’t tying each other (or you) up with it.
If you have some string, you can learn cats cradle and other string figures.
Ask your insurance guy and chiropractor for their opinions. That might help you decide. It helped me.
Check with your homeowners insurance first. That may help you decide. I worked in the ER part time for awhile - that squashed the trampoline possibility for my kids. Good luck in your decision.
seriously?
the reason you (sensibly) decided against is due to injuries, but you think it might be a good idea for them to take up a risky activity that would skyrocket your homeowner’s insurance and, far worse, skyrocket the chance that your kids would need to go to an ER full of coronavirus patients?
the nice thing about actuary tables is that they don’t have bias. if the mortality risk is high, the tables show it, thus the insurance companies’ hairy eyeballs at trampolines.
i’m all about kids living in the real world and taking risks, but this is surely not one i’d take with small children in this particular crisis.
(i’m alluding to trampolines specifically, as i go back and re-read my response without hitting send. i think a bouncy house would be less risky, but not sure as i’ve never met one outside of a carnival.)
khairete
suz
You’ve rejected this idea for some time because of your fear of injuries. What happened to that fear? Why did it suddenly go away?
The injury factor remains. It will be even worse if the kids are not in school. It is a kid magnet and you will have the neighborhood kids wanting to play. Your kids will beg you to let them in. And will you cave in on that too? How will you sanitize a huge bouncy house?
What makes you think they won’t be bored with it in a week? Then what?
Talk to your pediatrician (not that doctors need these calls now!) and your insurance agent.
This quarantine period is not about the most entertainment. It’s about serious isolation. There are a million websites showing creative activities that (even better!) the kids can make themselves. That occupies their time, and it actually involves cooperation and critical thinking skills. There are great games to make and use in the house! I saw one with paper plates (centers cut out to form a ring) and an arrangement of bottles or cans from the cupboards - a carnival Ring Toss game. Taped squares on the floor: a hopscotch grid. Cut out many outlines of their feet, tape to the floor: a “hopping” course. They hop from footprint to footprint. Put it obstacles to make it challenging. They use materials already in the home and stuff in the recycling bin: the insides of cardboard boxes are great canvases for their artistic creations and constructions.
Outdoor exercise: take a hike. Ride a bike. Throw and chase a frisbee. Create a scavenger hunt in the yard. Pick up sticks. Order some seeds and peat pots, and start some summer plantings or things for container gardening. Order some succulents for a rock garden. Create a yard sculpture of things found in nature. Google those “fairy houses” people make out of broken clay flower pots for ideas and then have the kids create their own habitats or anything at all! Collect rocks and have the kids wash them and paint them. If they’re incredibly creative, google the paintings of vegetables and cacti people have put on rocks.
If you give in to begging now, you will be doomed going forward. And your older child will soon be a tween and then a teen, and you will realize that what you’ve been hearing so far has been junior varsity begging. You’ll soon have Major League nagging on your hands.
Don’t fall for it. That’s my recommendation.
ETA: Suz is absolutely right about the injuries. What’s the plan - to go to the Emergency Room filled with sick people???
Added - I just read the other comments and wow, people do not like trampolines! I had no idea they were so hated. We have had one for 13 years now and the kids love it. It has a net. We have rules for safety. They jump with friends. They do front flips. No serious injuries in 13 years. Only one minor knee soreness which I mentioned below but that was about 5 years ago. We have quite a few friends who have them too and they love them. Bc your kids are 10 and 4 (similar age difference to my kids) you have to make sure the 10 year old doesn’t launch the 4 year old. My rule was the older child had to watch from the side NOT jumping while the younger one jumped in the middle. They never jump together anymore… they are now 10 and 15…but they do jump alone all the time. It’s great exercise! I’m wondering, maybe my kids are more coordinated than other people’s kids?!? No injuries yet knock on wood.
We’ve had a large sized trampoline with a net for YEARS and our kids love it. Even my teen still uses it. We have rules. The number of kids. The rule about one person jumping in the middle at a time. No bigger kid launching a smaller kid. No backflips. My son did once hurt his knee on it many years ago and he had to take a break while it healed. (he hyper-extended it). When our son was young he was a total spaz and we ALSO had a smaller trampoline inside the house. He used both constantly. Anyway, yes one can get injured on it. Our kids also ski. They do jumps and tricks at the terrain park area of the downhill ski areas. They rock climb. They use the skate-park. They mountain bike and downhill bike in the warmer months. We also go rafting and kayaking. We hike a lot. We live near bears, mountain lions, rattlesnakes, coyotes, etc. All these things involve risks but we do them anyway and just teach our kids what not to do, what to watch out for, how to keep yourself safe the best you can. Good luck with your decision!
so now the fear of injury is gone because of a virus??
Get a “personal” trampoline to play on
the whole family can use it
check with your home owners insurance - it could be considered an “attractive nuisance” so if ANYONE gets hurt on it? Your insurance won’t cover and you will be in a world of hurt.
while this one is about bouncy rentals?? you need to check with your insurance…
https://www.swcitx.com/blog/properly-using-and-insuring-a-bounce-house.aspx
We have a trampoline (with a net).
We didn’t get one for a couple of years (after our gymnast enthusiast kid asked for one) because of the injury related factor. I have a relative who works on a pediatrics team - so I’ve heard the stories. I’ve read the news articles.
However, she also pointed out that her kids spent hours of fun on one at her neighbor’s. A lot of it is how you use it - like any equipment.
Our trampoline came with instructions (safety) - and we followed them. Like how many kids to let on at a time. We started with one - until we observed and were comfortable. Honestly, there were some kids I did not let on with anyone else.
The main purpose of us getting one (and we researched and got a good/safe one) was for our gymnast enthusiast. That kid spent hours (and hours) out there perfecting moves. Never seen happier.
My thing was getting parents to observe their kid before ok’ing it. We only let some kids (guests) on. My kids have 1-2 very close friends - and we know the parents very well. So it wasn’t really an issue for us.
We don’t have neighborhood kids coming over asking to use it. We didn’t have kids we didn’t know using it. As I said, we did have a kid who wanted to use a scooter in it (???) and that kid was not allowed to use it. That kid was not a regular to our house.
I was relieved when they lost interest. It didn’t come out last summer. It means I don’t have to supervise. I felt I did need to (when other kids were over). My kids - I had watched enough to know they knew how to jump and land. I knew they’d follow the rules - and were old enough.
I was always aware (and know of a kid) who came down funny and hurt ankle. Mind you, that kid was jumping with 4 other kids. That kid has also hurt herself in every other sport/activity she tried.
If your kids are accident prone or uncoordinated or don’t listen … or you’re not prepared to watch them - don’t get it. If you aren’t going to watch/supervise or have friends’ parents/neighbor parents sit and watch to (at least to start) … don’t get it.
ETA - I do agree with - this is not the time to try it out and risk sending kids to the hospital. Hospitals/health professionals will have their hands full. I was glad when the ski hills closed.
This is a hospital twist on the old jail joke: “So, what are you in for?”
This is NOT the time to risk silly injuries that might require medical care. 🤦ðŸ¼â€â™€ï¸
Just jump up and down in place on a flat surface. While wearing sturdy supportive shoes.
My kids had a trampoline and I think that was awesome! We got ours from a company called rainbow… received a good discount because we purchased a rainbow set.
Bouncy houses- that I am not sure… they need to be secured properly, in case of wind/storm etc… plus they are bigger and constantly need air pump… unless you get the really big one and that I think closes with similar flap like swimming floats.
I personally would do trampoline way before bouncy house. Bouncy house is more for the 4 year old… but if 10 year old kid is careful trampoline can be fun for all! Personally I would not call insurance because they barely need an excuse to raise your payments!
We had kids over and yes sometimes a foot of a falling kid hit something of a jumping kid… but never a true injury nor blood etc. But you need to know the other parents well… some are just nuts!
Kids get injured running down a hall so I would not over react. We were at my gf house enjoying the back yard… ( my son ran in socks after my gfs son) just for fun and fell, hit the side of his head on her molding…Had time to scream for me… and as I get into the house… it was a seen out of Carrie… Soo much blood… ) he was absolutely fine after hubby took him into the bathroom. Never got stitches… just a little scar hidden by hair.
There are a couple of things to consider before buying a trampoline:
First, call your homeowners’ insurance company or renters’ insurance company. Many prohibit trampolines.
Next, think about your home and neighborhood. Where would you put the trampoline? Do you have a completely fenced in yard (a tall fence with a gate that locks)? Are there kids who play freely in the neighborhood or who come over to your yard? Because a trampoline is a magnet for kids, and many don’t play safely or observe your rules. Are you ok with being available to supervise closely whenever someone’s on the trampoline? Do you know all the neighbor kids and their parents?
Another question to ask is: do your own kids obey your rules? Do they put their bikes away, or scooters? Are they the type to obey rules and respect boundaries, or are they careless? Would they be able to resist having a few kids over to jump on the trampoline when you’re not available to supervise? And are you comfortable with establishing rules for using the trampoline? You need to set boundaries as far as times it can be used, how many kids can be on it, safety rules, asking permission, etc.
I think bikes would be a better choice for outside activity. Get them good helmets and go for a ride together. And maybe you could tell them that after the virus lockdowns, you’ll take them to a trampoline place once a month or so (one of those indoor places).
Whatever you decide, just remember that a trampoline is not something you send your kids outside to play on while you take a nap or get some housework done. It’s like getting your kids a new puppy: sure, the kids will cuddle it, but you will be the one to take it to the vet, buy the food, buy the crate and all the necessities, take it for a walk during the day when the kids are at school, etc etc. In other words, the trampoline is just as much a commitment for you as it is a fun diversion for your kids.
Trampolines, swimming pools, skateboards, horses…
The list is long but a lot of fun things in life come with risks. Don’t skimp on quality or safety and use common sense, like anything else.
I have to admit that trampolines terrify me! But I do own a bouncehouse. Ours is an industrial bouncehouse, so it’s one that you could rent for a party for probably $200. We bought it on ebay for $400. It’s slightly stained, and the netting was torn when we bought it. (so it’s not as pretty as a new one). But we fixed the netting and bleach cleaned the inside and outside, and now we used it in the spring and fall and have loaned it to friends and our church for fundraisers.
Anyway, it’s very safe compared to a trampoline. The thing to really be careful about is that bigger kids are careful when smaller kids are in their. You do have to have air running through it all the time, but that does add to the safety of it. When we are not using it, we just unplug it and it collapses. We always stake ours to the ground with tent stakes, so it should not blow away.
Right now it is snowing outside our house, so our bouncehouse remains safely rolled up i the garage. I suppose it’s a big warmer in LA 
For your 10 year old, it’d have to be a big bouncy house I think. Quite big. We had a small one but by 10 it wasn’t so great. We got a small trampoline and they loved it. We didn’t allow flips and it had netting so they would just jump and land on their butts. No flips I think keeps the danger factor way down. We got ours used so it wasn’t expensive and it was absolutely worth it.
A small trampoline for the house was the best $50 I ever spent for my grandchildren. Good for cold days when it’s hard to exercise outside.
I’d agree with you about the trampoline injury factor, plus it’s would be a really bad time to have to go to a hospital. Bouncy house seems safer to me. My kids would tire of either too quickly so for me it wasn’t worth the expense or risk. Good luck keeping them entertained!
Trampolines are popular among children and teens and even among some adults. Though it may be fun to jump and do somersaults on a trampoline, landing wrong can cause serious, permanent injuries. Injuries can occur even when a trampoline has a net and padding and parents are watching.so this is not a good idea because in these children feel suffocated and it can make the series issues which is related to the children health and depression and anxiety. To identify these problems just observe the children face and hair. You can relief with this with help of hair oil.
Sure. But know that your homeowners insurance will go up and possibly even drop you and other parents may choose not to send their kids to your house. I’ll never understand why people think those things are good ideas…