Outdoor Trampoline???

So, we have LOTS of outdoor space, so that is one area where we can "splurge" a little. My older girls have expressed interest in a trampoline. Of course, those are one of the most dangerous "toys" you can get... so, I don't know??? It would be tons of fun and great exercise though. Plus, since we are in New Mexico, if can be used the majority of the year. This past week has been in the 50s and kids have gone out quite a bit. Then again, there are all kinds of outdoor toys that we can get. I found a trampoline in very good condition (14 foot with the safety enclosure) on craigslist for $150. What do you think? Should we take the plunge, or pass on it?

Trampolines are such a conflicted topic for me...they are totally dangerous but I like them! We got DD a small 1 person one last year and she uses it once in a while. Not as much as I hoped she would. We brought it inside for her birthday party and there were 3 of them on it at one point! Eeeps!

After I bought ours I found out a girl about a month older than her fractured her leg on one. Obviously things like that can happen and I've heard they are more common when several kids are on them at once. You can catch a bad bounce and really hurt yourself. Apparently this 2 year old was alone and somehow double-bounced herself ?!?!?! Not sure how.

I'm totally still on the fence about trampolines even though we have one. LOL!

This is our little one at DD's birthday. Normally we only let 1 kid on and no toys.

http://heather.shadymile.com/photos/...trampoline.jpg

Do you own or rent? How to create a sunken trampoline - little green fingers
A buried trampoline may be a good option if you own or it the landlord doesn't mind.

I guess I am oldschool....I don't really have a problem with trampolines, but maybe I am too lax!

My family had a trampoline growing up, and my kids jump on one at both my IL's and my family's when we visit. As long as you have smart rules in place that the kids understand, and supervision when needed, I don't have an issue. Maybe just me though!

Or maybe we'll just go with this for now....
Amazon.com: Lifetime Geometric Dome Climber Play Center (Earthtone): Sports & Outdoors

We'll likely get one when my kids get a bit older. Both DH and I had them growing up and yes kids get hurt sometimes but they do on play structures, swings, and everything else. My only concern is a kids friend getting hurt but again I feel like this can happen with anything. They are great exercise IMO but like Sandra maybe I'm just lax.

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Originally Posted by pollo_la

Or maybe we'll just go with this for now....
Amazon.com: Lifetime Geometric Dome Climber Play Center (Earthtone): Sports & Outdoors

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Those are great! You have room for both! LOL. Personally I'd go with the dome climber if I were choosing for my daughter. She loves climbing and hanging. Perhaps do this one now and get a trampoline when they are older?

I think my issue with those trampolines is that they're not really bouncy enough to do anything super fun on. But I did gymnastics as a child so I liked learning harder skills on the tramps. And then if I would go on one of those, I felt so limited and didn't want to jump nearly as long. So I guess I would worry that the novelty would wear off quickly. That being said - I bring DD to gymnastics, and she runs around the trampolines a ton! But she's not the right age for the raised ones.

They scare the crap out of me. I'm just not a fan. We had one of those small indoor netted ones for awhile. I tried putting it outside and it only lasted a few weeks and fell apart.

I would rather have a pool or a large swing set or something like that.

Well, we decided to pass on it. The biggest reason was simply the wind that we get out here. It is not uncommon to get gusts up to 60-70 mph out here on a somewhat regular basis during the spring (March, April, and May). I have visions of the thing flying through the air as a UFO!! Even if we did manage to anchor the thing down well, I still think the netting around it would probably get destroyed by the wind. So... we already have a teeter totter and a nice swing set. We will look into adding a dome climber this summer.