Choosing a Trampoline for Your Kids

If you’re looking for a piece of children’s play equipment that many ages can enjoy and can be used in your garden, then a trampoline is a good option to explore. Here are some practical tips on choosing a trampoline for your kids.

Trampolines can provide kids with hours of fun, plus they have the bonus of providing good exercise too. The size and nature of trampolines makes them inappropriate for use indoors – unless you have masses of free space – but garden trampolines are a good alternative.

Garden trampolines vary in size and shape and you will need to assess the options carefully when choosing, so that you can ensure you’re buying a product that you have room to safely have in your garden. You need to make there’s not only room for the trampoline to be installed, but also room around it so that children can safely jump up and down on the trampoline without knocking themselves on overhanging trees, bushes, fences or even a washing line.

Trampoline Safety Features

As fun as trampolines are, sadly they do pose a risk too and children’s accidents caused by trampolines have been on the increase since garden trampolines soared in popularity. Some of these accidents can be prevented by carefully choosing a product in the first place.

Look for a trampoline that has a built in safety net that goes around the edge of the trampoline – some come quite high up. This provide an instant bit of extra security, as it means that it’s a lot more difficult for your child to accidentally fall off the edge of the trampoline when they’re using it. If you can’t find a trampoline that comes with this feature, safety nets can often be purchased separately and securely added on to your trampoline.

It’s also a good idea to look for trampolines that have safety pads covering all the hooks, springs and areas of the frame. Without the safety pads, some of these areas can pose a slight danger, as children could catch their fingers on them.

Installing the Trampoline

Once you’ve selected a suitable trampoline, have purchased it and got it home, it’s time to think about the practical issue of where to put it.

As mentioned above, you need to give this careful thought, as it needs to in a clear area of the garden. You should ensure you have at least 2.5m around the edge of the trampoline, which is regarded by safety experts as serving as a safe fall area. You can add extra safety to this area by buying a few crash mats or soft mats down on the floor around the trampoline, so that if a child does accidentally bounce off, they should have a soft landing.

Ideally, the ground underneath the trampoline should be soft, like grass or bark; where possible, avoid situating it on concrete, unless you have plenty of crash mats available.

Although your children may well have other toys and garden equipment already in use outside, try and limit the amount of toys, such as bikes, bricks or balls that are left around the vicinity of the trampoline. By keeping the area clean and tidy, there’s less of a likelihood that a child could get off the trampoline, feel a bit unbalanced and accidentally fall over other toys whilst walking away.