[blindkid] never stands still

Richard Holloway rholloway at gopbc.org
Sat Jun 12 23:59:33 UTC 2010


This particular model has sides which rise about 6 feet off the  
ground-- six poles making up three inverted U-shapes (the poles  
connect in pairs) and they are all padded.

Unlike most outdoor models, the mat is roughly a foot of the ground,  
but it is otherwise similar to what I think you're describing. The net  
it connected to the crossover poles up top and hangs a bit like a  
skirt from a woman's waist (though on the INSIDE of the bars, and this  
"skirt" is floor-length, if you will, or more accurately mat-length in  
this case). Thin nylon rope is then used to loop through the bottom of  
the net and lash it to the mat loops where the D-rings join the mat to  
springs. This model has 40 springs, so they are close together. It is  
really up to the assembler, but that means it is pretty easy to attach  
the net in a total of 40 locations. If you keep it tight, there's no  
way someone is going to accidentally step through. You could also  
improvise extra attachments to re-tighten if things slip about.

Ours is a single-user model. It is 55" in diameter and the "live area"  
of the trampoline is maybe 4 feet across? That means to stay centered,  
all you have to do is reach out and feel where the sides are with both  
hands at once. I guess it takes a bit more skill and reasonable  
balance as compared to holding a bar, but it would also promote  
improving balance because of that. Also, while letting go of a support  
bar may let you fall onto the floor, the net generally prevents such a  
thing with this design-- the exception being that we don't always get  
ours bet zipped up properly. It is not a huge concern for us-- in the  
rare and unlikely event that someone should slip out of the rather  
small opening, we have a thick gymnastics mat, which generally stays  
folded to either 2 or 4 layers thick. It is right next to the opening  
in the net. It would be about 5 or 10 inches of pad to land on before  
ever hitting the carpet, and that too is on top of a decent pad as  
well. Some would call that overkill. I call it added insurance.

Basically you can jump and spin, and do seat drops, but not much more  
in this particular unit (it is not wide enough for more) and unless  
you can bounce high enough to clear the sides that are about 5 feet  
above the mat, there's no coming over the top with this design either.  
We have actually  tipped this one over one time that I can recall, but  
you really have to bounce hard and sideways to cause that and we had  
no injury at all when we tipped this. Ours is too close to the wall  
and other things to fall three directions, so as with the opening, it  
has to "fall" onto the thick mat in the only possible direction to  
tip. That means it never really did tip clear over or even hit the  
carpet...

The last caution I can think of is that a low ceiling or a ceiling fan  
and a trampoline can be s safety issue as kids begin to jump higher  
indoors. Always be aware of that-- you don't want heads crashing into  
such things, obviously. Sorry for the lengthy post, but I hope that  
helps explain this a little better. Nothing is a perfect setup, but I  
feel like what he have used for the past several years really has been  
exceptionally safe as this sort of thing goes.

Richard




On Jun 12, 2010, at 1:11 PM, Heather wrote:

> Regarding the netting around the trampoline.  Ours currently only  
> has a handel, and I've never scene one with netting in person.  Does  
> it attach in such a way that the child bouncing against it hard  
> enough could either tip over the whole unit or slip down between the  
> netting and the rim of the trampoline?  Also, when I was eight or so  
> I loved jumping outside on a totally blind friend's large outdoor  
> round trampoline.  I could see the shiney metal edge, which was not  
> padded as it should be, but that did wind up helping me see it.  I  
> remember coming back four years later when my sight was giving out  
> and being so frustrated that I didn't feel safe enough to jump and  
> chase my friend around or travel much as I jumped.  Jumping in place  
> or seat drops were all I could really do with out getting paranoid  
> and dropping to all fours to check where the edge was.  In hindsite,  
> I wonder how she managed not breaking her neck, as she had not even  
> light perception, two prosthetic eyes and was, in her everyday life  
> outside of a pool and not on a trampoline, a rather clutsy, love her  
> to bits, but it's true, individual.  She must have had some crazy  
> facial perception or something of that sort.  Funny how things are  
> sometimes.  Do you find that Kendra bumps into the netting often?   
> Or, is it a rare thing, also how big is the jump surface, as one  
> that is two by two for instance would probably have more net  
> colisions than one that was four by four.
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Richard Holloway" <rholloway at gopbc.org 
> >
> To: "NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List,(for parents of blind children)" <blindkid at nfbnet.org 
> >
> Sent: Saturday, June 12, 2010 12:22 AM
> Subject: Re: [blindkid] never stands still
>
>
> Does the Reebok happen to have both a handle or net surround and
> traditional (metal) springs? There must be more around that are better
> built than I have found. Many of the trampolines for kids have some
> sort of bungee solution for the springs and those all give up after a
> while.
>
> What I really want is basically what I have except with springs that
> hook to (or around with some sort of mount) the frame in a non-self-
> destructive way. I only went searching hard for a design with real
> springs that looked stronger once we broke our fourth unit with
> bungees (well, the first was really with elastic straps).
>
> I have seen one unit on-line that is rated for a 300 pound adult and
> has a handle to hold as you jump, but none like what we have that is
> small with a surround that looks any stronger than ours. The nice
> thing with the surround netting is Kendra can be relatively safe
> jumping without holding a handle. It gives her more options and I
> suspect also helps develop more lateral stability and control than
> with having to hold onto a bar to jump (or risk flying off to one  
> side).
>
> Richard
>
>
>
> On Jun 11, 2010, at 8:16 PM, Kathy B wrote:
>
>> We got our trampoline from ToysRUs for about $60.00.  It's a   
>> Reebok.  The only problem we've had with it is my daughter jumps  
>> so  hard we had to attach weights to it.  Once we did that it's  
>> been  wonderful.
>>
>> Kathy
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ________________________________
>> From: Richard Holloway <rholloway at gopbc.org>
>> To: "NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind  
>> children)" <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Fri, June 11, 2010 1:38:11 AM
>> Subject: Re: [blindkid] never stands still
>>
>> Sure,
>>
>> The best we've found so far (our fifth small trampoline) has been   
>> our Bazoongi 55" Junior Combo Trampoline with Teclon Pad. (That's   
>> the official name on the web site.) I mention this with some   
>> reservation because we have had some problems with it, but it  has   
>> been better than our first four... All of these small units seem  
>> to  be within a foot or less from the floor.
>>
>> It has steel springs which I thought would solve everything over  
>> our previous elastic and bungee "springs". Well, the springs mount  
>> into little slots in the frame. Jump enough and the edge of the  
>> punched  slot and the hook of the spring rub one another. The holes  
>> get  longer while the springs get thinner. After about six months,   
>> springs began to break. (The hook ends simply snap off.) They sent   
>> replacements but then I realized the frame was getting damaged   
>> (slots tearing to the center of the frame, my oversight-- could  
>> not  see that before I took it apart to add the springs though).  
>> They  sent a new frame but then I realized they sent the wrong  
>> frame (too  small, their mistake). They sent another frame but then  
>> I realized  we were short on springs from the first batch (also  
>> their mistake).  Finally they sent 40 more springs and I replaced  
>> every one again.  All this took several weeks and I expect to have  
>> springs failing  again this fall sometime and suspect the
>> frame could be getting unsafe a few months after that. People at   
>> Bazoongi were very nice and polite and all parts and shipping to   
>> date have been free but the hassle factor is still pretty high.
>>
>> Bottom line is that any of these $100-range products simply seem  
>> not  to be designed to last for a terribly long time.
>>
>> The Intex Jump-O-Lene (I assume that's the one?) looks fun, but my   
>> first reaction is the sides look low enough that a jumper could   
>> vault over the side. Also, ultimately most of these blow-up units   
>> spring leaks and deflate. This becomes a huge pain, re-inflating   
>> over and again until the leaks are so fast that you can't use them   
>> anymore. Adult weight may also pop them if you have to crawl in to   
>> rescue a child with a "boo-boo", for example. Usually patch kits  
>> are  included but these often fail to stop the leaks properly. The   
>> trampoline above has about 6 feet of surround netting so there's  
>> no  chance of that, though you can fall out the door if the  
>> netting  tears up or the "door" is not closed.
>>
>> For something smaller than the Bazoongi we have, I'd probably look   
>> on their same page at the 48"  Bazoongi® Bouncer. (Comes in pink  
>> or  orange camo.) This one is $100. (The next one up is only $7  
>> more.)  The key difference is that the 55" unit has no actual  
>> handle but  tall sides with netting while the 48" has no surround  
>> netting but  does have a padded, "inverted-U" handle. Smaller kids  
>> could probably  do better with the handle, but if they do let go,  
>> there is no safety  net so think of that when you set it up. All of  
>> these small units  (like the 48" and the 55") seem to be within a  
>> foot or less from the  floor. Carpet with a pad is better than a  
>> hard floor. Pillows around  it might help, but put them out far  
>> enough to catch a rebounding  child.
>>
>> Here is the Bazoongi page:
>> http://www.bazoongi.com/trampoline.htm
>>
>> You could also go in the inflatable bounce house direction of you   
>> have enough space and can tolerate the noise of the blower.   
>> Honestly, I'd want a basement room to use these inside but they  
>> are  great to softly stop a fall and the surround nets are strong.   
>> However they'd completely fill most of our living rooms,  
>> especially  when you factor in the blower that has to run all the  
>> time it is up.  Better for most of us to find outdoor space but  
>> then you have winter  snow and summer mosquitos to factor in or  
>> whatever local  frustrations mother nature will throw your way.
>>
>> I hope that helps a bit.
>>
>> If anyone else has some better recommendations, please jump in  
>> with  them. I know of more durable solutions but they are in the  
>> larger  trampoline and bounce house realm. They require a chunk of  
>> outdoor  space and are from several hundred dollars to up in the  
>> $1000-plus  range for even the lower end offerings in that arena.
>>
>> Richard
>>
>>
>>
>> On Jun 10, 2010, at 11:31 PM, Heather wrote:
>>
>>> Richard, this might be off topic, but since you brought it up,   
>>> could you please recommend a good quality small toddler  
>>> trampoline  and then maybe one for slightly larger kids?  We  
>>> baught Jeremy one  when he out grew his baby jumper at around 12  
>>> months old, but the  one we got was a pain to set up, has very  
>>> little bounce, is very  small considering the amount of space it  
>>> takes up and is already  showing signs of ware and tare and Jeremy  
>>> only jumps about thirty  to forty minutes a day.  It's funny that  
>>> you mention all that your  daughter does on hers.  Jeremy loves to  
>>> watch TV, listen to the  radeo, sing, talk to himself, or his  
>>> checkered towel, his version  of a security blanket, even look at  
>>> books or pet the cat who has  learned that for pats he needs to  
>>> stand on the table where Jeremy's bouncing hand will pat, but not  
>>> hit him while meowing up a storm to  go with the toddler babble.   
>>> I am always having to stop him from  bringing his sippy cup or  
>>> finger food snack
>> up there with him.  In a pinch for time with Jeremy in a pissy  
>> mood  I have even managed diaper changes and clothing changes while  
>> he  jumped lightly.  lol  He never jumps for more than five minutes  
>> at a  time, but he will do it through out the day, and if thwarted  
>> by time  constraints, it is clear that his mood and receptiveness  
>> to learning  suffers if he can't jump.  His other thing, that I  
>> will post about  and ask some thing about later is going up and  
>> down and up and down  our stairs for up to an hour and forty  
>> minutes with various games  and make-believe employed while doing  
>> it.  So, second the trampoline  recommendation, add the  
>> recommendation for something called a  jumpaline, a mini bounce  
>> house for the living room that Jeremy also  recommends, as he has  
>> one of those at Jim's house and the trampoline  at mine, , and  
>> request recommendations for spacific trampolines that  pass the  
>> Kendra ceal of approval.
>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Richard Holloway" <rholloway at gopbc.org
>>> >
>>> To: <empwrn at bellsouth.net>; "NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List,(for   
>>> parents of blind children)" <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Thursday, June 10, 2010 2:18 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [blindkid] never stands still
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>
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