Trampoline

I thought others might be interested in my reply to Hellokittymama's questions about our trampoline. Here is my response:

We've gone out of our way to make our house the most fun on the block. We host a lot of play dates and have a lot of kids around for Frog to watch and hopefully interact with. Diva says her favorite thing is to have her friends over because "when I have friends over my mom makes really yummy treats!"

Out of all the toys, therapy equipment, therapist visits, dietary changes, and educational interventions we've delved into - I'd have to say, the best money we've spent was on the swimming pool and the trampoline. The trampoline is relatively new. I don't think we've seen its full potential yet. But it is great for sensory input (vestibular and proprioceptive). It is a great workout - for Frog and for me. Frog does sleep better if he has a good jump. And he has started to learn things like taking turns, anticipating other kid's movements, cooperative jumping, and requesting the other kids to jump so he will be bounced up.

I looked at trampolines for years, but didn't bite until I found this model:





I was impressed with this design because there are no springs, no place for your foot to get caught, and the struts supporting the safety net are bowed outward and flexible so there is no real danger from crashing into the net near them. The most dangerous part of the trampoline is the assembly - which took some muscle and about 3 hours, but wasn't too difficult. Just make sure the kids are somewhere else while the assembly is going on. Yes it is incredibly expensive (I managed to get ours on sale and it was still expensive) but it didn't cost more than some of the therapy options we've tried and it gives better results. And it is fun for the whole family (jumping or watching).

We've had the trampoline up for about two months. It is a big hit with all the kids. Frog has figured out how to get into it and out of it on his own.

I am happy with and would recommend this product.