My parents dug a hole in the ground for a trampoline, so it was flush with the ground. It was great because you couldn't accidentally fall off, and it was safer than doing any given stunt on regular ground.
A great idea but it's not the main cause of kids at ER because of trampolines: the main issue is two kids hitting each other, not one kid falling of the trampoline. Say the head of one kid hitting the jaw of the other kid. That's the main issue (my source is a doctor friend who worked at ER and refused to have a trampoline for his kids).
So I came up with a very simple rule: one kid at a time in the trampoline and I were to see two, I'd disassemble the trampoline (and as the kid saw me assembling it, she knew I meant business).
But yup a hole in the ground to lower it sounds like a good idea too: that and a rule of one kid at a time.
A trampoline can be endless fun for kids. I got one for free from my neighbor (who was very happy to get rid of it) and a few years later I ended up giving it away when I moved.
Interesting. It's probably why every single trampoline my wife and myself ever saw (and she previously worked in a place that, every May, pivoted from their furniture business to importing and selling trampolines for the May break seasons), had a label saying only one kid is allowed at a time.
Though obviously this is CYA, because same label exists on trampolines sized for 1 kid and those sized for 10 kids.
Also honestly jumping alone is not as fun as jumping in a group.
That's why I compared it to a similar stunt on regular ground. That kind of horseplay wasn't allowed in my household, or really anything we were into as children, so my parents could let several of us play on the trampoline at a time, although they had to be more careful if we had someone over.
The lot was graded in 70's or 80's, which was late enough to have modern drainage as part of the design. In their neighborhood, most houses are graded at several feet higher than the sidewalk gutter, so the trampoline just needed a regular drain pipe to bring the storm runoff to the front of the property.
They did later add a sump pump, because most of the years rain happens over a small number of very wet storms, and it can take a while to gravity drain out several inches of rain we'll often get in a single storm. (Our record from before they had the trampoline was 12 inches of rain in just over 24 hours, but that was an especially strong El Niño year, but we'll probably be getting another one soon.)
So I came up with a very simple rule: one kid at a time in the trampoline and I were to see two, I'd disassemble the trampoline (and as the kid saw me assembling it, she knew I meant business).
But yup a hole in the ground to lower it sounds like a good idea too: that and a rule of one kid at a time.
A trampoline can be endless fun for kids. I got one for free from my neighbor (who was very happy to get rid of it) and a few years later I ended up giving it away when I moved.