WWYD: neighbor kids playing in my yard

[ahisma]

Your insurance agent would lose his/her MIND. It sucks, but no, the neighborhood kids cannot just help themselves to your trampoline. It is a huge liability on your part.

Yes. This. This was a frequent example in law school. Trampolines and pools. Massive liability. Need, at minimum, a fence.

[petesgirl]

We do have a fence, it just has about a door widths opening on the south side of the house where we have landscaping, that would need to be altered a bit before we could put in a fence. But they know that opening is there.
I'm going to have DH take the main mat off until we have figured it out.

[mom2binsd]

I’m sorry you’re in this position. You cannot have children you don’t know jumping on your trampoline. An accident could turn your life upside down. I agree that the safest option is to install a fence. If you can’t do that, take down the trampoline for a while and then try again in a month or so.

Also, if they are new to the country they may have limited understanding of liability/who knows what their health insurance is, but you can bet the ER will ask questions and if they are hurt it could be a disaster.

Also, a quick look at all the guidelines for jumping say ONE JUMPER at a time, when you said there were 5 on the trampoline at time I was not sure if you meant there were 5 kids in the yard or on the trampoline. I do know having lived in Utah for a few years that some families there tend to be a lot more lax about safety things (car seat rules seemed very lax in the families I saw racing down my street to church with barely a kid strapped in), so your neighbors may not be as concerned as the folks on here are, but I would absolutely be very careful. I know trampolines are a very hot button topic, but having witnessed a lot of kids get hurt I am very wary of them.

[petesgirl]

Also, if they are new to the country they may have limited understanding of liability/who knows what their health insurance is, but you can bet the ER will ask questions and if they are hurt it could be a disaster.

Also, a quick look at all the guidelines for jumping say ONE JUMPER at a time, when you said there were 5 on the trampoline at time I was not sure if you meant there were 5 kids in the yard or on the trampoline. I do know having lived in Utah for a few years that some families there tend to be a lot more lax about safety things (car seat rules seemed very lax in the families I saw racing down my street to church with barely a kid strapped in), so your neighbors may not be as concerned as the folks on here are, but I would absolutely be very careful. I know trampolines are a very hot button topic, but having witnessed a lot of kids get hurt I am very wary of them.

5 in the yard. We only allow 2 on the tramp at a time. Which I know is one more than the rule. DS is pretty good about enforcing that and having it zipped.

They probably won't understand the safety/liability issue and I'm just going to look like a mean person. Ugh. Maybe I'll offer them Popsicles next time while also telling them they can't come back.

[niccig]

We do have a fence, it just has about a door widths opening on the south side of the house where we have landscaping, that would need to be altered a bit before we could put in a fence. But they know that opening is there.
I'm going to have DH take the main mat off until we have figured it out.

I’d figure out a way to permanently block that opening. The yard would be considered unsecured and as others said it would be a huge issue if someone got in and got hurt. Medical insurance would definitely go after your house insurance for it.

I slammed the car door on my own hand and broke my finger (still don’t know how I managed to do it). Our medical insurance wanted to know how it happened, where I was, who was there etc. I had to get very insistent that the injury was done by me and no one else was there.


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[LBW]

Can you lock the trampoline after it has been zipped shut? If so I’d do that for now.

[petesgirl]

I’d figure out a way to permanently block that opening. The yard would be considered unsecured and as others said it would be a huge issue if someone got in and got hurt. Medical insurance would definitely go after your house insurance for it.

I slammed the car door on my own hand and broke my finger (still don’t know how I managed to do it). Our medical insurance wanted to know how it happened, where I was, who was there etc. I had to get very insistent that the injury was done by me and no one else was there.


Sent from my iPhone using Baby Bargains

Ouch! That sounds awful. The funny thing is that when DS got bit by the neighbor's dog at their house a few years ago nobody at urgent care or from our insurance seemed to care. Someone from insurance called us to ask how it happened but then they just covered it like any other injury. I thought for sure they would want our neighbors insurance info. I was surprised by that one.

[gatorsmom]

I'm sorry you are having to deal with this. It's really nice of you to include neighbor kids.

Unfortunately, I think the word will get out and the crowd of kids coming to play on your trampoline is going to grow. You need to either take down the trampoline for a while (so the neighbor kids can see that it's down and won't come back for a while) or completely fence in your yard.

[truly scrumptious]

Based on your post, I think we might live in the same neighborhood! (Like, seriously, does it start with an O?)

I'm sorry to hear you're dealing with this. I had a similar issue last year when neighbor kids would come into my yard without notice and help themselves to play materials in the garage. It was more complicated because many of these were DS's friends, but it came to the point where they were doing things in our yard, which they were not "allowed" to at home. It became hard for DS to manage, so I stepped in and set limits. I turned away kids when DS was unavailable - "I'm sorry, he's not free to play with you right now, so please come back later." If they asked to stay, I would say - "You should come back when he can play." or simply "Not right now." In my experience, the kids tend to understand when a grown-up sets limit.

I also started setting time limits - e.g. all the kids, including DS, could play for an hour - after an hour I'd go and tell everyone time was up. If DS wanted to keep playing, he could ask for more time, and (if it worked for me) I might give them an extension. If he didn't ask for more time, I would be firm with everyone. That way, it would give him a way to extract himself if he was uncomfortable with the direction of the kids' play. If I noticed something I didn't like, I would say sorry time's up.

I agree with all the PPs about the liability of having kids playing in your yard, especially with a trampoline. It is also possible that some parents don't want their kids on trampolines, and would be upset knowing you allowed it. My neighbor's kid had a concussion a few years ago and was not allowed that kind of exertion - you wouldn't want that kid playing on yours.)

You may need to disable the trampoline for a little while. I'm sorry, I know that is bummer because it feels like you cannot use your own yard and DS cannot use his own trampoline in peace, but that might be the easiest way to nip this in the bud in the short term. It is really kind of you to want to include kids in the neighborhood, and it can be hard when it snowballs like this. I don't think you are doing the neighborhood kids a disservice by setting these limits. There is a public playground nearby that they can use, and you don't run the liability risk. Another option is to tell them they can stay, but they need to play something else. That way, kids who want to play with your DS will stick around, and those who just want the trampoline will leave.

[petesgirl]

Based on your post, I think we might live in the same neighborhood! (Like, seriously, does it start with an O?)

I'm sorry to hear you're dealing with this. I had a similar issue last year when neighbor kids would come into my yard without notice and help themselves to play materials in the garage. It was more complicated because many of these were DS's friends, but it came to the point where they were doing things in our yard, which they were not "allowed" to at home. It became hard for DS to manage, so I stepped in and set limits. I turned away kids when DS was unavailable - "I'm sorry, he's not free to play with you right now, so please come back later." If they asked to stay, I would say - "You should come back when he can play." or simply "Not right now." In my experience, the kids tend to understand when a grown-up sets limit.

I also started setting time limits - e.g. all the kids, including DS, could play for an hour - after an hour I'd go and tell everyone time was up. If DS wanted to keep playing, he could ask for more time, and (if it worked for me) I might give them an extension. If he didn't ask for more time, I would be firm with everyone. That way, it would give him a way to extract himself if he was uncomfortable with the direction of the kids' play. If I noticed something I didn't like, I would say sorry time's up.

I agree with all the PPs about the liability of having kids playing in your yard, especially with a trampoline. It is also possible that some parents don't want their kids on trampolines, and would be upset knowing you allowed it. My neighbor's kid had a concussion a few years ago and was not allowed that kind of exertion - you wouldn't want that kid playing on yours.)

You may need to disable the trampoline for a little while. I'm sorry, I know that is bummer because it feels like you cannot use your own yard and DS cannot use his own trampoline in peace, but that might be the easiest way to nip this in the bud in the short term. It is really kind of you to want to include kids in the neighborhood, and it can be hard when it snowballs like this. I don't think you are doing the neighborhood kids a disservice by setting these limits. There is a public playground nearby that they can use, and you don't run the liability risk. Another option is to tell them they can stay, but they need to play something else. That way, kids who want to play with your DS will stick around, and those who just want the trampoline will leave.

Last summer DS had one friend who would come to our house and do things his parents didn't allow him to do! I caught him one day on our nest camera digging a hole in my front flower bed to bury a treasure box. When I told him to stop he got upset and said that his parents wouldn't let him dig holes in their yard so he had to do it here. WTF?!?