This week, Danette from Everyday Adventures shares how she has dealt with the challenge of having 3 little boys who all love to bounce and jump around!
A SAFE PLACE TO BOUNCE
by Danette
All of our boys are sensory-seekers when it comes to movement. They love to be in motion — running, jumping, climbing, bouncing, crashing, hanging upside down, flapping and spinning. Trying to find outlets for all that energy is challenging! In the interest of safety and furniture preservation, finding a safe place for the boys to bounce has been especially important.
Bouncing on the bed was a favorite of theirs no matter how many times we told them to stop. Learning about the 5 little monkeys (you know, “5 little monkeys jumping on the bed…”) didn’t phase them at all. Bouncing on the couch has been another favorite, but it adds years (lots of years) to the appearance of your couch. We bought our couch about 6 yrs ago and it looks about 20 yrs old now.
Getting out of the house and heading for one of those “jumpy” places (with the inflatable bounce houses and slides) can be lots of fun for kids who love to run, climb, and bounce, but that can get expensive. What we really wanted to do was get a trampoline, but our yard is a hill so there’s no flat space to put a trampoline in the yard.
So we opted for a small indoor trampoline.
We were a little nervous at first, worrying they might bounce off of it and hurt themselves, or that they’d fight over it. But so far it has worked out great! We still get the occasional walking on the couch, but for bouncing they go to the trampoline, not the couch or beds. Yay!
And as an added bonus, they can use it anytime, day or night, rain or shine!
Please join in and share the creative solutions YOU have found to your own challenges. For more details on how to participate, click here.
Trish can be found writing here at 5MFSN every Friday in addition to hosting Try This Tuesday. You can also find Trish at her blog, Another Piece of the Puzzle.