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The Pit Parenting Thread

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Awww...they sure are cute- when they're sleeping!

Then they grow up to be 6'3" Wake grads and later law school students who get speeding tickets for rushing around in their hectic daily schedules (so he tells me).
 
What are the pros/cons of an outside trampoline vs. playset/swingset? I've got two girls (3 and 1) and they are getting pretty active. We have a couple of neighborhood playgrounds within a 0.5 mile so I'm leaning toward the trampoline. I figure it would be a good activity to kill 30 minutes before or after dinner during the week and hopefully they would use it for years. Plus it would help excuse my shitty grass growing skills for part of the yard.
 
JGDeac said:
What are the pros/cons of an outside trampoline vs. playset/swingset? I've got two girls (3 and 1) and they are getting pretty active. We have a couple of neighborhood playgrounds within a 0.5 mile so I'm leaning toward the trampoline. I figure it would be a good activity to kill 30 minutes before or after dinner during the week and hopefully they would use it for years. Plus it would help excuse my shitty grass growing skills for part of the yard.
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What are your feelings on compound fractures? Mostly kidding.

Trampolines probably attract more annoying neighborhood kids, so I'd be against that. But also against a playground because of proximity to the park, so :shrug
 
KitchinDeac said:
So, my second grader told me that she learned "the F word" at school. Surely she means "fart" or something, I thought. Nope. Spelled it for me and everything. Asked me if it is worse than the "the S word" (stupid), which is verboten at the KitchinDeac house. #thankspublicschool
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"Dad, I go to public school." My daughter's comment since fifth grade to any inappropriate word or story she overheard her mother or I utter. With accompaning eye roll.
 
JGDeac said:
What are the pros/cons of an outside trampoline vs. playset/swingset? I've got two girls (3 and 1) and they are getting pretty active. We have a couple of neighborhood playgrounds within a 0.5 mile so I'm leaning toward the trampoline. I figure it would be a good activity to kill 30 minutes before or after dinner during the week and hopefully they would use it for years. Plus it would help excuse my shitty grass growing skills for part of the yard.
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I think trampolines are like boats, but for kids.
They're awesome when your friend owns one and lets you play on it.

We were never 'allowed' to have one, but 2 of the other houses on the cul-de-sac had one, so we'd just go over there (with permission). Tons of fun... in retrospect, we were probably really annoying to the adults who just wanted a calm evening on their deck.
 
lbE08 said:
I think trampolines are like boats, but for kids.
They're awesome when your friend owns one and lets you play on it.

We were never 'allowed' to have one, but 2 of the other houses on the cul-de-sac had one, so we'd just go over there (with permission). Tons of fun... in retrospect, we were probably really annoying to the adults who just wanted a calm evening on their deck.
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Ha. Great analogy. I always wanted one growing up, but for various reasons we never got one (not to mention the fact our backyard was sloped and it wouldn't have worked). But now as a parent, I would not want one at all, but if a neighbor had one, that's cool.
 
My friend had one and the whole neighborhood was on it constantly for a couple of summers.

We all saw his mom's boobs once when she was changing and didn't close the curtains. Kid was devastated.
 
Just read a good quote:

"Silence is golden. Unless you have a toddler. Then silence is very very suspicious."
 
HalIncandenza said:
What are your feelings on compound fractures? Mostly kidding.

Trampolines probably attract more annoying neighborhood kids, so I'd be against that. But also against a playground because of proximity to the park, so :shrug
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Are those nets around the perimeter secure or can kids still fall out?
 
JGDeac said:
What are the pros/cons of an outside trampoline vs. playset/swingset? I've got two girls (3 and 1) and they are getting pretty active. We have a couple of neighborhood playgrounds within a 0.5 mile so I'm leaning toward the trampoline. I figure it would be a good activity to kill 30 minutes before or after dinner during the week and hopefully they would use it for years. Plus it would help excuse my shitty grass growing skills for part of the yard.
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I would go with the playset. They be at the age when they can play on a playset unsupervised, or with minimal supervision, much sooner than the age when you would let them play unsupervised on the trampoline. I have a 7, 5, and 1.5 year old. I would not trust the 7 and 5 year old to play on a trampoline without killing each other.
 
JGDeac said:
Are those nets around the perimeter secure or can kids still fall out?
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They seem pretty safe, but also a lot less fun.

Either way, I wouldn't want the neighborhood riff raff at my house all summer.

As someone else said, I always wanted one growing up, but there's roughly a zero percent chance I buy one for my kids. Probably won't do a playset either. They currently enjoy "exploring nature" in my backyard and just run around with sticks and shit. We also go to the park enough that I don't think they'd care much about having a miniature version at our house.
 
I remember having a swingset at our house when I was really, really little... but I remember the group of 5 trees that made a circle I could stand in WAY more fondly as far as 'playing' goes.

We did have a zipline when we were a little older; that thing was AWESOME (and, in retrospect, a death trap...).
 
We have a small trampoline with a net. Works great. The boys can use it with minimal supervision. It's in the lanai and visible from the living room and kitchen. Always a hit at parties. Great for getting some energy out.
 
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