Bouncy pink fun? (Argos Candy Floss Baby Trampoline)

Member Name: karalouk

Product:	Argos Candy Floss Baby Trampoline
Date:	17/03/09 (207 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good price, safe, looks nice, fun for babies and toddlers

Disadvantages: Lacking in bounce, awkward to set up

Let's face it babies, toddlers and children in general love to bounce. Whether it be on the sofa, bed, in a door bouncer or chair - anything with a spring can be bounced on!

At 20 months my daughter was no different so I decided to get her a trampoline.

I decided on a pink Candy Floss trampoline whilst flicking through the Argos book. The first thing that attracted me to it was the colour - I go a bit overboard on the pink for my daugher (possibly trying to make up for my lack of girliness) and figured it would match most of her other big toys. I also hadn't seen any other pink trampolines at the time. The second thing that sealed the deal was the price, it seemed like a bargain at £19.99 (they have now gone up to £24.49). Argos also sell the same trampoline but in more boyish colours (yellow, green, blue and orange), although still unisex and at the same price.

I have not seen the Candy Floss trampoline being sold anywhere other than Argos. The trampoline is suitable for babies and toddlers 1+ years.

The trampoline does not come assembled, it has to be set up at home. It comes in a pink and rather small but quite heavy box, which is recycable. It includes instructions, nuts and bolts but is quite a task to set up as it relys on friction and all the metal poles need to be pulled and secured really tightly to fit it all together. I spent about half an hour setting it up and needed a hand from my partner at one point. Whilst looking through the reviews of the Candy Floss trampoline on the Argos website I read that somebody took around 3 hours to set it up! I doubt it would take many people that long but it was a bit awkward.

The trampoline is suitable for indoor or outdoor use. I personally keep it in the corner of our dining room as I can't find a space for it anywhere else. I don't fancy putting it in the garden because of fear it'll get rusty and dirty if it gets caught in the rain and such. The diameter of the trampoline is 26 inches and the height (from the top of the handle bar to the ground) is 25 inches. Therefore it is not huge but certainly big enough to struggle to find a space for it in a relatively small house!

The trampoline is very lightweight and easy for adults to pick up and move around but is sturdy when the child is playing on it. It has a plasticy surround around the bottom which covers up the metal legs to avoid accidents (it also makes it look better). The ends of the legs have rubber covers on to prevent it slipping on slippery flooring and around the edges of the trampoline are padded. There is a handle bar which is made of metal but in the middle of it (where the child holds on) is a rubber handle with letters embossed on it - I found this most helpful as most handles are covered by foam which usually just gets wrecked or bitten in five minutes. The height of the trampoline from the floor to where the child steps on is 9 inches. My daughter has never had any accidents on her trampoline. There is no doubt about it, it is a safe toy.

When I gave the trampoline to her she was over the moon and started using it straight away. Infact she used it every day for about 2 or 3 weeks. Then suddenly she just stopped using it and 3 months on rarely uses it (and I think will continue to rarely use it). I think she got bored with it because of the lack of bounce the trampoline actually has in it. As I mentioned earlier the trampoline works by friction and doesn't actually have any springs in it so the child has to work quite hard to bounce. I found this the main disadvantage of the trampoline - I know it's made for babies but even a tiny amount of bounce would have been nice (it is meant to be a trampoline afterall!).

I don't regret buying the Candy Floss trampoline, I just regret not buying it sooner. I believe if I brought it for my daughter when she turned one years old and was just learning to walk she would have enjoyed it a lot more and would have got a lot more use out of it. If you have a little girl that is approaching 1 I would recommend this product.

I plan to get her a new trampoline at the end of the year and this time I'll be able to get a her a big girls trampoline with some bounce in it ;]

Summary: Would have probably given it 4 stars if I'd have brought it for her earlier.