Bounce House Injuries Send An Increasing Number Of Children To The Emergency Room
You see them at every children's birthday party these days - Those infamous, multi-colored, inflatable bounce houses. And with their growing popularity has come an increase in reported injuries caused by them.
The last time a reputable study was done on bounce-house-related injuries was 1995. The number of injuries in 2012 was 15-times what they were 17 years ago.
Researchers, who published their findings in the journal Pediatrics, said there are about five bounce house-related injuries per 100,000 U.S. children every year.
That's far less than the estimated 31 trampoline-related injuries per 100,000 U.S. children reported in 2009, but the study's lead author says the new findings should make people take notice.
The rise in injuries is attributed to the growing popularity of the toys, as bounce-houses are more common today than they were when the other research study was done.
So - what can parents do to help prevent the potential for injury? The easy answer is to not allow your child to participate in bounce-house fun. Realizing that that probably isn't going to work, parents are urged to limit the use to children 6 years or older, reduce the total number of children inside of the bounce-house - with the theory that there would be less potential for injury with less children bouncing around at the same time, and always have an adult present to supervise.
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