Study raises questions on inflatables' safety

Cole Lichenstein, 2, of Bourg, enjoys a bounce house Wednesday in Thibodaux.

Abby Tabor/Staff
Published: Wednesday, November 28, 2012 at 8:55 p.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, November 28, 2012 at 8:55 p.m.

A nationwide study questions the safety of bounce houses, but local businesses that provide the popular inflatables said they can be safe if the rules are followed.

The study published this week in the journal Pediatrics found the number of injuries relating to bounce houses have soared in recent years as their popularity grew. Injuries went from fewer than 1,000 in 1995 to nearly 11,000 in 2010. That's a 15-fold increase and has doubled just since 2008.

The numbers suggest 30 children, ages 17 and younger, are treated each day in emergency rooms for broken bones, sprains, cuts and concussions from bounce house accidents. This is mainly because of the children falling inside or outside of the bounce house or colliding with other bouncing kids.

But what's a hit at children's birthday parties, festivals and other events hasn't been a big issue around here.

Simon LeBlanc, co-owner of Bounce n' Around, a party rental company that offers bounce houses in Houma, said he has never had problems with children getting injured using the company's equipment.

“It's not fair to say as far as what we do. I really couldn't tell you of one incident,” he said. “I mean you will have occasions where if kids don't follow the rules they will hurt themselves or if parents don't oversee them. It's a really safe product.”

But LeBlanc, who has been in business with his partners a little more than four years, doesn't deny there are possibilities children can get hurt in bounce houses. It's just never been brought to his attention.

“Now I can't say a kid didn't bump heads or something minor like that, but a parent never brought it to our attention,” he said.

Sometimes children may get too excited and accidently or purposely bump into one another, but there are ways to prevent these things.

“It's all about monitoring,” said Jason Champagen, owner of The Party Pad in Thibodaux. “You don't want a 200-pound person playing with a 50-pound person.”

The Party Pad is a place where children can go to enjoy many games and play areas, including bounce houses.

“I have different play areas for different age groups. They want you to be in the same age and weight bracket. We abide by those rules,” Champagen said.

Champagen said he has never had any accidents at his place but found other companies have accidents when they mix weight groups or allow older children to play with younger children.

“If that 200-pound person falls on a 50-pound person, they will get hurt,” he said.

LeBlanc said there are rules to follow.

“It's usually a page of rules that is on the rental agreement. We usually tear that off and ask customers to please read over it. That way they will have a safe day and nobody will get hurt,” he said.

LeBlanc also sends his workers out to make sure the bounce houses are secure and staked down properly to avoid wind hazards.

“If there are high winds or bad weather, we generally don't rent out. We usually don't take that risk of someone getting hurt. It's just not worth it,” he said.

LeBlanc makes sure his equipment is in top shape when customers come to rent. The bounce houses are cleaned after each use and repaired if needed.

The majority of area parents responding on Facebook said they have never experienced major problems with their children playing in bounce houses and agreed having an adult oversee the kids is the best thing to do.

“When you rent bounce houses, parents have to monitor the children's behavior in them. (The bounce houses) are not babysitters. The bounce house doesn't cause the injuries — the children playing rough and not listening to the safety instructions on them do,” said Paul Rhodes of Houma.

Houma resident Jared Eagle agreed that some children may experience minor bruising. But it's nothing that wouldn't happen to them if they were participating in some other activity.

“Kids get hurt on bicycles, skateboards, swing sets, trampolines, and many other things. If you stopped getting them stuff that they can get hurt on, they would never have any fun,” he said.



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