Inflatable amusements, or bouncy houses as they are more commonly known, are a major magnet for children at any party, or carnival. However, the number of injuries involving children and these bouncy houses has been on the increase.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has released a report based on an analysis of statistics between 2003 and 2013. The statistics find an estimated 113,272 injuries resulting from bouncy house accidents during this 10- year period. More than 90% of the injuries were associated with moon bounces. Between 2011 and 2013, approximately 60% of the injuries involved children between the ages of four and 15. Apart from these injuries, there were 12 fatalities linked to bouncy houses reported to the Consumer Product Safety Commission between 2003 and 2013.
These injuries are not new, but they have only recently garnered attention because the numbers seem to be increasing. In 2015 alone, there were several serious accidents in Colorado, and New York. In one incident, a bouncy house was blown by strong gusts of wind across a field.
In 2012, the Center for Injury Research and Policy published a report of such injuries in the Pediatrics Journal, and found that there had been a 15-fold increase in the number of such injuries between 1995 and 2010.
Part of the reason for this increase in injuries is the fact the bouncy houses have simply become more popular with parents. Another reason is that many of these bouncy houses now come in do-it-yourself kits, that parents and other adults can assemble on their own. Mistakes made while assembling a kit can prove devastating.
