Study reveals bounce house injuries soaring among children as tens of …

An estimated 30 children are treated in emergency rooms every day
In 2010 nearly 11,000 children received emergency-room treatment for bounce house injuries – up from less than 1,000 in 1995

By
Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED:

06:50 GMT, 26 November 2012

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UPDATED:

06:57 GMT, 26 November 2012

Tens of thousands of children are being injured annually by bounce houses according to a new U.S. study that finds the number of injuries soaring nearly 15-fold in recent years.

Crowding inside and jumping up and down children are often sent dangerously flying into the air and in some rare cases that are caught on camera, the houses are too.

National numbers suggest 30 children a day are treated in emergency rooms for broken bones, sprains, cuts and concussions from bounce house accidents according to the new study released on Monday.

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Accidents soaring: A nationwide study has found injuries from inflatable bounce houses soaring 15-fold in recent years as children bounce on top of one another, outside the house or in some cases, the house blows away

Most involve children falling inside or out of the inflated playthings, and many children get hurt when they collide with other bouncing kids.

The number of children aged 17 and younger receiving emergency-room treatment for bounce house injuries has climbed along with the popularity of bounce houses – from fewer than 1,000 in 1995 to nearly 11,000 in 2010.

That’s a 15-fold increase, and a doubling just since 2008.

‘I was surprised by the number, especially by the rapid increase in the number of injuries,’ said lead author Dr. Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

Amusement parks and fairs have bounce houses, and the playthings can also be rented or purchased for home use.

Bounce house seen blown away on UCF campus

Scary sight: Videos capturing bounce houses blown away by strong winds, like this one on the University of Central Florida’s campus, are becoming more and more prevalent along with the number of hospitalizations

Airborne: Two bounce houses are seen after blown into a road, among several others caught on camera flying through the air along an unidentified roadway

Mr Smith and colleagues analyzed national surveillance data on ER treatment for nonfatal injuries linked with bounce houses, maintained by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Their study was published online on Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

Only about 3 per cent of children were hospitalized, mostly for broken bones. More than one-third of the injuries were in children aged 5 and younger.

The safety commission recommends against letting children younger than 6 use full-size trampolines, and Mr Smith said barring kids that young from even smaller, home-use bounce houses would make sense.

‘There is no evidence that the size or location of an inflatable bouncer affects the injury risk,’ he said.

Other recommendations, often listed in
manufacturers’ instruction pamphlets, include not overloading bounce
houses with too many kids and not allowing young children to bounce with
much older, heavier kids or adults, said Laura Woodburn, a spokeswoman
for the National Association of Amusement Ride Safety Officials.

National numbers suggest 30 children a day are treated in emergency rooms for broken bones, sprains, cuts and concussions from bounce house accidents.

Hospitalization: This filmed incident in November of 2011 captured a bounce house ripped from the lawn and flown into the air while injuring 13 people seriously enough to be taken to area hospitals

Easy accident: The bounce houses, one shaped like a castle pictured, are easily obtainable for rent or purchase allowing injuries to climb along with their popularity

The study didn’t include deaths, but some accidents are fatal.

Separate data from the product safety commission show four bounce house deaths from 2003 to 2007, all involving children striking their heads on a hard surface.

Several nonfatal accidents occurred last year when bounce houses collapsed or were lifted by high winds.

A group that issues voluntary industry standards says bounce houses should be supervised by trained operators and recommends that bouncers be prohibited from doing flips and purposefully colliding with others, the study authors noted.

Bounce house injuries are similar to those linked with trampolines, and the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended against using trampolines at home. Policymakers should consider whether bounce houses warrant similar precautions, the authors said.

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