Bounce houses: Fun for kids – but dangerous?

A new report is shedding light on the safety of bounce houses which have become popular at events and birthday parties.

According to the study by Dr. Gary Smith from Nationwide Children’s Hospital, in 2010 on average 31 children were taken to the emergency room each day nation wide with injuries traced to the inflatable play houses. That breaks down to about 1 child every 45 minutes.

With popularity rising so are the number of injuries.

“We don’t let any equipment out of our facility without a trained and certified person to with it,” said Alissa Guthrie, the owner of Bouncing off the Wall in Bend.

She says parents who plan to rent any sort of bounce house needs to do their homework before choosing a company.

“Definitely do your homework,” said Guthrie. “It’s not as easy as calling up a company and saying ‘hey we want you for a backyard party this weekend, you’re the cheapest come on out.”

Guthrie says to determine if a company has a good reputation and is safe, check and see if they send a certified operator with the equipment. Ask about the insurance policy the company has. The policies are not cheap and are hard to get if the shop hasn’t been in business very long or has a sub-par safety record.

“That’s our number one concern it we can’t keep kids safe we don’t need to be in business anymore,” said Guthrie.

For more on the study, click here.