![Inflatable bounces, bouncy castles and inflatable slides are essentially just big balloons that kids love to jump in, on, and off. The very form of inflatables suggests all the fun […]](https://humanfactors.blog.torontomu.ca/files/2014/06/inflatable-552x250.jpg "Inflatable bounces")
Inflatable bounces, bouncy castles and inflatable slides are essentially just big balloons that kids love to jump in, on, and off. The very form of inflatables suggests all the fun of trampolining, and all the safety of an airbag. It’s obvious how to use them — who needs instructions? Unfortunately, those instructions from the manufacturer contain critical information and warnings.
Inflatable bounces are subject to regulatory inspection in many jurisdictions, including Ontario (unless the bounce is rented ONLY to private renters), and inspectors will verify design and manufacturing to ensure non-flammable materials and proper condition, but inspectors are not present at every event. Operators and parents share responsibility to deliver safe fun experiences for children using bounces. The first step for parents is ensuring that the device has been inspected and licensed, and is operated responsibly.
Responsible inflatable device operators will secure the inflatable to the ground exactly as described in the instruction manual, without shortcuts and substitutions. The operators will monitor the tethers through the operating day to ensure they remain taut and properly secured through the continual movement of the bounce. Recognizing that even secure tethers will not resist strong winds, responsible operators discontinue operation in adverse weather. Responsible operators will supervise the children playing in the bounce, anticipating potentially dangerous manoeuvres like flipping and jumping head first down a slide, roughhousing, and jumping too enthusiastically, creating a bouncing surface that behaves differently than the child’s prediction, leading to falls, sprains, fractures, concussions. Parents should ensure their child has the cognitive skill to understand bouncing, and is not bouncing with older, bigger children who will create too fast a pace of bouncing play and have heavier bodies to collide with.
Parents may worry about being “that” parent, the wet blanket that spoils the fun, and some people believe that children should not be coddled, that testing boundaries is an important learning process, and that some bumps and bruises are healthy childhood experiences, and that the manouevres children attempt in a bounce are also practised in figure skating, gymnastics, and diving. These valid perspectives do not likely intend to suggest that no effort should be made to prevent foreseeable falls from heights of 25’ or more onto hard ground by leaning over for a look down, or falling from an overloaded slide tilting or tipping over, or being blown 300′ away in a gust of wind while enclosed only within a flexible shell. While no one ever reached the Olympics without challenging themselves and pushing boundaries under competent coaching and supervision, performing unsupervised flips and stunts can cross a different boundary, to paralysis or fatal injury. It is also important for parents to know that inflatable manufacturers have protected themselves by explicitly prohibiting these manoeuvres, and in many cases printing these rules on a label near the entrance to the bounce. In the event of serious or fatal injury, the accusation of non-compliance with the manufacturer’s manual will surely compound the misfortune of the injured and his or her family.
How do these injury-producing events occur? Unfortunately, inflatables are sometimes not operated by responsible operators. The bounce may be set up incorrectly, or not monitored to fix deficiencies that develop during the operating day, and operators may not intercept dangerous behaviour by bouncers who could injure themselves or others. Rental inflatables are key devices to watch. While the bounce may be in good condition, customers renting inflatables for events may not take the responsibilities as seriously as a knowledgeable device owner would, or may be juggling device operation with other event-hosting duties. Hosts would be well advised to consider hiring trained and experienced operators from the inflatable supplier.
Consumer grade toy inflatables are increasingly available to private purchasers, and these obviously come without trained operators. While these are not subject to regulatory inspection, they should have the appropriate standards compliance symbols. When parents buy one of these devices, they assume responsibility to become knowledgeable and to ensure diligent observation. Parents must read and understand the whole manual to discharge their duties as operators, otherwise an inflatable diligently secured to the lawn with 6″ stakes is no match for a gusty wind — exactly as warned in the owner’s manual. Some of the most important instructions in the manual cover unlikely events but, like sudden flat tires on the freeway, it is essential to know what to do and be able to recall and perform that response immediately when needed.
When parents ensure the bounce is licensed and properly operated, there is no reason for a child not to have fun on a well designed inflatable device.
Links to recent THRILL Lab media on inflatable accidents:
(Each is a clickable link.)
