Bounce House Safety Rules Every Parent Should Know
Inflatables are safe when they are supervised and badly unsafe when they are not. Almost every injury we hear about in this industry traces back to the same handful of causes, and all of them are preventable by one adult paying attention. Here is the short list worth reading before your party.
One adult, watching, the whole time
Not a teenager. Not an adult who is inside getting the cake. Someone 18 or older whose job for that stretch of the party is watching the inflatable. This is the single biggest factor in whether a party goes well, and it is also a requirement of your rental agreement.
Group kids by size
The most common injury is a small child getting landed on by a much bigger one. Do not let a five year old and a twelve year old jump at the same time. Rotate by age group in shifts of 15 or 20 minutes. Kids will complain for about 30 seconds and then forget.
Limit how many are in at once
Every unit has a rider limit and it is lower than you think. A crowded bounce house is where collisions happen. If kids are bumping into each other constantly rather than occasionally, there are too many in there.
The empty pockets rule
- No shoes, ever
- No glasses, jewelry, or anything in pockets
- No food, drinks, gum or candy inside
- No silly string, confetti, or face paint anywhere near the vinyl
- No sharp objects, and that includes hair clips
Silly string deserves special mention. It permanently stains inflatable vinyl and no amount of cleaning gets it out. If it appears at your party, keep it far away from the unit.
No flips, no climbing the walls
Flips and somersaults are how necks get hurt. Climbing the exterior walls or the slide surface is how kids fall from height. Both of these need to be a firm no from the start, because once one kid does it the rest follow within a minute.
Watch the weather and the wind
Wind is the real danger with inflatables, more than rain. If sustained wind picks up past about 15 to 20 miles per hour, everyone comes out and the unit gets deflated. Do not wait to see how it develops. Lightning anywhere in the area means the same thing, immediately.
If the power goes out or the blower stops for any reason, get everyone out calmly right away. The unit will deflate slowly, not instantly, so there is time, but do not let kids keep playing in a sagging inflatable.
Wet slide extras
On a wet slide, one rider at a time down each lane, feet first, sitting or lying on their back. No head first, no standing, no going down two at a time. The splash pool at the bottom needs to be clear before the next kid goes.
We set it up right, you keep it safe
We anchor every unit properly, we inspect and clean before every rental, and we walk you through the rules at delivery. What happens over the next several hours is on the adults at the party. Take it seriously and everyone goes home happy.