Bouncer: Operate
Entrances and Exits
On bounce houses, one primary area of concern is the entrance and exit. Many times these are the same area, and because they are, you can easily have collisions. The participants in line are usually very excited to enter and often inch as close to the entrance as possible. This can be a serious safety concern when the participants inside decide to quickly exit the unit. It is always best to keep those in line at a reasonable distance from the entrances and exits.
Often bounce houses have inflated steps or landing pads at the entrances or exits. While it may seem like a great idea to play on this inflated step while waiting, this can be dangerous. First it puts them too near to the exit and potential collisions. Secondly, it is very common and easy to slip, fall, or bounce off of the step onto the hard ground, into other participants, into the warning sign, or into other items surrounding the inflatable.
Multiple Participants
Bounce houses can often accommodate multiple participants at one time. It is very important for these participants to be of similar size, weight, and motor skill ability. This will enable them to control themselves enough to not collide while bouncing. It will also ensure that if they do collide that there will not be a weaker person that gets excessively hurt. There have been documented instances when larger participants have very seriously hurt and even killed smaller participants simply by falling on them.
The allowed number of participants in a bounce house at one time is based on a number of factors including the size of the bounce house, the manufacturer’s specifications, and the size and aggressiveness of the participants. All of these items need considered to maintain safe operation of your bounce house. For a 20’ x 20’ bounce house, it is commonly accepted that no more than six 12 year olds should be in the unit at once. However, consult your manufacturer’s limits first and further reduce the number of participants if you feel they are too aggressive or large.
As with most inflatables, never allow flips. The chance for injury to their head, neck, or back is too great. When they enter the inflatable, make sure you tell them not to flip.
Deflation
If the bounce house loses proper inflation pressure, instruct the participants to slowly and carefully exit the unit. If the bounce house continues to deflate and collapse on the participants, hold the entrance open to help them exit. If they are having difficulty, you may need to enter the deflated unit, hold up the ceiling, and instruct the participants to exit. Some units also have access panels in the ceilings that you can open to aid in the participants exit.
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