Bounce houses, castles, moonwalks and other inflatable bouncers
are injuring U.S. children at "alarming" rates, according to a
new study. Months after pediatricians sounded the alarm on
trampoline injuries, a study from the Nov. 26 issue of
Pediatrics shows that the number of injuries from bouncy castles
and similar party fare has climbed 15-fold since 1995, causing
more than 5 injuries per every 100,000 American children. "The
medical and public health community has yet to provide
recommendations on the safe use of inflatable bouncers," study
author Dr. Gary A. Smith, director of the Center for Injury
Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital, who is
also a professor of pediatrics at The Ohio State University
College of Medicine, said in a written statement. "The growing
epidemic of inflatable bouncer injuries make it clear that it is
time to do so." Smith and colleagues analyzed records from the
National Electronic Injury Surveillance System database that
contains information on emergency depart