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Child injury related to inflatable ‘bouncy / jumping castles'

July 2008  

Over the ten-year period January 1997 to December 2006 there were 480 recorded presentations to emergency departments in Victoria for injuries in children aged 0-14 related to inflatable amusement devices, an average of 48 per year.

Frequency: The increase in presentations each year (visible in Table 1 below) is likely due to an increase in the number of Victorian hospitals contributing injury data over the period and continued improvements in the quality of data recording. However an increase in the popularity of bouncy/jumping castles over this time period over this time may have also contributed.

Table 1: Injuries associated with inflatable castles by year (ages 0 to 14)

Year

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

Total:

Frequency

12

14

26

33

44

43

63

71

78

96

480

Percentage

3%

3%

5%

7%

9%

9%

13%

15%

16%

20%

100%

Source: VEMD, Jan 1996 to Dec 2006

Gender: Males were more frequently involved than females. (54% male vs. 46% female).

Source: VEMD, Jan 1996 to Dec 2006
Figure 1: Injuries related to inflatable castles by age

Age: Two thirds of cases occurred among children aged 2-8 years. One-year-olds and those aged thirteen and over were least involved. No cases were identified involving infants less than one year old.

Place of occurrence: As can be seen in figure 2, half of all cases occurred in a location identified as a ‘place of recreation' such as parks or fairgrounds (49%), while one fifth occurred at home (19%). Only a small proportion occurred in a ‘trade or service area' such as a shop or restaurant (3%). Other or unspecified locations accounted for the remaining 28% of cases.

Cause: Falls caused of 68% of injuries, while collisions with another person (13%) or with an object (6%) were also major causes.

Injury type: Over two thirds of injuries were either fractures (38%) or sprains/strains (33%). Bruises and abrasions (6%), open wounds (4%) and injuries to muscles or tendons (4%) were less common.


Source: VEMD, Jan 1996 to Dec 2006
Figure 2: Place of occurrence of injuries
related to inflatable castles

Body site: The most commonly injured areas of the body were the elbow (14%), ankle (12%), feet (10%), forearm (10%) and wrist (7%).

Discharge status: Most injured children were discharged to home directly from the emergency department (86%). However in ten percent of cases the injured child required further observation, admission to a ward or transfer to another hospital.

Injury prevention: To minimise the risk of injury, supervise children closely at all times while there are on a bouncy castle. Never allow older children to jump at the same time as younger children and restrict the number of children allowed on at once to limit collisions.

Make sure the device is anchored securely and there are no sharp objects in the vicinity. Check the jumping castle for any wear and tear that could cause it to deflate. Use safely mats at the entrance/exit and avoid jumping on wet or windy days. When hiring a castle, ensure the operators are experienced with setting up the equipment and that it conforms to the Australian standard (AS 3533.4.1).

Further information: For further information on preventing child injury related to inflatable amusement devices, contact Kidsafe Victoria on (03) 9251 7725 or view their media release at www.kidsafevic.com.au/index.php/News-Media/

Data source: Victorian Emergency Minimum Dataset (VEMD) January 1997 – December 2006 (10 years)
Search Strategy: Child injury associated with inflatable jumping or bouncy castles were identified by searching the VEMD for cases using the text term "castle" contained in the 250 character 'Description of Injury Event' field. These narratives were checked and any irrelevant cases were excluded from the dataset prior to analysis.