Bounce house! Just say it, even if you haven’t a clue what one is and somehow a FUN button is pressed on the inside… BOUNCE HOUSE…!!!

Be a kid again. Can you imagine feeling bored at a party where the main activity revolves around having full permission to bounce, jump, fall, throw yourself about, toss balls, slam against walls, slide, scream and tumble into piles with your friends? Can you imagine being a child and not being scolded but encouraged to do so? What a dream. But it gets better.

If you’re a beach kid that lives in the city and suddenly you have a Beach Jump House in your backyard! Or you’re crazy to be a fireman and suddenly, on your birthday, there’s a Fire Truck Jump House for you and your friends to play firemen games until you drop. Or you’re into fairytales and there, just for you, is your very own Ball Kingdom , Jump Castle, Magic Castle, Palace, Magical Kingdom, Princess Dreamland or Kings Castle Bounce House.

Perhaps you’re a kid who dreams of adventure and you can’t believe your eyes when a Rainforest Rapids Bounce House or a Jungle Bounce House or Bounce Tiger or Wild Reef Bounce House is your birthday present –with your own Water Park, slide and bouncing trampoline with river rapids and a jungle for you to conquer.

Or perhaps you look out your bedroom window on the day of your birthday and find a Bounce ‘N Slide Club House for you and your friends to share bouncing secrets. Maybe dad remembered you’re a futuristic kid and brought you a Bounce Rocket or a Moonwalker Bounce House. It won’t matter if there’s cake or balloons or presents because the party will a bouncing lot of fun!

If you’re a parent and want to put on a fantastic children’s party don’t underestimate the value of nothing more than JUMPING. You can hire clowns to get children to laugh, you can fill the house with balloons and expensive presents, you can order the most delicious ice-cream cakes and invite the coolest kids in the area and none of it will compare to the laughter and smiles and giddy excitement that one simple house of bounce will produce. The laughter will fill the air and your biggest problem will not be whether or not everyone has a smile on their face but that the gleeful children don’t work themselves into a frenzy of TOO MUCH FUN!

And what’s the cost of such childhood bounce house bliss?

That somewhat depends on where you live, what’s available and how much you want to spend.

• Will you use a bounce house rental service?
• Will bounce house rentals deliver and pick up in your area?
• How large a bounce house will you require?
• How many children will attend the party?
• Will you purchase a small bounce house or buy a large one for use at other parties as well?
• Can you find a bounce house for sale in your area or have it shipped from abroad?
• Do you want a bounce house trampoline, a water slide or a castle bounce house?

• Do you have a blower for an inflatable bounce house or will you have to purchase or rent one?

• Do you have a dolly to move it between uses?
• Is there electricity near where you want to set up the house or will you need to rent a generator?
• Will your backyard have space for two or more inflatable bounce houses?
• Is it nice enough weather to use an inflatable water slide?
• Is it winter and you’d prefer the children had an enclosed castle bounce house?
• What other party rental equipment will you need?

Any birthday party for kids can be expensive, and all the little nothings you choose can quickly add up. The benefit to planning a bounce party is that you can forget almost all other forms of entertainment and put the budget toward one focus – bouncing! There are two main ways to calculate your costs. One is using a bounce house rental service and the other is finding a bounce house for sale and buying it outright.

Bounce House Rental Checklist

• One thing you will want to check when renting a bounce house is that when the bounce house is delivered for your party it is clean. Since they are places where children tend to go a little wild, be sure there isn’t any nasty remains of a previous party, or better yet, check that the bounce house rental company guarantees their cleanliness and find out how they do this.
• Be sure that your fun bouncer for your child’s birthday party or the block party you are organizing will be happy and safe. If the bouncer is for a company picnic, a fundraiser or a small festival, be sure you will have enough adult supervision.
• If it is for a family reunion, BBQ or private function, be sure the adults are notified in advance that there will be a bounce house, inflatable castle, jumparoo or moonwalk, or a water slide, and that it may be a little different than other types of parties they may have attended.
• Please be sure to have enough space and remember that a bounce house is usually 15 feet by 15 feet and if it has a slide will require 30 feet for the slide area. These rentals are not ideal for small backyards.

There are some inflatable slides that are 25 feet long and 11 feet wide, but they are quite tall at about 18 feet and so usually must be in a totally open space. Minimum slide space needed is around 30×15 and 24 feet overhead.

• Make sure the area where the bouncer is to be inflated is smooth. Grass is fine, in fact the best. Cement is okay too, but if unfinished it may be abrasive and so may need to be covered with a carpet or indoor-outdoor runners or something to protect the bouncer from wear.

How many Children can bounce at Once?

In a standard rental bounce house that is 15 X 15 it is reasonable to allow about 10 eight year old children to bounce at once. For older children upwards of 9 years old, you will allow only about 6 to bounce at any one time. Young teens are also okay, but no more than 4 or 5 at once. That is why some people rent two or more bounce houses so there isn’t a line-up.

Bounce House Safety

There are some safety rules that bounce house rental companies will explain to you in detail, however inflatable bounce houses are designed for an even distribution of weight and size and therefore the same size of children regardless of their ages should bounce together. There are some party bouncing statistics that say that inflatable houses and castles and moonwalks can withstand more girls and toddlers than boys.

However, even if the weight restrictions and size and capacity suggestions didn’t exist, you’d want to divide the bouncing time into 10 or 15 minutes blocks so the children don’t overheat and get fatigued too quickly. There are also some games that can be played to ease the crazy throwing and slamming that may otherwise occur.

What keeps the inflatable bouncer standing? Does the air leak out?

It is not an issue of air leaking out of a bounce house because an inflatable bouncer is connected to a blower and this blower will usually remain running at all times while children are bouncing. Only when you wish to stop bounce activity can it be turned off.

How safe is a castle bounce house, trampoline or slide?

Children are throwing themselves around and jumping crazily inside a house made of air. It is logical that they may bang into each other, bump heads and receive bruises and scrapes. However, if the children do not have sharp objects or shoes or jewelry or any other objects inside the house of bounce then chances are there will be few troubles or safety issues. The key is parental or adult supervision.

An inflatable bounce house is NOT a place to put the children so you can go off and do your own thing. Stay nearby and watch and laugh with the children and if anyone gets too crazy give a warning and take breaks every 15 minutes or so and that should make for a happier bouncing experience for all concerned.

Can Adults Bounce in Inflatable Bounce Houses?

The only firm rule that exists for all bounce houses is one that is very unfortunate. There are no adults allowed. People over 16 should not attempt to bounce. Eight to ten is the ideal age for the large bounce houses. It’s not because an adult will damage a bounce house and the bounce rental agencies are protecting their property, in fact it’s the adult that may hurt himself or herself and not the bouncer. Bouncers are for children or young teens.