ATHENS, Georgia (KRON) — A new study has found heat safety problems in bounce houses can put children in danger.
Researchers from the University of Georgia studied, over 5-hour periods, the temperatures inside a bounce house compared to the outside.
They found that temperatures inside the bounce house were consistently higher. On hotter days, the temperature can jump between four and seven degrees, according to the study.
“This research is a preliminary look at something that no one had really examined in the published literature,” said Marshall Shepherd, who is an UGA Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of Geography and Atmospheric Sciences and co-author on the study. “I knew it was a problem when I watched my child in one on a particularly hot day and our early findings confirmed my suspicions. Hopefully it makes parents more aware of something they probably overlooked.”
Scientists said illnesses like heat stroke can potentially affect children playing in bounce houses, according to a co-author of the study.