Do you have a child’s birthday, holiday or long summer vacation ahead of you? If we were best friends than we would be chatting on my couch with a plate of something full of chocolate while kids raced around us and I’d convince you to buy a bounce house for your family. The year we got a bounce house for our kids for Christmas was by far one of our best investments and most well-spent gift money that year. I hate wasting money on frivolous toys for obligatory occasions when the purchase is more for the idea of simply having something to give than really wanting to make the purchase. All of my small purchases for these types of occasions always add up to be more than I wanted to spend so for this particular Christmas we decided to be more purposeful with our gift purchases. We pooled the money that would usually go towards buying half-loved toys that were quickly lost, broken or forgotten and we bought a bounce house. BEST PURCHASE EVER! It has been years since that Christmas and we still love pulling out the bounce house for numerous occasions. I’m sure our families are different so your reasons may not be the same as ours, however, if it helps in your decision process, here are fourteen reasons why we love our bounce house.
- Energy out! This is probably the number one reason why, as a parent, we pull out the bounce house. Sometimes no hallway or playroom seems big enough to contain the amount of energy these little ones can store in their tiny bones. On those days when they are running and playing and making messes a hundred miles a minute- the bounce house can seriously save my mom sanity! It is completely different than any of their other toys so it is bound to keep their attention for long enough for me to get my work done and they absolutely love it! Physically, it takes a lot of energy to keep bouncing or sliding and climbing back up.
It’s screen-free! I’ll be the first to admit how easy it is to turn to screens for help as a mom. Sometimes it seems like the only way to get a moment of peace or sanity and it’s so so easy! However, both as a mom and as an elementary school teacher I have seen first hand how the amount of screen time in a child’s day has a direct impact on so many important growing milestones both socially and academically. In so many ways it can be a very real battle of mom guilt revolving around the personal rewards of screen time versus the benefits of limiting screen time. That’s a topic for another website but the simple fact that a bounce house is a screen-free activity for my kiddos is a huge bonus for me! Setting up our bounce house inside can sometimes be easier than finding our lost iPad in a cluttered playroom anyways!- Teaches Cooperative Play– Because of the simple dynamics of how a bounce house works- it practically demands cooperative play. It is very hard to play on a bounce house completely independently. For example, if my daughter is on one side of the bounce house collecting plastic balls and my son is on the other end seeing how high he can jump- it is impossible for the jumping not to send her plastic toys flying in the air. It won’t take long for them to realize that combining their ideas into a new game that they play together to see how to get the balls to fly higher is much more fun! Even just bouncing next to another person on a bounce house affects each other so it leads to some fun cooperative games on its own.
- Grows with their age– I LOVE THIS REASON! I learned early on how expensive toys and games can be if you are constantly buying ones that specifically fit their age. In the first year, we were buying teething toys that they would grow out of in a matter of a month only to need an exersaucer for development and then a door jumper and a walker toy and then and then… they grow out of those toys so fast! We quickly learned the value of toys that grow with their age and started investing in things that would be loved for a long time. We bought our first bounce house a few years ago for their Christmas present when they were barely 2 and 4. Now they are almost 5 and 7 and they still love it! Obviously, they play with it in different ways now than they did at first but with no additional cost or investment from us- it is the exact same toy being loved years later! Toys like that are worth every cent to me!
“Mom win” with their friends– In our house, a “mom-win” is defined as those times that I completely lucked out to have something that delivered some joyous smiles without much effort on my part. For example, when I happened to buy an extra box of popsicles last week so now the unexpected neighborhood kids joining their playdate at the last minute can have one too or the leftover party favors I never put away make the perfect addition to their tea party just by chance. Have you ever been there? It feels like a winning shot. Somedays it can take a lot of work to get an appreciative smile that makes you feel like Wonder Woman, so when you get one by pure luck or chance- it’s simply awesome. That, my friends, is what it feels like to pull out the bounce house on a regular ‘ole Monday afternoon playdate. It’s Regular Mom to Cool Mom in seconds.- Cheaper than a Membership– Do you live somewhere that has a bunch of options for kid activities right down the street? I’m jealous. We don’t have a ton of options where we live, however, every time we visit someplace with those awesome places it makes a serious dent in our budget. Whether it’s a kids museum, aquarium, zoo or jump center, the admission for a family of four a few times or price of a season pass/or membership often well surpasses the one-time cost of a bounce house purchase. Not to mention that you don’t have to leave the comfort of your pajamas in order for them to play! You also don’t have to worry about taking turns in line with a bunch of other kids! You may even be able to get some dishes done or take a blessed quiet shower while they play (although, of course, this isn’t guaranteed and the dishes are definitely not required!)
- Multi-Functional– Not only does a bounce house have entertainment in store for a variety of ages, but there are so many different ways to use it! The two main ones being indoors or outdoors. These two experiences lead to completely different ways to play with the bounce house. When we use it inside there are often pillow and blankets and stuffed animals involved but when we are outside there is often basketballs and more active games to utilize all the space that the backyard allows. When it’s outside the kids are able to run around it and set up obstacle courses and races with it. Check out our other blog post for a full list of games to play with your bounce house. Once the bounce house is set up outside, the option of adding water adds a whole new element of fun to the party. By adding water beads or water balloons, the same bounce house becomes a whole new playground. Can you think of a single other toy purchase that can be used in so many different ways?
- Encourages Creativity- Maybe it’s the teacher in me but I detest toys where there is only one right way to play with it. I’d much rather invest in some kind of building toys that may take a little imagination and exploration to figure out how to make it into whatever they want it to be and then have it broken down and used again to construct something else. That’s what I love about our bounce house. There are several different ways to explore and imagine with it. As long as they are being safe, there is no “wrong” way to jump and play on it. It can be a science experiment on cause and effect to get objects to fly higher when you bounce on the adjacent side or a space ship to imagine in or a cozy bouncy fort to snuggle up in to read. It can test their balance and athleticism in a whole new way while they play common games like tag or dodge ball. The possibilities are endless and by its very nature with few other toys like it, creativity and imagination are inevitable.
Long Winter Activity– I realize that this reason may not apply to everyone but it is such a huge factor for us that it is hard for me to leave out. We live in a very cold climate, Idaho, where playing outside is only possible for maybe 6 months out of the year without layers and layers of coats, hats, gloves, coats and then sometimes a snowsuit on top of all that. Being stuck indoors with little ones for months is HARD. Even if you have multiple options for indoor play places around you, there is something to be said about being able to inflate your own playground in the comfort of your own living room.- Makes Every Party ( or playdate) Better– Imagine the difference between a party invite arriving at your house that says: “Come join us for Food and Games!” versus one that says “ Come join us for Food and Games including an inflatable Bounce House!” It just makes every party more exciting! There is something about a bounce house that makes us think of a festival, fair or carousel rides- it just brings excitement. The next time your child wants to throw an awesome birthday party, you won’t have to break the bank with party favors and gadgets that always end up in the trash or coordinating and paying to rent a bounce house when you can just pull out your own!
However, it’s not just parties, our bounce house is so easy to set up in our house that we have pulled it out just when friends come over to play. It has the same effect on a playdate as it does to a party: it’s bound to bring the excitement!A few months ago I was put in charge of a last minute babysitting activity for about 25 kids in a large gymnasium. They would all be different ages varying from 13 months to 12 years old. Needless to say, I was a bit overwhelmed with how to keep these kids busy and happy (while keeping my sanity intact) for a few hours with only a few days to prepare and not much of a budget. Our bounce house was a lifesaver! When parents walked into the gym to drop their children off and saw the bounce house inflated and a handful of other simple activities scattered around the room it completely looked like their kids were in for a treat! It also helped that the kids ran excitedly in, all anxious to try to bounce house. - Health Benefits: The health benefits of jumping on a bounce house are incredible for children. The physical benefits alone are amazing, however, research has shown that this type of physical activity can also dramatically improve their emotional and mental health as well. Keeping your kids active can help prevent numerous illnesses as well as increasing social confidence, anxiety resilience and their mental ability to focus on tasks or homework. Don’t take my word for it, check out this article written by our guest author and professor of health and wellness that goes into more specific details about the health benefits of a bounce house.
- Space Efficient –We love toys that can be collapsed and stored! No matter how many times we try, it’s hardly realistic to keep all the toys in one room. There are bound to be toys that are made for the tub or only work on your magnetic fridge etc. Despite the frustration, we have learned that at least in our house – you win some and you lose some but when something can be broken down and stored away we love it even more! Not only do my husband and I enjoy this, but the kids seem to enjoy the toy more as well. There is something about seeing a toy as a permanent fixture in a room that makes it that much less appealing to the kids and something about pulling it out of storage that makes it feel like Christmas. Our bounce house meets all of these criteria and we love it!
Independent play– I’m aware that not all parents struggle to teach their kids to play independently. I have watched in complete awe as other children will run off and entertain themselves. Unfortunately, despite all my efforts and research and mini-lessons… it is rare to find my kids playing happily without me close by.Let me paint you a quick picture in hopes that someone out there will be able to relate. I received some great advice that my sister-in-law would set a timer to tell her children that the first timer meant they played by themselves and then when the timer went off it meant that Mommy would come and play until it was her turn again. With high hopes, I tried it with my kids and escaped to my freedom to clean my kitchen while they played independently at the limit only of the timer. Only about seconds later my daughter ran excitedly into the kitchen and exclaimed how well she understood our new game. “Mom! Come watch how well I am playing all by myself!!!” Yep, she didn’t quite understand the concept.You can imagine how “disappointed” we were that “bummer! Adults aren’t allowed to play on the bounce house at the same time as kids!” There are tons of ways that adults can still interact with kids while they play but for us, it can be a great way to teach them to create and play on their own.- Durability– I’m sure if you read enough Amazon reviews you will find a person that bought a bounce house and it broke on them the next day. However, that has simply not been our experience. This is the bounce house we have loved for years and it has survived some pretty rough play by our own kids and also when we have inflated it for other children. It has maintained great condition! I remember when my husband very first mentioned the idea of buying a bounce house, I envisioned an overpriced balloon and how easily balloons pop in our house. If you are reading this then you have probably done more research than I had at the time but I remember being so relieved that bounce houses have multiple holes built into the inflatables on purpose! The blower that normally comes with the machine is constantly running and the structure of the bounce house is made so that it is continually inflated by constant air flow! Imagine a balloon being constantly filled! The bounce house is also made of high-quality plastic that is extremely durable (much better than a balloon!) Check out the research I did to find out exactly what bounce houses are made out of here to calm any further concerns.