Why Do Kids Love Jumping Castles?
It is no surprise to many of us adults, both parents and non-parents, that kids, just love jumping
castles. These inflatable structures attract children like ducks are drawn to water. A kid can spot a
bouncy castle from a long way away. I don’t know if it is the bright colour or something in their DNA,
but they just spot them straight away. The look on their faces immediately brightens and they are
focused in an entirely new manner. Impending excitement is in the air and their noses twitch in
anticipation. I have, in all my years, never seen a child indifferent to the charms of a crowded
jumping castle, which is alive with laughing children.
Colourful Jumping Castles Stand Out
How do I get on and how do I get to it? These questions are paramount in their minds, as we
approach the party or event. It may be a fair or a festival of some kind, or it may be a shopping
centre extravaganza, whatever, the colourful jumping castle stands out like a beacon of pleasure. A
lighthouse flashing warnings of bouncing good times directly ahead. My children are squirming in
their car seats, impatient to get out and get on. Every other part of the party fades into the
background before the bulgy, bouncy castle.
A Kid Can Jump & Fall in Harmless Fun
There is something about being able to throw your body around in pure glee, without the harsh
consequences of gravity and solid surfaces. A kid can jump amd fall in harmless fun, again and again.
He or she can take in huge gulps of air and scream in ecstasy, as their form is flung back from the
forgiving walls. It is like all the strictures and rules of ordinary reality are rolled back for these
moments of bliss. Kids are free from the boring physics, which underpin our everyday lives, for those
minutes and hours they inhabit their jumping castle.
Children Spend More Time on Computers
As human beings in the 21C, we live in an increasingly digitalised world. This means that our children
spend more time on computers and looking into screens, than they do having physical fun.
Technology is a blessing and a curse, in many ways, sure it saves us time on so many applications,
but it also demands an unhealthy sedentary lifestyle. Sitting down, typing and staring into countless
screens is not a healthy occupation for children or adults. Getting outside and having some real fun
is. Using their bodies to bounce around and laugh is, also, a better thing to do with their time.
Childhood is Supposed to Be a Time of Innocence
It is easy to forget that childhood is supposed to be a time of innocence. Our kids are growing up so
fast these days and I do not know if that is being led by all this super-fast technology. Children are on
social media platforms dealing with cyber bullies and increased peer group pressure. Every child has
a mobile phone from an early age. The world is a far more complex place than it used to be before
all this innovation.
Put Some Bounce Back into the Lives of Children
Perhaps, it is time to put some bounce back into the lives of children? Time to enjoy some simple
physical pleasures again. Families have a responsibility to ensure that recreational time is good for
young bodies and minds. It is too easy to switch on the TV, let them play computer games on their
devices for hours on end, and before you know it the day is over, and it is time for pizza. Where has
the time gone and the opportunity to engage with the physical world? Have those kids burnt up any
kilojoules, before the carbohydrate rich dinner and sugary drinks hit them? Bouncing is good
exercise for human beings of all ages. A jumping castle may not be the panacea for the modern age,
but it surely deserves a place in the lives of children and families for all those right reasons.
