“The popularity of ball pits has increased in the general population since commercial restaurant chains installed them nationwide in the 1980s,” the study authors say
Kids love them.
In fact, my own children so much so that we would literally have all out battles trying to get them to leave once they had dived into one.
I am talking about ball pits – you know the ones you often find at local play-centres, filled to the bring with brightly coloured plastic balls. And some things that are less lovely-sounding, apparently…
Get ready to feel a little grossed out…
In a new study, researchers looked specifically at ball pits in children’s therapy centres – so in a healthcare setting where you’d expect that things would be pretty tidy.
But no. In fact, the findings were enough to make me feel a little pukey.
“The study found considerable microbial colonization in ball pits that were tested, including eight bacteria and one yeast that could cause disease,” Science Daily reports.
In fact, according to the report, each individual ball in the ball pit was absolutely teeming with bacteria, meaning, for children who are either so young their immune systems aren’t fully developed, or has compromised immunity for one reason or another, these pits are actually a really bad idea.
“Bacterial colonization was found to be as high as thousands of cells per ball, clearly demonstrating an increased potential for transmission of these organisms to patients and an increased possibility of infection.”
Yuck.
And let’s just regroup here. If balls in a ball pit at a therapy centre were that gross, let us just assume that the ones at your local play centre are, if possible, even more disgusting.
Here is more from the study:
“Ball pits are often contaminated with visible dirt, vomit, faeces, or urine providing an origin and permissive environmental factors for microbial contamination. Numerous types of bacteria have been identified in ball pits located in community settings.”
And how about cleaning? Apparently, this is far down the list of priorities for ball pit owners everywhere.
The study confirmed that ball pits may “go days or even weeks between cleanings, allowing time for microorganisms to accumulate and grow to levels capable of giving children infections and making them sick.”
Ready to rethink that ball pit, mama?
