Hellobee Boards

Nope - kids love them!!! I've been before and LO has been to chuck e cheese and Dave and busters and I don't recall her getting sick after. Knock on wood I didn't just jinx us!

But I am vigilant about wiping their hands with wipes often and especially before eating, after leaving and a good hand washing when we get home!

I think those places aren't the most sanitary, but if you wash your kid's hands frequently and keep them from doing anything gross (like licking the bounce house), you should be good. I wouldn't skip a birthday party just because it was at an indoor party place. Most kids have a blast at those parties!

Nope, we had his party at one of those places and everyone had a ton of fun. He's in daycare though and exposed to pretty much everything anyway. I don't think you can expect kids to live in a germ free bubble.

Couldn't be any worse than the germ planet that is a daycare. If she survives there, she'll be okay at an indoor play place. Plus, her birthday is in the winter so that is our only option for parties if we don't want to always have it at our house.

I would take into account the trip you have planned. I wouldn't avoid the parties in general, though I would be chasing LO with antibacterial hand wipes and washing hands constantly.

If we had a trip or something special coming up, I might not attend to avoid getting sick. It's just the worst to travel and have a sick LO or be sick yourself. Too much has gone into a trip to risk it IMO. But LO is also not in daycare or school, so she hasn't been constantly sick and building immunity?

No, there are germs everywhere. I wouldn't avoid something fun in fear of them.

My child LOVES going to those places and we attend many of the indoor party places that we are invited to. DD is 2 and has never gotten sick from a party like that before. The 3 times that she has gotten really sick were from family gatherings, from a sick cousin or family member. I guess family members sometimes think they have a free pass to attend family events even if that person is ill and contagious.

Nope, LO #1 loves what we call "bouncy castle." I went into labor at one on Memorial Day. For Father's Day, we returned with our newborn for a jump.

I'll be the voice of dissent: I avoid those places like the plague (although you can find that particular germ in the NYC subway system apparently... ). Anyhow, for me it's not primarily about the germs. I think most of the activities at those places are a strange mix of vapid and overly-frenetic and if the weather is nice--and it always is on the days we get invited to such play places--I don't want to keep my child indoors.

No, I don't avoid them, they're a necessary thing in the cold weather. It's not like we're spending hours and hours there.