Children to be banned from blowing up balloons

I first became aware of this article on 9th October but was waiting to see if any of the latex balloon manufactures or one of the trade associations would make an official announcement. None have so I felt that it was important that I at least mentioned it.

The article was in the Telegraph and states "The EU toy safety directive, agreed and implemented by Government, states that balloons must not be blown up by unsupervised children under the age of eight, in case they accidentally swallow them and choke..."


It's certainly not news about the dangers of uninflated balloons but I agree that it is an example of the EU interfering with our everyday lives and scaring people unnecessarily over an everday object. All latex balloons we, and all of our suppliers, send out are sent with a safety warning. The one we send says:

Warning! Children under 8

years old can choke or suffocate on

uninflated or broken balloons.

Adult supervision required.

Keep uninflated balloons from

children.

Discard broken balloons at once

All parents need to be made aware of possible dangers so they can make educated choices but a ban on children under 8 being able to inflate a balloon is, as usual, taking things one step too far. I should say "try" because it is highly unlikely that a child under 8 years old would be able to inflate a balloon with their mouths - many adults can't either.

So who is going to enforce such a law, it wouldn't be possible to police it. It would just be there for the lawyers to use against someone in a court of law if the unthinkable was to happen. We have, in my opinion, already gone too far down the compensation route.

In reality all balloons should be inflated using a pump, whether by a child or adult. The odd one or two may be ok but blowing up balloons can cause dizziness, lung problems, eye problems and high blood pressure to name a few.

So blow up your balloons with a pump, supervise your children (as you would normally) and enjoy the party!