Inflatable Toys

The category of "inflatable toys" used to consist of little more than beach balls and swimming pool floats, but today it encompasses a huge variety of toys that are made tougher than ever. You've no doubt seen kids (and adults!) play in bounce houses and have a great time. The floors and walls are soft, and falling down doesn't hurt. And today's children often need extra encouragement to make physical play a regular part of their life, so inflatable toys are good in that way, too.

There are now great indoor inflatable jumper toys that are perfect for keeping toddlers entertained on a rainy afternoon. Round "jump-o-lenes" that will fit in a playroom are available for less than $100 and will hold two young children. There are some smaller inflatable toy bounce houses and inflatable toys that incorporate slides that can go indoors.

But for larger or for multiple kids, the inflatable toys big enough to accommodate them are too big to go indoors. Back yard inflatable toys can be much more elaborate, however.

Inflatable toys can cost up to a couple of thousand dollars if you want to buy the models used by rental companies. But most are in the $200 to $500 range and work fine for the average family.

The Castle Inflatable Bounce House with Slide by Bounceland costs around $250 and has a 9' x 12' "footprint." It has a soft play area surrounded by netting, and an exit slide. It has received good reviews on toy review sites.

On the high-end side of inflatable kids toys is the KidWise Clubhouse Inflatable Bounce House by KidWise. It costs roughly $650 and its "footprint is 16 x 16 feet. It can accommodate up to 400 lbs. of kids as long as each comes in at under 100 lbs. It has two external slides and one internal slide and several crawl-through and obstacle course features.

Inflatable jumper toys are extremely popular these days, and there are many designs that can go in the average family's back yard or playroom.