If you’ve ever played in a ball pit as a kid, you’ll know that it is truly the joy of our childhood. Plus, it was the only place our parents could leave us unattended! After all, it’s a pretty fail-safe place – well, except this one ball pit in Singapore.
Just recently, Mothership reported a fellow netizen’s experience in the new suspended net playground ball pit in City Square Mall at Farrer Park, Singapore. The lady, Vivien Low, described her experience in the ball pit as ‘the fright of her life‘ on her blog’s Facebook page, which she runs with her husband, John.
On the 3rd of February, 2018, Low shared a video of herself shouting for help whilst being completely submerged inside the ball pit.
[arve url=”https://www.facebook.com/chaoticbutbeautiful/videos/1526965137419985/” /]
Source: Facebook
How did she end up in there?
According to Low’s Facebook post, she accompanied her son to enter one of the pits – there were three pits that occupied three floors altogether. Despite her fear of heights, she decided to follow her son anyway.
Source: mothership
While she was in the pit, she had suddenly lost her balance and fell backwards. Low struggled to find her footing on the net because she was unable to push herself above the sea of balls despite being 172cm tall. Not only that, she also realised her son was also stuck in the pit.
Thus, she panicked and screamed for help. Although it can be heard in the video, apparently no one at the scene heard her screams while she was submerged in the pit. Finally, she managed to stabilise herself by grabbing a stranger’s hand. Upon regaining balance, she immediately pulled her son out along with two other kids, a boy and a girl. Help came late though, as she was only assisted by the staff after she had pulled herself and the kids out. Thankfully, they were safe and not injured.
Despite the frightful experience, the parents were cool about the situation; in fact, they took it rather lightly but advised other parents to accompany their kids when visiting the ball pit. Seeing the brighter side of things!
The husband, John even joked about the experience, stating that it was the safest way to experience drowning. Ha.
Source: mothership
Hours later, they received a response from Airzone, the world’s first suspended playground, who apologised for their unfortunate experience in the ball pit. They said that they will be reviewing the number of balls in the pit and will ensure that their first-aid trained staff will be more alert should incidents like this arise again. Good on them for showing attention to the situation.
Source: mothership
Airzone also stated that the parents should have been notified that kids below the age of seven are supposed to be accompanied by an adult.
Right below their comment, John reaffirmed that his kid had a good time in the park and would definitely bring him there again. He also brushed off the overwhelming response from netizens as ‘over-reaction’.
Source: coconuts
Low, on the other hand, clarified that she personally wouldn’t go into the pit again, but will not stop her son from going there in the future. However, she said that she will send an adult (her husband, John) to accompany her son whilst he plays in the ball pit. The family concluded that it was a fun experience, nevertheless, but just not entirely safe for kids.
IMO, the nets are usually more saggy towards the centre since the balls tend to accumulate there, which was where Low was near; but good thing that the family is alright in the end!
Also read: Malaysia’s Largest Indoor Theme Park Will Launch This 2018, Features AR/VR Games Too!
