Scary!!

ONEZ48 · 08-01-2007, 04:21 PM

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McDonalds, Chuck E Cheese, Discovery Zone... All places with
ball pits in the children's play area. One of my sons lost his watch,
and was very upset. We dug and dug in those balls, trying to find his
watch.
Instead, we found vomit, food, feces, and other stuff I do not want to discuss.

I went to the manager and raised hell. Come to find out, the ball pit is only cleaned out once a month. I have doubts that it is even done that often.. My kids will never play in another ball pit.

Some of you might not be parents, but you may have nieces, nephews, grandchildren, or friends with children.

This will pertain to you too. As I read the following, my heart sank. I urge each and every one of you to pass this on to as many people as you can. I cannot stress how important this is!

Hi. My name is Lauren Archer, my son Kevin and I lived in Midland , TN.

On October 2nd, 1999 I took my only son to McDonald's for his 3rd birthday.

After he finished lunch, I allowed him to play in the ball pit. When he started whining later on, I asked him what was wrong, he pointed to the back of his pull-up and simply said 'Mommy, it hurts.' I couldn't find anything wrong with him at that time. I bathed him when we got home, and it was at that point when I found a welt on his left buttock.

Upon investigating, it seemed as if there was something like a splinter under the welt. I made an appointment to see the doctor the next day, but soon he started vomiting and shaking, then his eyes rolled back into his head. From there, we went to the emergency room. He died later that night. It turned out that the welt on his buttock was the tip of a hypodermic needle that had broken off inside.

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The autopsy revealed that Kevin had died from a heroine overdose. The next
week, the police removed the balls from the ball pit. There was rotten food,
several hypodermic needles: some full, some used; knives, half-eaten candy, diapers, feces, and the stench of urine.

(You can find the article on Kevin Archer in the October 10,1999 issue of
the Midland Chronicle.)

Don't think it's just McDonald's either. A little boy had been playing
in a ball pit @ a Burger King & started complaining of his legs hurting.

He later died too. He was found to have snake bites all over
his legs & buttocks. When they cleaned the ball pit they found that
there was a copperhead's nest in the ball pit. He had suffered numerous bites from a very poisonous snake.

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Repost this if it scares the crap out of you!! Repost this if
you care about kids!! Please forward this to all loving mothers,
fathers and anyone who loves and cares for children!! What has this world
come to?? If a child is not safe in a child's play area then where??

AND FYI:

In Florida and other places on the East Coast a group of people are putting HIV/AIDS infected and filled needles underneath gas pump handles, so when someone reaches to pick it up and put gas in their car, they get stabbed with it. 16 people have been a victim of this crime so far and 10 tested HIV positive.

**MrKhay** · 08-01-2007, 04:46 PM

Scary indeed!
I have no children, to speak of, but I do have young nieces and nephews. I know for certain that the parents of those children are concerned with the safety of their children. I'll be forwarding this article to friends and family with children that play in ball pits.
Thanks for the informative post, Kat!
If you could repost the link to the story, that would be great.

ONEZ48 · 08-01-2007, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrKhay

Scary indeed!
I have no children, to speak of, but I do have young nieces and nephews. I know for certain that the parents of those children are concerned with the safety of their children. I'll be forwarding this article to friends and family with children that play in ball pits.
Thanks for the informative post, Kat!
If you could repost the link to the story, that would be great.

I will certainly see what i can do about that.

pk · 08-02-2007, 12:57 AM

Please before you forward the story read the following:

http://www.snopes.com/critters/snakes/ballpit.asp

This will show you not only is this story that has been going around emails for a very long time... NOT TRUE...but it will explain how it really could not happen with snakes.

I will agree that ball pits are nasty places though since they are filled with germs and that can be just as scary. Kids will sneeze, cough, wipe their hands on runny noses and touch everything. It has been known that kids can throw up in not only ball pits but the slides they have in the indoor gyms of these places. My kids saw a child going to the bathroom in the corner of the top section one time. Needless to say I quit letting my kids play in them.

pk

pk · 08-02-2007, 01:02 AM

As far as the little boy... My name is Lauren Archer, my son Kevin and I lived in Midland , TN... this also is not a true story but one that has circled around the email circuit for quite sometime.

Check out the facts at:
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/parental/archer.asp

pk · 08-02-2007, 01:09 AM

Quote:

In Florida and other places on the East Coast a group of people are putting HIV/AIDS infected and filled needles underneath gas pump handles, so when someone reaches to pick it up and put gas in their car, they get stabbed with it. 16 people have been a victim of this crime so far and 10 tested HIV positive.

This story actually has several variations to it. Check out the website below for all the facts on this one too.

http://www.snopes.com/horrors/mayhem/gaspump.asp

(when in doubt if something is correct or not I always find snopes is a great place to check things out.)

**MrKhay** · 08-02-2007, 01:18 AM

I thought I had heard this story awhile back, and that it proved to be a line of BS. I suppose alot of these stories can be referenced at the urban legend website.

pk · 08-02-2007, 01:24 AM

Alot of these stories 'feed' on how sensational but true sounding they are and anybody reading them will quickly react without stopping to wonder..'hey is this for real'?

Most likely if it sounds sad, or scary, or just makes you shutter, or reach out and help, or fill you with the need to forward to all your friends...it usually is false seems like.

Snopes.com has helped me find out the facts on many stories in the past. But even with snopes I will sometimes get sucked into a story until I think about it again later. lol We all have been caught I'm sure. lol

Just gotta laugh I guess.

:lol: :lol:

ONEZ48 · 08-02-2007, 12:34 PM

Wow what can I say...I received some bad info and forwarded it to my new friends who now can only laugh at it like me. Sorry! I will do my homework first before reposting stuff like this.

pk · 08-02-2007, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Wow what can I say...I received some bad info and forwarded it to my new friends who now can only laugh at it like me. Sorry! I will do my homework first before reposting stuff like this.

Don't worry it happens to all of us from time to time. Just glad I remembered hearing about these stories before on snopes and looked it back up.

In fact it was quite some time ago when I first remember hearing 'stories' about ball pits and even though they weren't true it made me re-think the fact that I did not want my kids in these potentially dangerous places.

So by repeating these stories even though they were false maybe will wake up some parents and make them think about how dirty these places could be before they plop their little ones in them.

thanks,

pk

**CarolsCritterCare** · 08-02-2007, 01:55 PM

When the play land in McDonalds opened up in Milwaukee what feels like 100 yrs ago, I picked up xtra hours there by being the play land attendent. It was my job to watch the kids play and clean the area at night and sanatize everything.
I only lasted about 3 or 4 months. Cleaning was too gross for me. You would get kids with leeky diapers that smeared all over the slides.
Kids who pee'd in the balls or threw-up in them.
It was not for me. YUCK!
Carol

ONEZ48 · 08-02-2007, 02:40 PM

Even though my children are old enough now to give me grand babies I thought it was something everyone should know about.Thanks for making me feel better!

pk · 08-02-2007, 02:44 PM

Quote:

When the play land in McDonalds opened up in Milwaukee what feels like 100 yrs ago, I picked up xtra hours there by being the play land attendent. It was my job to watch the kids play and clean the area at night and sanatize everything.
I only lasted about 3 or 4 months. Cleaning was too gross for me. You would get kids with leeky diapers that smeared all over the slides.
Kids who pee'd in the balls or threw-up in them.
It was not for me. YUCK!
Carol

oh Carol...sounds like a real 'crappy' job! lol

pk

pk · 08-02-2007, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Even though my children are old enough now to give me grand babies I thought it was something everyone should know about.Thanks for making me feel better!

Well thank you for taking the time to care enough to try and help others!

You never know maybe between what you wrote and the 'crappy' post lol Carol wrote people will stay away from these nasty places!

pk