Saudi Gazette To attract families, most fast food restaurants have a children's play area. Parents may be unaware that these play areas, especially the ball pits pose a serious risk for the spread of contagious diseases among children. In a number of cases, shocked parents discovered that the ball pit at their favorite restaurant was unclean. They were neglected and provided a perfect environment for the growth of bacteria. Ali Al-Shami, a resident of Dammam used to take his children to a popular fast food chain every weekend. When he found one of his sons playing with a filthy ball, he vowed that he would never visit that restaurant again. Young children tend to put everything in their mouths. If one child suffering from cold puts a ball in her mouth other children playing in the ball pit will most probably catch the cold too. Mona Al-Ahmad, a mother of 3 children, was dining with her husband at a local restaurant and her children were playing in the play area. “My kids were playing in the ball pit and suddenly they rushed to us, screaming and disgusted. They had found a ball with remnants of vomit on it,” said Al-Ahmad. When the couple immediately complained to the restaurant manager about the unacceptable level of dirtiness in the children's play area. The manager's response was, “Due to the high number of customers we receive all day long, we cannot keep the ball pit clean at all times. Our foremost priority is making sure that the food we serve our customers is clean and of high quality.” Lack of cleanliness is not the only problem with children's play areas in restaurants and malls. Some of them are so poorly maintained that they are actually dangerous to children.Umm Muhammad told the Saudi Gazette, “My family and I were vacationing in Abha to enjoy its greenery and cool weather. On one rainy night when we could not go to the park, we went to the mall instead. In the children's jungle gym at the mall, my 9-year-old son discovered a piece of exposed metal sticking out and parts of the net that children are supposed to climb on were torn. We were lucky that he noticed those dangers and left before any of my children got hurt.” One father feels that it is the responsibility of the city municipality to inspect and demand the safety and cleanliness of children's play areas at restaurants.Ahmad Al-Ghamdi said, “The ball pit at these fast food restaurants must be cleaned several times a day to protect the safety and health of our children. I think it is the municipality's fault and its lack of regularly monitoring these restaurants that allows such places to get dirty.” Dr. Hamza Salah, a pediatrician, warned that contagious illnesses are easily transmitted in children's public play areas, and more so if the managers of these areas are not keen on the hygiene of the toys and place. Dr. Salah suggests taking a ball from the ball pit of a typical fast food chain and testing it to accurately determine the presence of factors that could cause disease. A spokesperson from the municipality of Dammam, Mazin Ba Kharji, reported that in the past the municipality has concentrated on the cleanliness of the kitchen to ensure safe food, it is now examining the safety and cleanliness of children's play areas in restaurants. “I caught children throwing some of their left-over food in the ball pit of a local restaurant. The municipality has announced strict regulations that mandated restaurant managers to regularly clean the ball pits. Restaurants will be penalized for a disregard for hygiene. The municipality will force a permanent removal of the entire children's play area that the restaurant uses to draw customers, if it was deemed unclean,” said Ba Kharji, from the municipality of Dammam. __
