Force-Fed Fun

Is it really that difficult to hold a birthday party for a kid? You invite friends over to your home or to a local park. You serve hotdogs and cake. If charades, pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey and cakewalks are too goofy, you go with a pinata, balls and frisbees.

Apparently, that’s too much trouble for many American parents. Or maybe there’s a competitive "arms race" to host the most elaborate event. So parties are often held at establishments like Chuck E. Cheese, Jeepers! and Power Play. Dave & Busters serves the same function for adults. I recently attended a party at a new entry into the arena of artificial hilarity.

Hidden in a Shawnee industrial park, Pump It Up offers inflatable moon walks, boxing rings and obstacle courses. Bored teenage girls monitor the kids and light the candles on the birthday cake. The parents are expected to watch passively.

Regimented and anonymous, this kind of force-fed fun is no fun at all.