Scared of blowing up balloons!

[JTHappy]

Hi all!

I'm new to this but needed some advice!
It's a little embarrassing but whenever I blow up balloons, I get really scared about them popping. Obviously, balloons are an essential for every party but I always dread having to blow them up. I try to just blow them up small but my sons always ask me to blow them bigger and bigger and I get terrified but still try to. Sometimes they will help out as well which is even worse as they seem to be fearless and just keep blowing and blowing, sometimes until they pop (which makes me scream !) I've tried using a pump and it doesn't seem to help, I don't know what else to try as I don't want my kids to miss out on balloons but I get so scared. Has anyone else suffered with this or got any advice? Thanks

Nothing embarassing about that, I get scared easily by loud sounds or the sound of something popping, too!
If you say the pump doesn't help a lot then there is probably nothing that can be done but balloons aren't actually essential. If kids are old enough you can explain to them that balloons aren't biodegradable and thus not environmentally friendly. Maybe replace them with confetti (there are some green options as well) or just play a slideshow of balloons flying across the sky during the party. There are also birthday slideshow templates that have animations and you can add bubbles in there.
If excluding balloons isn't a way to go at all, then maybe look into 'bunches' of them so that you wouldn't have to do the actual blowing up. Usually party stores or flower shops do have stuff like that.

Do not be ashamed, I hate balloons too. They are nice to look at but frankly a waste of money. If you can, find the non popping kind in the shops or online etc. Perhaps you can find flowers and streamers at a party shop or flower store.

Blowing them up can be dangerous as well. As a child I damaged a gland under my ear by blowing a balloon too hard.