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Is Chuck E. Cheese's Really Chuck E. Diseases?

Friday, December 5, 2008
filed under: family

As parents, we've all taken our kids to child-friendly restaurants. After our co-worker claimed to have gotten ringworm from Chuck E. Cheese's, we all started to wonder ... is this happy place really as clean and safe as it seems? We decided to do our own investigation and find out. Get ready for ... GROSS!

With the help of world famous germ expert "Dr. Germ," aka Dr. Charles Gerba, momlogic decided to find out what kind of bacteria our kids are exposed to while playing and eating at everyone's favorite pizza party place.

We tested three California Chuck E. Cheese's locations: one in Pasadena, one in Sun Valley and one in Burbank. Under Dr. Gerba's supervision, momlogic swabbed numerous surfaces in the restaurant and arcade including games, play mats, trays, tables and high chairs. Those samples were then sealed and shipped to Dr. Gerba's lab for analysis. What we found surprised even Dr. Gerba ... and shocked the hell out of us!




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filed under: family

87 comments so far | Post a comment now >>

 
i used to visit CEC quite often until one day an older woman tapped me on the shoulder while attempting to defeat a triceratops in “Turtles in Time”..she then informed me that the joystick does NOT go there :|
- rogue
Posted 12/06/08 02:46 AM
 
“The one place where our children should be safe to play may just cost them their lives.” Yes it might, if you dropped an arcade machine on them. I find it hard to believe that there really are people as ignorant as you. Go swab some bacteria around your trailer. Swab your keyboard. I’m sure you’ll find much worse things than at Chucky Cheese.
- Chuck
Posted 12/06/08 11:30 AM
 
what r u talking about u went as a kid parents know what happens their with so many people go their so how do u want them to keep it clean when so many people go and are sick and get your children sick so its your fault period
- Anonymous
Posted 12/08/08 05:10 AM
 
I can’t believe moms still think washing hands is enough. It is not. These food establishments need to get into the 21st century as far as cleaning, extending the clean, and keeping the kids, the parents, and the employees healthy. There is a new product that can extend any clean for 90 days!! And it’s effective against all the germs we worry about. Why aren’t they using it? Moms have the power to demand it? Together and with the right products, we can protect our facilities, our homes, and our loved ones before we are affected with another outbreak. It’s not a matter of “if”…it’s a matter of “when” and “how bad”. I am a VRSA staph survivor and have dedicated myself to finding ways to prevent anyone else from having to endure what I did. You can reach me at marcia@cleanerproductscompany.com I’ll be glad to help.
- Marcia
Posted 12/08/08 12:31 PM
 
Kids are germy anyways,do you see where they come from? A ladys hoo-ha! EWwwwwWWww
- Anonymous
Posted 12/09/08 01:22 PM
 
What I find most interesting about this piece, is that the bacteria they named were all bacteria that belonged to a group known as coliforms. Coliform contamination in food, or water supply, generally indicates fecal matter contamination. So before everyone becomes quick to blame Chucky cheese’s , I wonder what those kids are actually doing in the restrooms? (not washing hands!!!)
- Anonymous
Posted 12/10/08 12:57 AM
 
I have worked at CEC for a long time and trust me, we clean. Unlike other public places we realize that children touch everything, so we clean everything. Go other places and look at things like hanging lights, decor on the walls, menus, or chair rails.
- Anonymous
Posted 12/13/08 11:05 PM
 
PUP IT UP is a dangerous and unsafe place for kids…my brother hurt his spine when he went to a birthday party there and his friend Josj broke his arm the same day…at least at Chucky Cheese there no chance of breaking your bones…Ashlee
- Ashlee
Posted 12/14/08 04:07 PM
 
For the Mom who’s son developed a problem after he had his face painted: I am a face painter and after each child I disinfect all my brushes and paints. I cary a small bottle of alchol and sanitiser. Just be careful who does the face painting. I also consult with the parent before painting in case the child is alergic.
- Corki T.
Posted 12/18/08 12:20 AM
 
People need to think of it this way. Most germs have a two to three day incubation period. Which means cathing menegitis from Chuck E. Cheese’s and being sick 2 hours later is most likely not possible. The more likely case is the child got it days before visiting that place and just happened to come down with it that day. Make sure you wash hands and things the kids touch and most of all make sure you’re kids get enough sleep 10-12 hours in a 24 hour period depending on the child’s age. If you’re not sure look up the reccomended amount of sleep for your child’s age group. The immune system works its best when the body is sleeping so sleep is vital to staying healthy!
- Darcy
Posted 01/01/09 09:16 AM
 
Way to instill more fear in the ignorant parents of today. You can swab just about anything in a petri dish and some sort of funk will grow from it. Go ahead, swab the keyboard you’re using right now and see what kind of junk grows. Does that mean you’ll have to bleach everything in your house as well? You shouldn’t allow magnified pictures of bacteria to scare you just because you’re uncertain of what it is and because it looks gross. Let your kids scrape their knees, catch a cold, eat candy that fell on the carpet, it will only make them stronger and give you a peace of mind. You are the parent, you do what you feel is right, not these sorts of magazines/websites that you allow to override your instinct as a parent.
- I'm a Computer
Posted 01/05/09 11:46 AM
 
Do you realy think the health Dept. cares? Let there be a pandomic and the employees at the public health would be the first ones out the door. Please don’t ask me how I know, just say I have a gift….Please, PHD are staffed by people that work 1-2 hours out of the day and kick back and read the paper, or take two weeks off to take there child to the doctor. What a bunch of bozo’s, the come into CEC in Maryland the manager had her kid in there who was sick in the prep area, many people were sick after that. But if it is a employee that gets mono, flu, mersa infection. Just cancle cancle his/her insurance, its ok. Wonder how they are doing fincinaly? And it does’nt take some one with a gift to figure out it will never come back, just get bought out by some china firm, that is all chuckie Cheese was good for anyway. Redeem your son or daughter tickies for a chinia made toy? Perhaps we have some missle parts they could sell to the middle east. You think the Chuckie, observes EEOC, think again, the district manager in 2005 Richmond Va would hire the first Mexican/Russian/Centeral american that came in the door. Who cars if they could speek english, they just don’t stand up like a American would, they would drop there Indian head. Yea boss, I can do dat, even if they are a safaty risk, connect the wast water with the tap water… what happen to the Reagan Form I-99? We have lost something in america, I hope our childern and grand childern get it back, what ever kind of Genticly modified Crap they eat. You know I never liked lou dobbs, I always thought he was a “blow hard” if Lou were running, I would gladly work for his campain, give money, work for him. Yes I do have family that works for WalSh** and famly that buys they nasty e-coli infested, trash. Today I have a choice, to go to CEC or shop at Walmart, today I don’t.
- Doc
Posted 01/30/09 12:24 PM
 
‘Doc’ Far too many spelling errors for anybody to take any of what you said seriously. Seriously.
- beanbag
Posted 02/05/09 07:33 PM
 
LOL- salty language, huh? You call HELL salty language? Do you take your children to church and chastize the preacher for saying that dirty word too?!?!?
- Christian
Posted 03/04/09 01:11 PM
 
I WENT TO CHUCK E CHEESE IN FORT WORTH ON THE 20TH OF MARCH 2009. AND THE SERVICE I GOT WAS OK UNTIL WE GOT OUR FOOD. OUR PIZZA WAS COLD AND SO WERE OUR HOT WINGS WHEN WE GOT HOME MY 3 CHILDREN MY HUSBAND AND I WERE ALL SICK TO OUR STOMACHS. WE WILL NEVER GO THERE AGAIN
- PATTY
Posted 03/21/09 12:31 AM
 
My friend spent the night and she had lice the next day we were getting ready for school and her mom called and said she had lice. We washed every single thing and sprayed stuff for the furniture and we never got it!
- May
Posted 03/26/09 01:18 PM
 
a must read…
- kp
Posted 03/26/09 01:20 PM
 
I think the comment about the salty language is fake. Look at the names. Obviously made up.
- Mrs. Jenkins
Posted 03/26/09 01:22 PM
 
article.
- Anonymous
Posted 03/26/09 01:30 PM
 
I agree with some of the people on here about letting your kids go to C.C.s. I think they should go and just be kids. They invented soaps, sanitizers, and wipes just to help us keep clean. USE THEM!!!!!! If you don’t let your kids get germs or even to be sick then YOU, the parent, are hurting your child in the long run. Do you want them to get sicker? They need to be exposed to these so they can build up an immune system to help combat the germs. Just make sure they wash their hands!!!!
- TJ
Posted 03/26/09 01:41 PM

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