We took a long walk to get a haircut. On the way back, we got a donut and tap water in a coffee cup. The guy was quite taken with it and carried it almost all the way back at great inconvenience. (It was also inconvenient to me because I had to carry his bike.)
At one of the last intersections before reaching home, he dropped it while we crossed. Then, a car ran it over.
He took it pretty well. It may have helped that his haircut balloon didn't pop on the way home, as it has the last several times.
I've seen lot of balloons pop at a touch in the last few years. I don't remember that happening a kid. I theorize that manufacturers have of late figured out how to make balloons extra thin to save material.