As the heatwave lingers, doctors are warning parents that playgrounds that are under direct sunlight could pose dangers and children could get burned on playground equipment.
Medical professionals recommend feeling the slid, whether it’s metal or plastic, before letting your child go down one.
“Check the play equipment to make sure it’s not too hot," Kevin Borreup, associate director of the injury prevention center at Connecticut Children's Medical Center, said. "You can do that by easily taking your bare hand and placing it up against the play equipment like the slide. Hold it there for a few seconds to determine whether it’s too hot.”
Doctors aid shaded playgrounds are a safer option.
“I definitely put my hand down on the metal slides before the kids go down them just to make sure they don’t burn their legs,” Jenn Lebet, of Cromwell, said.
More than 30 children were burned from 2001 to 2008, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and one child sustained second-degree burns, even in 74 degree weather.
