VIDEO: It’s summertime, and parents are eager to get the kids outside but before taking a trip to the park, it’s important to think about safety.
Slides, climbing walls and spinners offer a great deal of fun in the sun, but playground equipment, no matter how child-friendly it seems, can cause a lot of pain if you don’t take precautions.
“Even the plastic slides and swings but especially, the metal slides or swings that are still at some of the parks can get incredibly hot,” said David Rathburn, firefighter and pracademic at the Sparks Fire Department.
According to the website playgroundsafety.org, playground materials have recorded temperatures of up to 189°F, which can burn a child’s skin in less than three seconds. Rathburn recommends checking the equipment before your kids start playing.
“Just walk up with your hand, touch the equipment, if it’s too hot to even have your hand on, it’s probably too hot for them to be playing on right now,” said Rathburn.