A very scary situation unfolded on Sunday When Lisa Monroig and her 2.5-year-old Luke were at Central Park‘s Safari Playground (at 91st Street). Luke developed second degree burns on his little feet due to the hot surface near the sprinklers. Thanks to helpful moms and dads at the park, a bad situation turned into a community effort to help Luke.
After having his diaper changed behind a tree, Luke decided to head to the playground without putting his shoes back on because they were full of sand. Luke headed for the sprinklers to rinse off his feet and escape the heat of the day, which was upwards of 88 degrees.
As Lisa took a moment to pack up her son’s dirty clothing, she heard him crying.
Carrying her bags and her 30 pound child while trying to assess the situation, Lisa was clearly overwhelmed. She frantically tried to cool Luke’s feet down in the sprinklers while he cried. One parent observing the situation said, “Oh that doesn’t look good,” and Lisa began to wonder how bad his feet really were.
“I looked at his feet and his skin was hanging off. It was even worse than I imagined it could possibly be,” Lisa said.
Get The Upper West Side Newsletter
One mom on the playground approached Lisa and identified herself as a pediatrician. She offered to go get supplies from her apartment to help treat the burns. Another mother stepped in to help Lisa find her phone. Other parents were helping find a dry diaper and clothing to get ready for when they came out of the sprinkler. The team efforts culminated with a dad helping Lisa find a cab to get to a pediatric burn unit.
“This woman volunteered her husband. She’s like, do you want him to carry your son? He was still crying, so I handed him the bags to carry instead.,” Lisa tells us. “My Uber app wasn’t working, and he offered to get me an Uber. I didn’t even know his name or have any way to repay him.”
Lisa said that her instinct was to start asking everyone their names. She wanted to thank everyone for helping her, but knew she had to focus on her son. She arrived to the hospital and said that her son received wonderful care and instructions on how to get through the healing period. He was diagnosed with second degree burns.
Lisa says she sees kids running around with no shoes on all the time. As it gets hotter, she wants parents to be aware of this hazard. The rubber gets very hot and can scald little feet.
“The ground at Safari is newly installed. I thought it was child safe. It’s soft so when kids fall they don’t break their bones, but gets so hot your child’s skin can melt off.”
Luke is recovering. He is eating, drinking and walking on his bandages. Lisa says his feet are still in lots of pain and asks to be carried. He will go back to the burn specialists on Thursday for a check up.
“There are two things I want to express,” said Lisa. “First is my gratitude for those who helped me. Second is that the ‘child safe’ flooring is not totally child safe. Do not let your children run bare foot, because in a matter of moments Luke went from being a happy playful child to having an emergency.”
Lisa knows her son is going to have a recovery period, and hopes that others take this experience as a warning so they can protect their own children.
So, we’re blaming the sun and the surface of the playground for getting hot on a Summer day?
Keep in mind that when the sprinkles are on, the water coming out of them is wet, as well.
Are you suggesting that it’s acceptable for a playground surface to cause second-degree burns?
JayNYC:
Yes, it’s acceptable.
NYC playgrounds are very well known to include asphalt surfaces, which can be come very hot in the direct sun, well above air temperature.
However, given that people have been known to remove their shoes in City parks and play grounds, there should be signs posted.
Slightly different example, but it’s a really bad idea to walk across a parking lot with bare feet at Jones Beach on a 90+ degree Fahrenheit day. And in fact, even the beach sand can be too hot to walk on with bare feet.
Water isn’t wet you tool. Try breeding instead of being a wisecracking nobody.
You are nicer and better than this.
Weird flex, dude.
yes Christopher, that is why the children who live down south do not use their playgrounds from around 9 AM until 6 ish. And now we know the potency of the sun in our area is stronger than it used to be.
This happened to my son when he was a toddler, twenty years ago! It might have been that exact playground. I had searched the ground to make sure there were no sharp objects and allowed him to take off his shoes for a moment to play in the sprinkler. The ground was not hot in that area because of the running water. In his excitement, he scampered out onto the hot blacktop and before I could catch him he burned his feet terribly. It happened very fast! I wish there had been signs posted.
This is a horrible accident and a really hard experience for a young mother and young child. I don’t know why anyone would write snarky comment about it. My guess is that the person who wrote the comment in question is not a parent and does not have any clue what it means emotionally to be a parent if they are.
Their should at the least be signs on playgrounds waring parents that this could happen and has happened. I for one have never heard of a person’a feet getting second degree burns in this way, and would never assume that it would happen.
Having first hand knowledge of the materials used in NYC Parks, I can tell you that there is a tremendous about of research that goes into what is used. I can assure you that it’s not a bunch of guys throwing together a design and spending millions of dollars to develop/renovate a new playground/park with no thought.
With that being said, it comes down to common sense in my opinion. Comments above (snarky or otherwise) make some valid points. On a hot summer day, there is a need to take caution and be smart. Sand, wooden boardwalks, asphalt, and rubber surfacing all retain the heat from direct sunlight and supersede the air temperature.
There are signs posted at the entrances of the parks that indicate shoes should/must be worn at all times. Let alone the heat of the surface as a danger. You have other hazards as well that can cause an injury.
Keep in mind, while local residences complain that so much money is being spent to build a park, which is so necessary these days post pandemic. The people who lawyer up lend to the cost of being what they are for filing lawsuits when it should be the caretaker’s responsibility and accountability that led to such injury.
While I sympathize for the child’s injury and the parents who are horrified by having their child hurt. It’s the parents/caregiver who should stop and be mindful of their surroundings. I hold then responsible for there neglectful actions or lack of in this case.