Fox 4: Mom warns others after 2 kids suffer burns from playground

By Linda Wagar

A Grandview four-year-old is one of two children being treated for second-degree burns after a visit to a playground over Memorial Day weekend.

It’s a situation so alarming that the city has placed warning signs at the playground.

“We went there to enjoy the water since it was so warm out,” said Dawna Wright, who took four children to Grandview’s John Anderson Splash Park on Memorial Day.

Wright’s youngest, four-year-old Asia Smith, was more fascinated by the adjacent playground than she was with the spray park.

Wright said she was worried it might be too hot -- since temperatures were in the 90s that day. She touched the equipment before she allowed her daughter, who was wearing a swimsuit, to use it.

Pablo Aguayo, the director of the burn unit at Children’s Mercy Hospital, said children wearing swimsuits are particularly at risk on playgrounds where even plastic equipment can become extremely hot.

Aguayo, who has three children, said he avoids taking them to playgrounds in the heat of the afternoon. He said the safest time is early morning or evening. Be extra cautious with babies.

“Their skin is a lot thinner, so it takes much less contact time,” he said.

See the full story via Fox 4.

Learn more about Burn and Trauma Care at Children's Mercy.