INDIANAPOLIS – The heat wave is certainly carrying some hidden dangers that many parents may not know about, especially if your children want to play outside.
Thursday brought summer fun on the playground for Eyewitness News anchor Anne Marie Tiernon’s son Luke and her daughters. They are more cautious than ever in the heat wave.
Luke recently suffered from second-degree burns from a hot backyard slide.
“I accidentally went down the slide and I didn’t have a shirt on and I accidentally hurt my back,” said Luke, six.
Two weeks later, the signs and sores from the accident are still with him.
“It’s crazy. It’s kind of scary how hot it can actually get,” said Katherine Ducharme, who was babysitting Thursday.
We took our infrared thermometer to a playground to find out how hot the equipment gets. In Fishers at 11:00 am, a child’s slide was 153 degrees. There were similar readings all over the playground. The climbing wall was 111 and the steps were 126. Park benches were 105 and a playground floor was 154.
That’s too hot for the usual fun.
“If a parent isn’t comfortable putting their hands on a piece of equipment or a slide they should avoid having their kids come in contact with it,” said Catherine Oplinger, pediatric nurse practitioner.
Babysitter Katherine Ducharme headed home earlier than usual with her charges, Evan and Grant.
The heat interrupted some of the fun at Conner Prairie’s summer camp
“We’ve been taking water breaks every hour and we went tubing on the river and making sure the kids are drinking a lot of water,” said Amelia Gerometto, camp counselor.
Some campers had to go home early after getting sick in the heat. The camp took more precautions the next day, and along with a breeze and a dip in the pond, there was some relief.
Heat Turns Playgrounds Into Danger Zones