Supermangirl came home from day camp today with a quarter-size burn through the palm of her hand. Apparently, the camp thought that this was a great day to play outside (temperatures hit 90 degrees Farenheit today and the sun was very strong) and took the girls to a local playground. The metal bars of the jungle gym were so hot that Supermangirl's hand was burned on contact.
I called the doctor, the pharmacist, and my-mother-the-nurse, and followed their directions to treat it. But the poor child is in a lot of pain, and cries out anytime her hand touches anything (including water).
So parents, teachers, babysitters- beware. Don't allow your child to play on playground equipment that contains metal bars or parts if there is a possibility that the metal may be overheated.
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14 comments:
Did the camp have the decency to call you and let you know what happened when it happened? I sincerely hope that was the case.
May she have a refuah shelaimah very soon!
eees-
Thank you for the good wishes.
The camp didn't call me. In their defense, I wonder if they even realized that it was a burn. They may have thought that it was a simple scrape.
I gave her Motrin before bedtime and now she's sleeping soundly.
can you please not call them monkey bars. this is an insult to those of us who grew up with the real thing. back in the day "monkey bars" meant a 25-30 foot-high pyramid of interlocking industrial pipes. you proved your virility by climbing up to the top and balancing on the very top level with nothing to secure your hands one. and none of that soft matting that pads entire playgrounds these days. just hardened (almost galvanized) rubber pads in some cases. otherwise just concrete and shards of glass from broken bottles. that's when kids weren't raised to be sissies.
but seriously, i hope your daughter's burn heals quickly and painlessly. and what was this camp thinking taking the kids out on such a hot day? i hope they were well hydrated (which is actually an issue in my kid's camp, as i saw when i chaperoned a trip last week)
Poor thing! I just read an article about how playground equipment can reach temperatures of 166 degrees! The article mainly mentioned the mats underneath the equipment - when a child slides down a slide and lands with bare skin on the mat they can get a nasty burn. Supposedly parks are supposed to replace older equipment with new materials that stay cooler - but each city has it's own budgetary expenditures to consider.
refuah shleimah. that must hurt!
Refuah sheleimah.
Back when I was an intent, I had a kid brought into me one Sunday afternoon with a similar problem. He'd been swimming in a toddler pool (he was only 4 years old) and then, still soaking wet, he went and sat on the end of an aluminum slide that had been baking in the 95 degree sun all day.
All together now: Owwwwwwwwwww!
Two large, 2nd degree burns, one on the back of each thigh. Took the nurses an hour to dress them because he was so squirmy.
The thing is: this was the umpteenth time this kid had come in for one injury or another so I talked with my supervisor and decided: enough is enough. We're calling the children protection agency in the morning. Even though the parents seemed nice and caring, you can never tell.
So after his burns were dressed, we watched the family leave the clinic. As we stood there observing them, we say this kid yank free of his father's grip and dive into an elevator whose doors were closing. Fortunately these doors were designed to reopen the minute any pressure was placed on them so the kid wasn't cut in half!
And we thought: no, maybe it is all the kid.
Garnel,
We have the type of kids who put us on a first name basis with our orthopedist. In a crowded mall he recognized me and could introduce me by full name to his wife. When for the third time in two weeks I was called to school because our son needed either a doctor or the emergency room, I made the menahel write me a letter stating that all three accidents had happened in school and were truly accidents.
In the hospital they asked if my son had ever been there before. Yes. And boy was I glad for that letter, because they were one second away from calling child protective services. And yes, they called the school to verify the letter.
I suppose on the plus side they got few colds or nasal infections.
How's Supermangirl doing today? I hope she's feeling much better.
Since the camp may be unaware of the cooking ability of the playground equipment, maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to call the director and let them know? Hopefully this would prevent such an injury happening again or to anyone else!
"it wouldn't be such a bad idea to call the director"
or the city
Supermangirl is feeling better today. The pain and the burning feeling have subsided considerably, and it looks like it's beginning to heal. I did call the camp director. She was polite, but to my ears she seemed skeptical. I think that summer camps should be a bit more sensitive to the dangers of intense heat, particularly dehydration (as LOZ pointed out.) I hate when kids are given sugary punch in camp- cold water is a much better option for preventing dehydration.
I'm glad she's feeling better. :)
Refuah sheleima! Another important issue to note is the need for water shoes when kids play at public sprinklers/fountains of water. I know of a child who got badly burned on the bottoms of his feet from running on hot asphalt!
refuah shleimah
When I was an elementary school girls gym teacher (for 13 years) the rule was not to let the kids out if the temperature was over 30 centigrade. Check the laws in your area.
And anyone remember the good ol' days of vinyl car seats and sitting on them after getting out of the pool? And kids think they have it tough today!
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