Your children's playground equipment could be as hot as 140 degrees!

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NEW ORLEANS — Doctors tell us that when it comes to heat, children have special needs.

In recent years, local doctors have had to treat children for scalding burns on the bottoms of their feet. It happened when they ran out on the hot pavement for just a few seconds in the August heat. And there are other heat dangers for children you need to be aware of.

Medical correspondent and pediatrician, Dr. Corey Hébert remembers a patient of his who was rushed to the E.R. a few years ago.

“They put the child in a shopping basket, and the shopping basket had been sitting outside in one of these big box stores, and put the child directly in it. And they didn't really pay too much attention, you know, because they were getting something out of the car, and the child just started screaming. And this child had third-degree burns on her feet, because the feet were trapped and caught in that shopping basket” said Dr. Hébert.

He warns that playgrounds can have the same dangers.

“The metal outside gets very, very hot. So, if you put your child on a slide, or put your child you know on a swing, and they grab that swing, or they get on that slide, they can have very severe burns.”

So, we took an infrared thermometer to City Park to see what we would find. A three-year-old named CJ warned us that a slide he had touched earlier, really hurt. So, we tested it together.

And sure enough, we got readings on the plastic and metal in the 140s. His sister, Zoë, warned us not to touch a certain pole.

“And then I touched it and it was hot,” she remembers.

And another child made it clear to his mom the slide was uncomfortable. He told her it was “Hot, hot.”

Dr. Hébert reminds adults that children's bodies can't regulate temperature as well as grown ups can. And they won't always ask for a water break. So, supervise and be proactive.

“If you have very, very high humidity, as well as a high heat, then it is a set up for a disaster for an adult, but for a child even worse, because they can not really communicate these things to you until it's too late,” he explained.

InspireNOLA Charter Schools say they're closely monitoring the extreme heat. They're limiting outdoor activities, extra-curricular programs, and practices. The high school sports teams and bands are adjusting schedules and utilizing the gym when possible. And they've made sure water is accessible across campuses for students and staff.