Island Resident's Need to Take Precautions Against the Heat
As Staten Island swelters in the grip of a heat wave, parents need to take precautions to safeguard their children from heat related injuries. If you do take your child out for a playground visit, make sure that they drink plenty of water, wear sunscreen and a hat. Make sure that they don't overheat. 
What many parents may not realize is that the public playground surfaces and rides may become so dangerous as to cause burns to young children playing on them.
Temperatures taken at New York City parks today registered over 170 degrees on artificial turf fields and over 140 degrees on the black mats covering playground surfaces. A child can be burned in less than 2 seconds when touching a solid surface, such as a metal slide, that is hotter than 140 degrees. Recently, newly installed metal play domes were removed from a Brooklyn park because they caused second-degree burns to a 13-month old girl who was playing on the domes.
If you do go to a playground, stay away from the metal slides and try to avoid the playgrounds with the black safety mats, unless they are in complete shade. Your best idea would be for your child to use the showers and sprinklers, safely cooling off and staying away from the surfaces that could cause serious burns. The extreme heat can cause blisters, severe burns, heat stroke and dehydration. The same rules apply to playground equipment that you may have in your backyard. Please make sure that your children are protected during this extreme heat wave.
