Deciding to share her own daughter’s horrifying experience with other parents, Joleen Kellams took to social media.
Writing on Facebook, she said:
Dear people that have children, or will be around children, this summer,
Soon it will be hot. Super hot.
I beg you, please don’t just throw your children on metal toys at the playground, aquatic centres, backyards, or anywhere!
They get hotter than we know and can seriously burn their tender skin. Plastic can get really hot too.
Please, please, please check the toys your child is going to be playing on and remember, if it’s hot to you, it’s hotter to them.
The mother then shared a photo of her little girl’s badly blistered feet, along with another of the visibly distressed child crying after the blister had ruptured.
She continued:
*Even though Maddy wasn’t burned on playground equipment, she was burned on metal I would never have thought about getting super hot.
I don’t want to see any other little ones burned like she was.
You don’t want your child to go through something like this.*
She later added: “This happened almost 3 years ago but the horror of that day is still very fresh and I just would have never thought of the dangers of playground equipment (and other metal) if this wouldn't have happened.
“Thankfully, she has healed and has no visible scars, she has some nerve damage (I think) because her feet are always cold. This happened 2 days before she turned 2; but still very real in our lives!
“Summertime stresses me out now, you just never know what will burn your baby!”
The warning has been shared over 200,000 times on Facebook - and parents everywhere have thanked Joleen for highlighting the dangers of hot metal in playgrounds.
One wrote: “Poor little thing! Great warning, and it is also relevant for animals too.”
Dear people that have children or will be around children this summer,Soon it will be hot. Super hot. I beg you,... > >
Posted by [Joleen Kellams](#) on [Monday, 23 June 2014](https://www.facebook.com/jkellams05/posts/10203662611033463)
Another added: “I will definitely be watching out and not letting my kids out without shoes!”
“Such a good warning Joleen!! It's frightening how hot the playground equipment gets.
“Thanks for reminding everyone,” praised one mother.