My kids are notorious for wanting to take their shoes off when playing at the park. Thankfully the floor at our park is covered in bark, but still, you never know what could be on the ground. I’m always adamant they keep their shoes on, or no play.

Many public parks these days have soft rubber floors which are softer to land on should a child fall.

But one mum has warned the dangers of being at the park, in the heat, where the rubber matting is present.

Jessica Mead’s 15-month-old son Jackson walked barefoot on the rubber matting and received second-degree burns to his feet.

The mum had let her son wander, barefoot, around the park, while she was packing the stoller, when she heard her toddler scream.

She ran to where he was and saw her son frozen on the spot, in a lot of pain. When Ms Mead picked up her son, she saw the bottoms of his feet had blistered terribly. She rain cool water on the blisters and breastfed him to calm him down.

When the mum got home, she organized a home visit from their family doctor, who diagnosed the toddler having second degree burns on his feet.

It’s a common burn to little children, who walk on the rubber mats with bare feet.

As a result of Jackson’s awful ordeal, Jessica urges parents not to let their children walk with bare feet at the park.

If your child does take their shoes off and find themselves in a similar predicament to Jackson, it’s advised to run water over the burn for 20 minutes. Don’t use ice or extremely cold water. It’s also important to wear shoes at all times, as it can be hard to tell how hot the ground can get.

Ms Mead told the Daily Telegraph, that it was an honest mistake as she had seen other kids walk barefoot at the park. The park was covered under the shade of a tree, so she didn’t think there would be an issue with the rubber mat heating up.

But clearly we’ve all learned a lesson from Jackson’s ordeal.

Thankfully Jackson is healing well, but the mishap is one that Jessica wants all parents to remember when taking their children to the park.