'We didn't realise he was hurt until we heard him screaming in pain'

A mum has issued an urgent warning after her toddler was badly injured while playing barefoot.

A mum has issued an urgent warning to other parents after her 18-month-son suffered second-degree burns on the bottom of his feet while playing in their backyard.

The toddler, Mason, wandered outside onto hot asphalt with unprotected feet and it wasn’t until he began “screaming in pain” that his parents realised something was wrong. 

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The mum said it was 'traumatising'. Image: FOX

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The toddler slipped out the dog door with no shoes or socks on

Mason’s mum spoke to FOX News last month about the incident, saying she’s still shaken from the whole thing.

“Yeah, it’s traumatising. Of course it was traumatising. He was in so much pain, and there was nothing we could do. It was horrible. I felt sick the whole day,” she said. 

His tender feet suffered second-degree contact burns, after he slipped out the dog flap door with no shoes or socks on.

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"Those baby feet burn so fast"

“Those baby tender feet – man, they just burn so fast,” she said. “I just don’t want this to happen to anybody else if we can avoid it.”

Mason was taken to the nearest burns center where he was treated and then sent home to heal, which he did very quickly, apparently. 

However, his parents still felt an incredible amount of guilt, according to FOX. 

Mason healed quickly after being treated at the burns centre. Image: FOX

"It can take seconds"

A local doctor in the area, Dr Kevin Foster said his department sees “hundreds” of children with injuries similar to Mason's every day. 

“It’s not that rare. It happens almost on a daily basis, especially in [summer]. Once the sun is out, the pavement gets to [65 degrees], and sometimes even [80 degrees],” Foster told FOX.

“It only takes a couple of seconds. If you’re a younger person, you have thinner skin, so it doesn’t take any time at all,” he concluded

Originally published as 'We didn't realise he was hurt until we heard him screaming in pain'