Why This Mom Is Warning Parents to Check Their Kids' Sandals This Summer

15:40 moms 0 Comments

For her birthday, a 2-year-old girl got a present that left her writhing in agony: a pair of seemingly innocuous shoes.

After receiving a pair of brand-new Next pink jelly sandals – which retail for approximately $12 at the England-based retailer – young Esmé Connor suffered deep incisions to her right ankle. Shockingly, she'd only been wearing them for close to 30 minutes.

"It's not like she was running around in them for hours," the girl's mom, Lisa Connor, told Daily Mail. "She was just plodding around the house and then came running in in tears. There was blood all round her ankle and on the soles of her foot. Of course there will be new shoes that rub, but this is ridiculous."

The photos, shared via Facebook, show just how damaging the sandals were to the girl. Lisa's goal in posting the shocking images on social media is to warn other parents about the brand. She's also called on the retailer to recall the product.

According to Lisa, Next's customer service department has agreed to collect and examine the shoes – which are currently listed on the site as "fun jelly sandals for short term wear only" – this week.

The most upsetting aspect of this injury, Lisa said, was that because her daughter can't say many words yet, she wasn't able to communicate her pain to her parents.

"She was moaning and whining, and I initially put it down to being tired," Lisa recalled before discovering the true root of her pain. "There was so much blood. Her dad had to spend an hour calming her down. It ruined her birthday weekend really."