A mum has issued parents a warning after making a common playground slide mistake which left a toddler with a broken leg.
Jean, mum to a little boy in the US, took her toddler to a playground and decided she would go down the slide with him.
However, she had no idea of the danger she was about to inflict, accidentally, on her son, as he broke his leg coming down the slide.
She posted about the accident on her Instagram warning parents not to make the same mistake as her.
She wrote: "Here I was, a mum of 18 months, thinking how sweet to put my toddler on my lap for additional support.
"Boy, was I wrong and learned the hard way. Five short months after he started walking he had a broken leg from lapping it on a slide!"
The mum uploaded posted a video of the pair going down the slide - but the video stops just before the toddler gets his leg caught on the side.
As the mum and son came down together, he broke the side of his leg - something no parent would imagine happening when going down the slide together.
After sharing her experiences of going down a slide, she is now raising awareness of the potential risk.
Sarah Hunstead, founding director of CPR Kids, said there's an increased risk of accidents when parents join their children on slides.
She told Yahoo News Australia : "Their lower limbs may get caught between you and the slide, potentially resulting in bone fractures.
"It’s best to let your child slide down by themselves, and [use] age-appropriate playground equipment."
She added: "Ensure that their limbs can’t get caught between you and the slide."
After Joan's own experience she realised the impact of the force of going down the slide is much greater because of the extra weight.
She said: "This means, you're going down the slide at a much faster speed, making the chance of a broken bone more likely if the child's foot catches on the slide's surface."
The mum has said parents should wait until their child is able to use the slide by themselves - once their core strength is strong enough.
