Mum's painful mistake sparks safety warning for Aussie parents

A mum has shared an important warning about playground safety after her son was injured while riding down a slide on her lap — and a heated debate has since followed.

Rachel Toyer shared a video of herself going down a water slide with her son sitting on her lap while she held onto his legs, captioning the video, "Safety message: If you do ride slides with kids hold their legs up."

The message came after her son almost broke his leg in 2023 while he was sitting in between hers instead of on top of them. The momentum of them going down the slide meant that one of his untucked legs was caught as they went down. "Learn from us. Do not ride with a child between your legs," she said in an earlier post.

Sarah Hunstead from CPR Kids told Yahoo News Australia that while it's "encouraged" for kids to slide solo when possible, if that isn't possible it's important to keep their limbs safe and close.

"Sliding is fun but it isn't recommended you slide with your child. If you have to, make sure their legs are on top of you and you are holding on to them, preventing them from getting caught between yourself and slide," she explained.

Not everyone agrees with mum's safety message

With over one million views online, the video showing the safety message has created some divide among those online.

Many shared their own experiences with broken limbs or injuries due to poor slide safety, agreeing with Rachel and her message.

"My son broke his leg going down the slide with my daughter. Never knew this was a thing until the doctor told me the stats (sic)," one person revealed.

"I actually broke my leg going down the slide at McDonald’s with my brother. This could of prevented it lol," another shared.

Others have said even this is dangerous so they will only allow their kids to go down the slide solo. "I just won’t do this at all because I have seen too many injuries come in at work."

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But there have been some who disagree with slide safety entirely, going so far as to tell Rachel she does not "deserve" a child. "This is why these 18 year olds are so soft, let them experience pain, kids bounce," someone responded.

Not the first time slide safety warning has been shared

In 2021, CPR Kids shared a frightening image showing a young child's leg being bent backwards while going down a slide to warn parents of what can happen.

The image, which was originally shared in 2015, was posted again by paediatric educators CPR Kids, along with an important message for parents. "Playground rule to remember: slide safely solo, it's dangerous to double," the caption says.

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