Mum issues warning to parents after toddler gets third-degree burns from home exercise equipment

There's no doubt that going to the gym is a pretty expensive hobby. Heck, some are paying close to £50 for a gym membership.

Why is trying to get fit so expensive?

So it's no surprise that a lot of people decide to buy some of the items you see in the gym for use as home exercise equipment.

I mean, it is pretty convenient - no walk or drive to the gym at all, it's all there right in your own home.

Despite all that, one mum has issued a stark warning to parents after her toddler ended up getting third-degree burns from home exercise equipment.

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Taking to the parenting forum on Reddit, the anonymous mum wrote: "I have 4 kids. I feel like with almost a decade of parenting experience, I have a pretty good radar for danger etc, but also a pretty good relaxed attitude about letting kids be kids without hovering over them every minute."

Unfortunately, it was something the mum never even thought about that caused all the problems.

"BUT, I did not even consider the treadmill. We have a treadmill in our basement. I use it, but lately my oldest son (almost 10) has started using it in the mornings to run before school," she wrote.

"Two and half weeks ago, my son was running and I was helping my daughter (age 5) brush her hair before school. My toddler (16 months), followed his brother downstairs, touched the treadmill, and got both hands caught in the spinning belt.

"My son immediately got off, freed his brother and brought him to me."

The mum continued: "We eventually got referred to the burn clinic at the children's hospital in our state, and they determined the burns to be third-degree, and he needed to have full-thickness skin grafts harvested from his thigh and applied to both hands. The recovery has been really hard on him."

She ended the Reddit post with an important message to any parents who have home exercise equipment, as she penned: "So many people I have talked to since have mentioned how they did not even think about treadmills being that dangerous, so I thought I'd share here. Watch your kids near the treadmill or keep them away."

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Many have flocked to the comment section of the Reddit post to express their shock at the accident.

One person wrote: "Oh my goodness. I am so sorry to hear about this! I hope your sweet baby heals quickly. Thank goodness your son acted so fast."

A second recalled a similar incident: "This happened to me at 2yo! It only took a few busy moments for my mother to miss the fact I had wandered into the basement where my father was running. He of course could not hear that something was wrong until I started screaming."

While a third remarked: "I am so sorry that happened. :( I appreciate you coming here to let us know so other families don't end up in the same situation."