A mum has posted a warning to other parents to show how easy it is for toddlers to scale a fence or gate.
Wendy Atkinson, from Australia, shared a video on her Facebook page showing her toddler easily climbing a metal gate and unclipping the latch to get out.
“This is to teach parents just how quick and clever a two-year-old can be,” she wrote on the Facebook video on 10 January.
Atkinson explained her son had been able to get out the gate that blocked off where they were building a pool. She reiterated that had this been when the pool was there, he could have drowned.
Atkinson continued: “Our above standard high fence is essentially higher than the Australian standard.
“After this we have decided it is best not to put a pool in until he is swimming confidently.”
She explained her son had climbed the gate a few minutes before the video and she had told him off and explained why it was wrong.
But she said it made her think about toddlers’ lives that have been taken away because of incidents like this.
“I figured if he did it again I’m gonna film it,” she continued. “This is way too important to just keep telling him off and dragging him away.
“I want him to teach us, to mean something.This video shows he can scale and open the gate in 21 seconds unassisted.
“As vigilant as we like to think we all are and would love to be, when you add extra risks, accidents will happen.”
Atkinson urged parents to share her post to stop accidents like this from happening.
Her video has been shared 8,000 since it was uploaded on 10 January. It has more than 450,000 views.
“This is so scary to watch,” one mum commented. “I have a toddler and a gate that goes out onto a main road. Thank you. Thank you so much.”
Another commented: “You just can’t stop adventurous children exploring. All you can do is try to remove all dangers and be vigilant. Thank you for bringing this video to our attention.”
One person simply wrote: “This video will save lives.”
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