‘What the f**k’: Mum’s warning about kids using an iPad while it’s charging

“We have no idea what it is or how it’s happening. It’s happening to all our devices in numerous power sources,” Mel says in the clip. 

Mel got quite the shock. Source: melwatts/Instagram

An Australian mum has issued a stark warning to other parents after she felt an electrical current while her daughter was using her tablet. 

Mel walked past her daughter, Indie, who was using her iPad, plugged into the charger and out of her rubber case. 

But as she patted her daughter on the back, Mel felt something strange. 

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“I thought it was something on her skin”

“I could feel this really weird feeling. I thought it was something on her skin,” she explained to her Instagram account, explaining it felt “weird” and “almost sticky static.” 

“She was playing on her iPad, so I got my husband Nolan to come, and he felt it too.” 

Mel, who was barefoot at the time, tried touching her husband’s skin while holding the iPad, experiencing the same sensation as before. 

“We realised it was a current coming through the iPad; we've never felt it before,” she explained, holding the silver tablet in her hands. 

“What the f**k is it?” she asked her husband in the video. 

Concerned and unsure why there was a current running through the iPad, she called an electrician to check it out. 

“[The electrician] couldn't feel it until we realised he was wearing boots,” she said, telling him to “take them off”.  It was only once he had taken off his rubber-soled shoes that he could feel the current. 

“We have no idea what it is or how it’s happening,” she said with concern. “It’s happening to all our devices in numerous power sources.”

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It turns out there may be a simple reason why Mel and her family were feeling a bit electric that day - and it’s nothing to do with their wiring. 

Devices like iPads and smartphones don’t need a lot of electricity to charge, so you’re likely only going to get a charging cable with two prongs - also known as a non-grounded plug. 

In contrast, a laptop needs a lot more electricity to charge, so the charger will most likely have three prongs on the plug (making it grounded), designed to prevent a power surge and electrical shock. 

The feeling that Mel may have been experiencing could also be considered a “touch current”, which Microsoft described as feeling like “a slight tingle or mild pinpricks.” 

The feeling typically occurs when a device is plugged into the main power, usually in a wall. 

“Touch current may be noticed if a tiny fraction of the electrical current passes through a user rather than returning to the wall outlet,” the website said, adding the sensation is usually “insignificant” and “non-hazardous” to the body.

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Mel was puzzled why she felt the static sensation while her daughter was using an iPad. Source: melwatts/Instagram

“I get this all the time, I just thought it was normal”

People online were freaked out by Mel’s unusual experience and sharing stories of their own.

“My kids aren't allowed to play their devices while they're charging,” a mum shared. “I am petrified they'll blow up.” 

“Oh yes. I’ve experienced this many times,” said another. “I get this all the time, I just thought it was normal,” wrote a third. 

“Same thing happens here with all our Apple devices,” a woman added. 

And it’s not just iPads that get people all tingly. 

“Happens when one side of an electric blanket is on, too,” someone wrote. 

“My husband and I get this when our electric blanket is plugged in,” read a comment. “Such an odd feeling and surely not a good one.”

Originally published as ‘What the f**k’: Mum’s warning about kids using an iPad while it’s charging