Blogger and mum-of-two criticised for performing 'unsafe' yoga moves with her children

Melanie Darnell is known for her dedication to fitness.

The self-proclaimed 'fit vegan mum-of-two' uses her Instagram account fitmomma42 to share snippets of her daily routines with her 41.5 followers, and generally gets a great reception from people praising her dedication to juggling health with parenthood.

However, a recent video Melanie posted has sparked debate over safety, as it featured her performing an advanced yoga move over the top of a cot, in which her daughter Olive was sat.

A video of Melanie performing a move over a cot attracted criticism

'You're gonna crush your kid someday,' one commenter wrote, while another agreed, 'Stupid u could fall on ur baby!!!I'm sure u could do the same on the floor'.

A third wrote, 'This is so dangerous. So many things could go wrong here.'

Other followers mentioned the safety risk of the strength of the furniture itself, rather than Melanie's ability.

'I'm glad your cot is sturdy enough to attempt this but others people may follow your actions- what if their cot broke and came crashing down and in turn really injured their baby and themselves? I wouldn't feel good about being an advocate for such ill thought out activities.'

Melanie often posts workout pictures with her children

Speaking to PEOPLE, Melanie defended her actions, explaining 'It makes me a little bit sad, with people thinking that I'm putting my child in danger. But in my opinion, I'm not. I'm taking precautions. I know my skill set. I know what I'm safely capable of performing.'

'My child's safety is always my No. 1 concern'.

She adds that she doesn't intend for anyone who watched the video to follow in her footsteps.

'I would never encourage someone to perform an exercise outside of her comfort zone,' she added. 'We need to listen to our bodies. We know our capabilities better than anyone else.'