A cautionary tale for all parents with toddlers: Do not let your child play with your phone, or you might not be able to unlock it for years.

One mother in Shanghai learnt this the hard way, after she left her iPhone with her two-year-old son so he could watch educational videos, reported Chinese media.

When she returned, she found that the phone was disabled and locked for 47 years - or, to be exact, 25,113,676 minutes.

According to the mother, who posted about her plight on an online forum, the toddler repeatedly attempted to unlock the phone, but with the wrong password.

The woman, who was only identified as Madam Lu, was reported as saying that she has waited for two months so far.

"I can't really wait for 47 years and tell my grandchild it was your father's mistake," she was quoted as saying.

An Apple store technician reportedly told Chinese media outlet Kankanews that she has two options: Wait it out to unlock her phone, or reboot the iPhone.

The latter option would mean she would lose all the files in her phone memory.

This is not the first time that the technician has seen such a case, he told Kankanews. There were other occasions where iPhones were disabled for more than 80 years because of repeated unsuccessful attempts to input the phone's passcode.