diff --git a/curator-client/src/main/java/org/apache/curator/utils/ZKPaths.java b/curator-client/src/main/java/org/apache/curator/utils/ZKPaths.java
index 40c5bd7..57ee75a 100644
--- a/curator-client/src/main/java/org/apache/curator/utils/ZKPaths.java
+++ b/curator-client/src/main/java/org/apache/curator/utils/ZKPaths.java
@@ -212,7 +212,7 @@
             path.append("/");
         }
         path.append(parent);
-        if ( (child == null) || (child.length() == 0) )
+        if ( (child == null) || (child.length() == 0) || (child.equals("/")))
         {
             return path.toString();
         }