diff --git a/dom/smil/nsSMILAnimationController.cpp b/dom/smil/nsSMILAnimationController.cpp
index 0dd616346..69956203e 100644
--- a/dom/smil/nsSMILAnimationController.cpp
+++ b/dom/smil/nsSMILAnimationController.cpp
@@ -233,7 +233,7 @@ void
 nsSMILAnimationController::NotifyRefreshDriverCreated(
     nsRefreshDriver* aRefreshDriver)
 {
-  if (!mPauseState) {
+  if (!mPauseState && mChildContainerTable.Count()) {
     MaybeStartSampling(aRefreshDriver);
   }
 }