A mother and two daughters could face attempted murder charges for allegedly burning a 10-year-old boy with a heated iron.

Minah Kekana, 48, and her daughters, Johana and Sinah, both in their 20s, appeared in the Mookgophong Magistrate's Court in Limpopo on Friday for assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

Minah and Johana were released on R500 bail each while Sinah, who is pregnant, was released on warning.

Prosecutor Chris Maruma told the court that the state would be elevating the charges to attempted murder.

"We ask the court to postpone this matter for further investigations to establish the extent of the child's injuries."

The child's father said his son came home last Tuesday screaming from burn injuries. "He could hardly walk and he told me that the Kekana family assaulted him after he injured a child from the family. They locked him in the house where they ganged up on him."

The women allegedly stripped him naked and started to assault him with a sharp object. "He said they plugged [in an] iron and burnt his legs and upper body . How could people who call themselves mothers do this to a 10-year-old boy?"

The father of the child said he rejected R600 from the family as a way of apologising.

"I can't sell my son's life. I want them to go to jail."

The child was recovering at Voortrekker Hospital.

Magistrate Frans Mahodi warned the Kekana family that the charges against them were very serious because the victim was a young child.

The case was postponed to February 22.