diff --git a/system/helpers/form_helper.php b/system/helpers/form_helper.php
index 0095a81..bdc87b8 100644
--- a/system/helpers/form_helper.php
+++ b/system/helpers/form_helper.php
@@ -240,7 +240,7 @@
 			unset($data['value']); // textareas don't use the value attribute
 		}
 
-		return "<textarea "._parse_form_attributes($data, $defaults).$extra.">".$val."</textarea>";
+		return "<textarea "._parse_form_attributes($data, $defaults).$extra.">".form_prep($val)."</textarea>";
 	}
 }