diff --git a/core/xml.js b/core/xml.js
index 5972b2268..993b71319 100644
--- a/core/xml.js
+++ b/core/xml.js
@@ -606,7 +606,10 @@ Blockly.Xml.domToBlock = function(xmlBlock, workspace) {
  *     should be added.
  */
 Blockly.Xml.domToVariables = function(xmlVariables, workspace) {
-  for (var i = 0, xmlChild; xmlChild = xmlVariables.children[i]; i++) {
+  for (var i = 0, xmlChild; xmlChild = xmlVariables.childNodes[i]; i++) {
+    if (xmlChild.nodeType != Element.ELEMENT_NODE) {
+      continue;  // Skip text nodes.
+    }
     var type = xmlChild.getAttribute('type');
     var id = xmlChild.getAttribute('id');
     var name = xmlChild.textContent;