to have tealights burning in reach of my toddler?

[BayLeaves]

He is 2.5 and I have told him not to touch them. They are on the coffee table which is not in the middle of the room so they can't be knocked over by accident (although they could be knocked over on purpose).

He has come to look at them and I've told them it could burn him or set his clothes on fire, he seems to understand and is leaving them alone.

(The reason I want them on is because it helps make the room nice and warm. )

I'm sure this is really terrible and dangerous through hence the AIBU?!

I have a two year old. I wouldn't have lit candles anywhere within his reach. Far too dangerous, and at that age they have very little impulse control.

Fear of heights is hard wired into children. Google it. Some risks are hard wired and develop at the age they are useful. Clearly a fear of cars, for example, isn't.

Your toddler isn't 'risk aware' because they are scared of heights, they're simply a human. I don't know if a fear of tea lights is hard wired and I wouldn't risk it.

What concerns me about using tea lights like that is that they are in the background, not the focus of your attention. So even if you're supervising your child - and I'm not suggesting that you aren't - it's easy to forget about the naked flame, until the accident happens.
As cory has said, things like candles on a Christmas tree or toasting marshmallows over an open fire are less risky precisely because the adults are focussed on them; the fire is the centre of the activity.

No no no! Someone in our family was horrifically burned by a candle as a child. Surely you just wouldn't risk it?

Does depend slightly on your child. I could have done this with dd1 as she was the sort of child that said "if you go near this you'll be hurt" would probably have avoided going within 3 feet of it. She's still like that as a teen!
Dd2 would have done to look closely and ds would have had to prove that it was dangerous, so I couldn't have done it with either of them.

Having said that, I still wouldn't have with dd1.

Is this for real?

Can't be. No one is this fucking thick. It's an attempt to whip MN up and get into the Daily Twat.

'AIBU to have fire in easy reach of my toddler?' Yes, that's a genuine question if ever I heard one