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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

AIBU to be annoyed with my parents about an 'explosive risk' at nursery?

100 replies

Mojomarm · 14/12/2016 14:51

I'm a single mum working full time with a toddler, so my parents are closely involved with me & DS, and most of the time it's completely fine and they respect my decisions when it comes to raising him. The other night though when we stopped by for a cuppa on the way home from nursery, I mentioned that the messy play game for that day at nursery had been playing in flour to replicate the snow at Christmas and that DS had had a whale of a time according to the staff. I thought it was a sweet little anecdote to pass on so the sheer look of horror on my parents' faces threw me.

Dad in particular freaked me out as he's not the type to over-worry or try and wrap DS up in cotton wool but he was genuinely shocked about the 'explosion risk' from flour and said that it was dangerous for the nursery to be using it for play purposes. I know the science behind the risk of airborne fine particles causing large explosions, and have seen some horrible stories about it occurring in large-scale storage areas, but surely playing with a few 100g in a nursery is perfectly fine?! I tried to point out to him that it would be no more dangerous than me flinging some flour around when I'm baking or making dough, but he was adamant it was extremely dangerous as the babies and toddlers would be 'throwing it up in the air' lots. Mum then said I should ask for the risk assessment from the nursery. She wasn't joking either. To the point where later that evening when I was back home, she sent me an email with a link to the HSE website about explosive risk from powders in industrial settings (although she did manage to admit that the scale of flour being used was slightly different) and she knew I thought they were being 'silly' but it was a real risk.

REALLY?!?! Am I missing something here?! Have there been lots of stories about nurseries spontaneously combusting because the self-raising flour was chucked about one too many times by a small group of hell-raising babies?! I really like the nursery DS goes to. The staff are warm, friendly and I can see how much DS has come on in the few months he's been there. It's stupidly convenient for work too although this means it's not the one that's round the corner from my parents which I suspect it's why my Mum doesn't trust them (doesn't bother Dad I don't think).

They also make little comments about nursery not feeding him enough (he eats pretty much anything they give him - I'm trying to make the most of it before he gets fussy) and I'm starting to feel that they're trying to chip away at my choice of nursery for him as if my judgement in choosing it in the first place was wrong. I understand that they're concerned about DS and his wellbeing (currently their only grandchild), but it's pissed me off royally and I'm struggling to let it go, or know what to say to them to tell them to butt out when 99% of the time they're really helpful and supportive. I'm a non-confrontational type and I'm worried if I don't say something, it'll build up inside me and explode (pun intended) up into something else that might mean I say some hurtful stuff.

Parents eh?

OP posts:

Original poster

Mojomarm · 14/12/2016 15:55

I really really want you to go into the nursery to complain about the risk of explosion from the flour, and for one of the nursery workers on here to start a thread about the crazy things parents say.

I did end up mentioning it to his key worker the next day, but only after saying 'I know it sounds odd' and 'it's not me it's my parents' and pretty much every other get out clause you could imagine to try and make it less embarrassing.

OP posts:

EagleIsland · 14/12/2016 15:56

Condensedmilk IRA used sugar diesel and fertilizer

CondensedMilkSarnies · 14/12/2016 15:57

Op , you mentioned it to the nursery ??? !!! You will now be forever known as Batshit Mum

Backingvocals · 14/12/2016 15:58

Love the custard spreading menacingly down the road. That is the next disaster movie right there. Forget the Poseidon Adventure - this is what we really want. Someone call Gene Hackman

TwitterQueen1 · 14/12/2016 15:58

There are some batshit posts on here today. This is funniest one so far
I think you should ask for an elf 'n safety appraisal for all future play activities.. .

liz70 · 14/12/2016 15:59

"Every days a school day- I didn't even know this was a thing."

I have a chemical engineering lecturer involved in H&S at his workplace for a DH. Stuff filters down.

Civilservant · 14/12/2016 16:02

My parents are overanxious and at times interfering, but this takes the exploding biscuit!

Ooh, could we have an exploding biscuit icon for MN. Kapow!

Tomorrowillbeachicken · 14/12/2016 16:02

Mil worked in a large scale bakery from the 70s to the 90s and they managed not to explode the place in all that time. I think the nursery will be fine.

Civilservant · 14/12/2016 16:03

Yes, the nursery will think you are crazy, and unable to stand up to your crazy anxious parents!

OurBlanche · 14/12/2016 16:08

Many years ago my cousin was burned on her 18th birthday... her friends did that funny exploding balloon thing over her as she blew out her candles.

The flour in the balloon dispersed in a very fine cloud, the candles ignited it, her hair burst into flames.

They put her out with very little skin damage, though her long hair had to be cut down to her scalp and her boyfriend's hands were burned by her molten hair. He came off worse than she did!

I know it sounds unlikely, and yes, there does need to be a flame, but please don't laugh it off as impossible!

alotlikeChristmas16 · 14/12/2016 16:08

i'd get my parents to go in with me in your shoes, and explain their concerns and see the 'you are batsh1t nuts' looks they get. In all seriousness, don't fall out with good committed GP over this, laugh it off, or pander to them. They are nuts, but they are the good kind of nuts, and their worrying about nursery is probably just because they care about you both, so try not to let it get to you.

Weedsnseeds1 · 14/12/2016 16:08

Remember the explosion at the wood flour mill in Bosley last year? 4 people dead. A skimmed milk powder factory near here blew up a few years ago ( no one dead, fortunately). It does happen, so I'd suggest the nursery set up a well ventilated outdoor smoking area for the e-cig kids, just in case!!

Maudlinmaud · 14/12/2016 16:09

My anxiety I'm trying hard not to go and throw away the flour in the larder.

alotlikeChristmas16 · 14/12/2016 16:09

'they didn't seem concerned at nursery, perhaps it would help if you came in and explained it'. :)

Tomorrowillbeachicken · 14/12/2016 16:10

E cig kids? Yikes

TheProblemOfSusan · 14/12/2016 16:19

Surveyors are often incredibly up on H&S issues, awareness is often an important part of the job. But he's forgetting the bit about assessing the risk appropriately!!

Yes, you can use flour to start an explosion, but as literally everyone else upthread has said, not under the circumstances of babies chucking it around.

H&S isn't just about what could go wrong, it's about the risk of it going wrong, how you can reduce the risk, and if you really need to do the task. So for this situation:

potentially an explosion
the very small quantities and lack of ignition and literally the entire scenario suggests a vanishingly small risk (well except in nurseries where they're weaning them onto the e-cigs)
yes do the task cause of the benefits of this sort of play i.e. nice for the children and a learning experience

All suggest that your parents should probably, you know, stfu.

If it were metric tons of flour in a factory where sparks and stuff come off machines that's a completely different risk assessment.

ALSO the nursery probably has done a risk assessment on this activity already, I'm pretty sure that's a thing nurseries do, right?

Yamadori · 14/12/2016 16:25

Yes, flour explodes, but you need a very large (industrial) quantity of it suspended in the air as dust particles, and an ignition source. They have to be careful in flour mills and commercial bakeries but at this scale? Hahahahaha!!

Yamadori · 14/12/2016 16:27

Forgot to mention... pistachio nuts have a habit of spontaneously combusting

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 14/12/2016 16:30

You don't need a lot of flour, you can do it with small amounts too. But as long as there weren't any birthday cake candles on vicinity probably ok. I don't hold perhaps it should be risk assessed though, both for explosion and inhalation risks.

DigestiveMuncher · 14/12/2016 16:31

This thread has made me YouTube flour explosions however from what I have watched I really don't think you have anything to worry about the amount of flour the babies were playing with.

Who'd of thought it though? I didn't have a clue so quite intrigued now.

MeetMeAtMidnight · 14/12/2016 16:31

Oh dear, oh dear. This is not good. Tell your parents to keep their mouths shut or they can expect a visit from Dark OPs. I can't stay for long - they're watching me - but between me and you, the 'nursery' is simply acting on government instructions to prepare indoctrinate our future citizens against an impending zombie apocalypse and a simultaneous alien invasion by training them in the use of explosives.

I'm sure they have the children wear the appropriate hazmat suits and masks and are careful to hush-up any collateral damage casualties ( by method of eliminating the afflicted parents AND grandparents) so as not to alert the public and have panic in the streets. Try not to worry. Again, probably best you don't talk about this to anyone else. Trust no one.

Weedsnseeds1 · 14/12/2016 16:35

I'd forgotten about pistachios . Grain in silos has a habit of igniting from the inside out, too!

Tomorrowillbeachicken · 14/12/2016 16:37

Humans have also been known to spontaneously combust

MrsMattBomer · 14/12/2016 16:45

Yep, they can ignite but you need a heat source or spark. If it was just from floating about in the air, they would never let you buy a 25kg bag like I just have.

OurBlanche · 14/12/2016 16:50

Yamadori you really don't need large, let alone industrial, quantities.... As I posted a little earlier, I have reason to know this for a fact. That people dismiss the possibility as utterly hilarious is quite sad/annoying/silly!

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