AIBU to wonder why people serve drinks too hot to drink?

[Multiplenames11]

Just seen someone with horrible burns from a drink on Instagram. This has got me thinking along with seeing a baby at a baby group get a small burn from a hot drink and someone leaving a very hot drink in a non safe place near my small child recently. Why do people not just add some cold water to hot drinks. What is the point of making a drink that's too hot to drink? Why not add a bit of cold water (after it has brewed/steeped etc), rather that handing people drinks that need to cool for sometime to be drinkable. It would hopefully prevent quite a lot of injuries.
Of course leave a tea to stew safely on a kitchen bench or put in a thermos for later if going out.

Yes, her error was leaving her drink in reach of a child, not in having it hot in the first place.
I assume the drink she made herself was the water out of a boiling kettle plus a splash of milk? That’s a perfectly normal way to make a cup of tea (I don’t drink it, but that’s how everyone I know seems to make it). So she hasn’t done anything wrong in her preparation of the drink. She shouldn’t she left it in reach of a young child.

My partner does this, swills both inside and outside of mug with boiling water before adding the boiling water to the teabag.

Not only does he do this as its so hot you can do nothing but sip it, but he starts gulping it down after a minute. I've told him this can cause esophageal cancer but he won't listen!

Yes, having served my time as a barista years ago I can attest that a significant amount of people would insist on me heating the milk to the point where it’s burnt, otherwise it was simply too cold for them.

My mother drinks her tea near as damnit as soon as it’s made with freshly boiled water. I imagine she’s simply burnt the nerves in her mouth and throat over the years. Terrible for you of course, but she won’t change now.

I agree with you though OP that people are blasé about scolding risks at baby groups.

I think if it’s baby/ toddler groups they need to insist people bring along lidded cups if they want a hot drink! It’s the only way we’re allowed a hot drink outside of the staff room at school.

You may have missed earlier, but adding 10% cold water to recently boiled water will not cool it anywhere near sufficiently to prevent scalding.

No milk and they had no intention of drinking it anytime soon. Totally agree it could have left it somewhere else ie not served it super hot.

It's quite funny that most people think it will be luke warm if you add a bit of water!
I agree it is still hot, but less likely to do really bad damage, and of course it will have cooled somewhat being poured into another vessel from the and some level of stewing. Also 10% is a very rough estimate of the amount I put in my husband's tea .

The lady on Instagram on a plane (article linked in a earlier post) had second degree burns from the hot chocolate on the plane.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts. I would be interested to actually measure the temperature of everyone's drink at the temperature they like.

The Google ai suggests 54 to 60 degrees is comfortable.

What is clear is there are probably very many ways to drink hot drinks. The people who love them extremely hot are probably sipping and holding their cups, so in effect safer than the leavers!

Maybe some people will think twice about leaving a very hot drink for ages and consider a small compromise of adding cold water/milk, especially if children around or a situation where more risk of an accident.

I will still drink my tea fairly milky and straight away. Not luke warm and steeped in boiling water.

Ok, so basically you expected her to add cold water to it?

Quote fail

No, you are wrong. Even if you mix 8 parts boiling water with 2 parts tap water it will be over 80C, which is plenty hot enough to cause damage.
You think you’re being safe but you aren’t. Just keep the hot drinks away from the children.

Yes. They could have left it somewhere else or added cold water to do they could actually drink it.

I work in a lab, but it is not rocket science that if you add a little less hot water and make it a bit stronger, then add a little bit of cold water (if you don't add cold milk) it will still taste fine.

It really really won't be, unless still in the kettle, and I know some people think their drinks are 100C, but it will cool to significantly lower than that by being poured etc.

Apparently some cultures drink drinks at 70C and that is considered extremely hot.

It is up to you to keep your kids away from hot drinks, and not up to other people to dilute their coffee with cold water to appease you.

We have to do many many many things in life to keep others safe, drive at speed limit, not drink and drive, wear seat belts, not smoke indoors and a million and one things in work places. This is a tiny compromise. As I'm sure you read I did keep my child safe and the mum of the baby did nothing wrong, but the accident could have been avoided at multiple points. Safety involves multiple steps from multiple people.

This is a post about the women who got burnt on a plane (which was one of the things that triggered the original post). A surprising number of people in the comments have experienced burns from hot drinks, both adult and children. I
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1EyrBnPeSW/

I will leave this thread as there has been some thoughtful comments. I don't think I expected so many mumnetters to want scalding drinks and to be able to drink them straightaway, so they are actually serving them at a drinkable temperature, so they were never really answering the question posed😆. All a bit bonkers.

If one person is a bit more careful and it prevents an accident that's great, but we will never know.

Spending too much time admonishing strangers on mumsnet is probably not too good for your or your kids either

You are being ridiculous

I'm 57 & have managed to have very hot drinks all my life without scalding any children. It's not an either or situation. It's a used half a brain cell around babies and small children situation.