To think hot drinks should be baned from toddler groups?

[cah1]

I am sick to death of parents just leaving them in toddlers reach! It really scares me!

mrsmaidamess YABU for paying upwards of £3 for a cup of warm milk with a tiny bit of coffee in it - you are being ripped off i tell ya

Cah1, I looked at that blog and yes, it is sad when accidents happen to little ones. However, I noted that the family had pictures of thier children with a dog and I'm sure if I could be bothered I could find a blog about a child with injuries caused by a dog, and they also had swings - once again I'm sure there are children out there who have been terribly injured/killed on swings.
We can't go banning everything that could be concievably risky surely?

cah1, I think that YABU. Most parents will try to be careful with their drinks because they are aware that there are babies and toddlers around. Of all the toddler groups I've attended over the years, I can't recall a single scalding incident. All the injuries seem to be falling over, bumps to the head and bites from other children. I think the real risk comes from the other kids to be honest!

YeahBut I'm with you on this one - we have far more accidents at our local M&T group because there is a plastic slide thing that is in 3 parts and lamost inevitably comes apart, only to be put back together incorrectly for a toddler to get bumped as it falls apart again.

IMHO there is nothing wrong with having the hot drinks, as long as they are kept out of reach.

There are polite ways of telling another mother to put a drink out of reach. People just need to be direct and polite.

FWIW, I'm with bubbaluv. Most kitchen stuff, animals, stairs, plants, other children, everything really (ad infinitum), is potentially harmful to children. It is surely the responsibility of (professionals where appropriate, and) individual parents to assess risk and manage the situation accordingly? Heavens - this sounds like an "elf 'n safety" message, but you know what I mean - the "stuff" that a parent does automatically every conscious moment without it being a major issue.
All things (especially fun things) carry possible danger with them and it cannot (maybe should not???) be eliminated. To attempt to do so is futile, IMO. If we all looked back to the DANGERS!! of our own childhoods, it may put things in perspective.

I think our toddler group have the right idea - the 'hot' drinks are never scalding. A small child may get a shock but wouldn't burn.

I thought the same as cah1 last week at playgroup, that the hot drinks were a danger, but I wouldn't ban them - you just have to be sensible.

What pisses me off more is when parents allow their toddlers to come into the baby area and stomp on all the LOs

dont worry neenz - in a year you will have a toddler and wont mind them stomping around near the babies - honest

I think it would be a lot more reasonable to ban toddlers from toddler groups tbh.

Puppymonkey -

I'll have TWO toddlers Kate and won't know my arse from my elbow chasing round after them.

ooh you beat me to it - I was just about to post that - the two thing, not the arse thing.

you know what you'll need? a nice cup of tea...

two toddlers - two cups of tea - OMG!

No I'll only need one cup of tea

Two toddlers - only one cup of tea?

I think they should introduce wine at toddler groups. God knows, the best of us need it!

I think the answer is to ban hot drinks and tell mums to bring their own hip flasks. I'd be take mine full of gin with no pesky tonic to water it down

I have to be honest, as a Dr who has worked in A&E and peadiatrics, I was shocked at the laizez fair attitude to hot drinks at mother and toddler groups. I do think that generally there is a lack of awareness how dangerous they can be. I hate people wondering around with hot drinks and am surprised on the lack of high up shelves to put them on when you have to dash across the room to see to your DC. I do think its completely different to someones house where you might have 4 children, rather than 24 and hot drinks are usually prepared away from toys and where children are playing.I think a ban is a bit OTT but a designated area which drinks stay in (with aforementioned high shelf)is a much better alturnative. I cant see how lidded cups are safer as others have said drinks stay hotter for longer in them, but nice to take outside I guess. So I think YANBU.

Hmm - I would hope that doctors working in the fields specified by naughtymummy would have a competent working knowledge of the language, spelling and grammar that is commonly used in England and its hospitals. I also expect them to have a knowledge of the Latin that is still required for the writing of prescriptions. That presupposes a knowledge of French. The term is "laissez-faire". Doctor? I think not. Don't be silly, naughtymummy. Your opinion is perfectly valid as a Mum - you don't have to pretend to be something you're not.

I am a doctor and a dyslexic , you need neither latin or french to go to medical school and have n't for about 20 years

I don't think YABU - although there are probably other reasons around it. I asked (and asked, and asked...) for something to change at our toddlers group - sugested lidded cups (you can get ones with screw on lids that don't lift off, and you can use not quite boiling water to make the tea - or leave the lids off for 5 minutes before you serve them) and even said I would happily buy them, sugested an area for tea drinking, sugested a notice/reminders be put up etc etc. BUT, to not avail, because the few times a drink has been spilt it has been pretty cold, or has not ctually tipped on the child.

The frustrating this is that parents carry cups accross the room, holding them high up in the air over the children's heads, and then leave them sitting under their chairs where crawlers can reach them. I think its a disaster waiting to happen.

I remember reading that a cup of tea with milk in, that has been sitting for 5 minutes can still give a small child very serious burns as their skin is so thin

(i mean o ther ways around it)

(deepinlaundry - how awful for you and your DD - see this sort of thing does happen. I for one would not stand on my right for a cup of tea if it meant little ones were a bit safer)