Microwaving baby food when out and about

[annieapple7]

Hi all
I'm increasingly finding that cafes and restaurants refuse to warm baby food in a microwave. Is anyone else finding this? Why don't so-called family friendly places like Pizza Hut and M & S have microwaves so that you can do it yourself? Can we start a Mumsnet campaign - Feed Our Babies!!

Several reasons I can think of:

If it is their "kitchen" microwave and you ask them to heat home prepared food, then they cannot guarantee that your food may not contaminate other people's. I'm not suggesting that your food is "dodgy" by the way, but some people's hygiene is not good. Or if your food had nuts or some other high allergy component.

Some industrial microwaves are extremely powerful and they don't want to take responsibility for over heating it and burning the baby. Also they may not have time and if they have a restaurant full of mums all asking the same they wouldn't have chance to cook the main meals!

Some places have a normal "domestic" type microwave that parents access themselves. Other places may sell or give you a jar to get round the possible hygiene issue.

Personally I used to take home made food that it wouldn't matter if it was served cold or room temperature.

Debenhams often have their own diy microwaves.

I have come across this before. Snooty waitresses have said: 'Well, ok, but we can't take any responsibility if you burn your babies mouth'.

I usually resist the urge to tell them to shove their mirowaves up their arses and instead manage to smile sweetly and say: 'Thank you, but I don't have any intention of burning my babies mouth. Believe it or not, I have done this before.'

I think they are worried about liability, etc. It's the whole McDonalds 'This cu of coffee contains hot liquid' thing.

Providing a microwave would solve all the shop's concerns in bigger places. I went to Debenhams last week and they were fab. M&S are terrible.

And I wonder how is their position different from if they provided you with their own hot food? That could also be too hot. Obviously parents would test it first.

Re: liability, when I went to the Slug and Lettuce in Bath I had to sign some kind of waiver accepting responsibility if baby food was too hot/baby fell out of highchair, that kind of thing.

It just makes me mad that we all seem to accept this kind of treatment when in other countries they are so much more child friendly!

I have been refused a jug of warm water for heating a bottle at Pizza Express and some other italian chain restaurant. Apparently it's too dangerous with a baby at the table.

When I asked them whether this meant they wouldn't be serving me tea or coffee at the table (because I obviously can't be trusted) they not only didn't have an answer, but started getting shirty with me. Just crap.