Guidelines or best practice serving hot drinks at playgroup?

[foxy75]

i have recently started helping out at a local church playgroup. It's a busy, thriving group. However, we are aware that there are some health and safety concerns around the serving of tea and coffee, and would like to know if anyone has any useful tips.

At the moment, we have a 'snack time', when children sit down for a beaker of squash and a snack, and carers are offered tea or coffee. The hot drinks are brought into the room on a trolley, and we use a large metal tea and coffee pots. Carers queue at the trolley for their drinks, then go and sit down to drink them. It seems to work, but we are concerned about carers carrying hot drinks, children wandering around the trolley or into the kitchen, and having so many hot drinks around children.

Does anyone know of a better way of doing this? Or of the hazards to be avoided?

Any advice welcome,

Many thanks.

many moons ago when I ran playgroups we only drank hot drinks in the kitchen away fro the children
we would go in one at a time and have a breather and a drink
but if you have lots of adults there, that suggestion might not work
does the committee have a hot drinks policy?
maybe you could have designated zones where hot drinks are not allowed, a bit like they do in children's play areas in pubs

at the playgroup i like the policy is you make your own drink from kettle in kitchen (often you end up making 2/3 cups for friends) in the kitchen and drink them around the room in polysterene cups (there is no snacktime at this group just a plate of biscuits out all morning)

at one surestart group you make you one drink (urn thing in kitchen that you reach through serviing hatch, available at snacktime and from then on (which works as children all sit for snacktime)

at another group i went once they had safe hot drink cups (adult sippy cups basically) i didnt go back

There was a long and heated thread a while back on the benefits of cups/hot drinks policies

Thanks littleducks and purepurple - helpful to hear what other groups do. You mentionned there was a previous thread on this subject. I'm new to Mumsnet - any idea how I might access that?

take care

Don't want to start a fight but in my opinion hot drinks should not be in any area children are. Slightly different as i manage a nursery. If there was an accident (general not hot drink related) you natural instinct is to put drink down and rush to help.

Unless there is an area adults can go (one at a time if supervision is a problem) like the kitchen then I would not allow it.

Either way risk should have been assessed on risk assessment and safety concerns addressed (if its a playgroup where parents leave their children)

Thanks, Mummywannabe, your opinion is appreciated.

No, it is not a playgroup where kids are left, it is a mums/carers and tots group. But you have a good point about the instinct to put down a drink in an emergency, potentially causing another accident.

Our group has finished for the summer, but we will continue to think about how best to organise our refreshments when we re-open in September.

Cheers!