HOT COFFEE ACCIDENT AT PLAYGROUP! WHAT TO DO?

[mrsmiawallace]

my dd and my friends ds attend a small playgroup on a friday.
half way through they all sit down and have a snack and drink and the parents are given a cup of tea or coffe.
last week the playgroup leader brought some hot drinks over on a tray, held it over my other frinds ds's head and offered someone else to take her drink and put in sugar, all the while this full tray of scalding hot liguid, hovering over him.
i was about ot say something, when she moved, but just as i went to mention it to my friend, her ds knocked the table and pulled the full cup of coffee all over himself!
thankfully, shes trained in first aid, so reacted very quickly and he is fine but i was very concerned about the way its all set up. i dont like having hot drinks around the little ones as they're running all over but, as im not the playleader, i would have thought, she SHOULD have implemented some sort of safety procedure?
want ot say something but dont want to come across as funny although i know i have every right when it could be my dd at risk!
can anyone suggest anything please?

[misdee]

i think the accident may make them look at the procedure anyway. maybe they set up a safe drinks table away from the ids, and say no drinking it in the main play area. or no hot drinks at all.

[mrsmiawallace]

youd think wouldnt you!, but went today and still doing the same!
it was only me who moved my drink over to other side of room to drink when kids had finished and was safe!
i thought they could make the drinks when kids nearly finished eating and leave them in kitchen for us to help ourselves. this way, they wouldnt be carrying around full trays of hot drink and then its our responability as parents to keep it away from them!

[Tommy]

Next time, why don't you leap up when she comes in, take the tray off her (to "give her a hand") and say something like - "Here - shall I put that tray up on this high shelf - don't want any more coffee showers do we?" in a sort of jokey, helpful way and that might make her realise what she's doing wrong.
I know how you feel - one on the Mums in our group carries a teapot into the (very small) living room above the heads of 5 toddlers and 3 babies and seem to think that's OK too.
Good luck

[Tickle]

At our old playgroup hot drinks were not to come out of the kitchen - there was a safety gate on the door to keep smalls away from hot stuff. It also gave all parents an excuse to move into kitchen to chat

Definitely something you should mention I think... could've been really nasty.

[mrsmiawallace]

mm thanks, but she has two other helpers and they all do the same thing(helpers a bit old and dothery!)
am thinking i should say something, get in early next week and mention that im concerned, i think if anything happend to my dd i wouldnt forgive myself if i didnt, but dont want to cause an atmosphere as other than this, the palygroup is the best ive been too!dd loves it.

[Pagan]

Just say something casually that perhaps it would be an idea for parents to collect their own drink from a safe area rather than bringing them in on a tray. It's just common sense really.

In our mums & toddlers group the tea stuff is kept in a separate room on a table which is a decent height so that wee hands can't grab. Parents either come through for their coffee or whoever is taking their turn at making it will take it through one by one.

I spilled my tea one day fortunately it was cold and fortunately it was over my own DD

[mrsmiawallace]

just reading another thread about playgroups and also meant to say the playgroup leader just let my friends get on with it, never offered to help her in anyway and carried on whatever she was doing!, didnt log it in any accident book and only asked me how he was(friends couldnt make it today)this morning, they didnt even ring to see how he was!!!
thinking aout it is making me feel more strongly!
shes also a childminder and has offered her services to us!

[surfermum]

The nursery nurse who runs our playgroup bought those insulated cups with lids to prevent things like this happening.

[mrsmiawallace]

do you know where she got them from? and if they where expensive? this girl mainly runs this place herself with the help of a few grants, but i think safety should come before an extra couple of new toys?

[WideWebWitch]

Any playgroup I've ever been to has had a strict rule about no hot drinks out of the kitchen for exactly this reason.

[Snugs]

Surely if this playgroup is funded by grants of any sort, then it should comply to some form of health and safety procedures. Sorry to sound like an old grump - but I wouldn't take my child to an unsafe environment like that until safe procedures were in place.

But maybe thats because I see the scars my niece has 20 years (and 5 operations) after a scalding accident at playgroup

[northstar]

Next time you go to the playschool maybe you could mention that you read on the internet over the weekend about a playschool in trouble over a hot drink incident, and would it be a good idea to set a precedent NOW "just in case". That way you are not singling out anyone for blame?

[Branster]

Are you reffering to a mother&toddler group when you say 'palygroup' (like a weekly gathering of parents& children)?
All the ones I've been to (and have been to quite a few) serve the hot drinks for grown-ups through a hatch from the kitchen. I've never seen them being served from a tray passed around the room (it never actually ocurred to me that this could be a possibilty). From then on is the responsabilty of the grown-up to look after his/her cup of tea/coffee. Even so accidents can still happen if you think about it.
So perhaps you can suggest that hot drinks are kept on a high place somewhere and one person is responsible for preparing the drinks (add sugar & milk, pour out etc). The system works by either having a regular person employed from outised the group who comes in and takes care of all the kitchen duty either voluntariyl or for a small fee, or each aprent takes it in turns with the kitchen duties.

[tinyganghq]

Oh yes, say whatever you have to to get the hot drinks served well away from the children.

I hate hot drinks around little ones (never drunk them myself, so I've never really appreciated their appeal)and have sometimes been a bit abrupt on this subject around others .

I was badly burned with hot water a few years ago - it was awful and I still have a scar

[jabberwocky]

DO whatever you have to do or say to get this situation under control. It is dangerous to have hot drinks around little ones. If they simply won't do it, could you find another group?

[mrsmiawallace]

already go to the other group near me, and thats all really, so would still like to go as long as dd and friends are not at risk. i think i am obliged to say something even if im a bit nervous about doing it. at the end of the day, she should have these procedures set up already and i shouldnt be the one asking her to be more careful. think ill get in early on friday and have a chat with her. ill just tell her im concerned and say i know others would feel more comfortable if hot drinks will be kept away from the kids. thing is if it gets round then some of the other mums might think im being arsy and we might end up leaving anyway! cos if they are funny then they dont care about their kids as much as i care about mine do they! thanks for all your advice.

[tortoiseshell]

Our playgroup is really strict about not taking hot coffee out of the kitchen - we have to drink it in there while the kids have their snacks in the hall.

[Chandra]

There was a discussion about this a few days ago, I'm not surprised it has happened. The HV organising my playgroup used to serve hot drinks at midday when for some strange reason all our 3m olds were demanding their feeds. So you could imagine, a bunch of first time mums breastfeeding and drinking hot tea over our little ones. What surprises me is not that it has happened but that it doesn't happen more often

[80sMum]

This group may not be registered, if it's a parent&toddler group, and it may be funded by small donations and staffed by volunteers. Nonetheless, toddlers and hot drinks definitely should not be in the same room together. You must mention this to the leader and get her to change her practice before a serious accident ocurrs.

[THERESA]

My dd (now 6) pulled my cup of black coffee off the bench all over herself at 18 months - nightmare! Her upper chest and arm are badly scarred so I'm really concerned about this. Agree with previous comments - sounds like a 'mother and toddler group' - in our area (newcastle) 'playgroup' is from age 2 1/2 and child is left there for the morning. Anyway all M & T groups in our area are automatically members of the 'pre school learning alliance' I'm sure they must have a website, if not I could find their number for you. The insurance is arranged through them. i used to run one & thought insurance not necessary - children are parents responsibility - but it had always been done so just continued with it. The lady from the p.s.l.a. used to pop in once or twice a year unannounced. She was very nice and friendly and it was informal. She used to observe, ask about our routines and procedures and she'd come up with a list of suggestions. Whether or not you're group is a member, I'd give them a call and they could just pop along, doesn't actually cost anything to join and they also offer to come along sometimes and do craft sessions etc.

[THERESA]

Just searched on pre school olearning allianceand nothing came up _ although I'm not the best 'searcher'! My ds is at playgroup this morning and they're also members, I'll ask them for phone no.

[SoupDragon]

Pre-school learing alliance