Joseph’s Story
“Every few years I’d go back, have the scars opened [surgically] and another skin graft put on. It’s caused basically a lifetime of continued treatment – and all it was was an accident”
Joseph was just 9 months old when he managed to climb on to a kitchen counter and pull a kettle of freshly boiled water on to himself. His mum had just finished a nightshift and left the kitchen for a matter of seconds.
Read more about the lifelong impacts of scarring on The Scar Free Foundation website.
Hot Drinks Harm
“Accidents can’t be undone”
In 2019, 30 children and babies a day were being treated for burns and scalds by the NHS. On National Burns Day in 2025, new figures were released showing a 16.4% increase in serious hot drink burns to children. These injuries happen by accident in a split second, but can cause a lifetime of problems.
Read more about Dr Amber Young’s incredible contributions to paediatric burns on The Scar Free Foundation website.
Project lead: Dr Amber Young
Produced by: North Bristol Trust
Did you know…
- Babies and toddlers have much thinner skin than adults and burn much more easily and at lower temperatures
- Hot drinks stay hot enough to burn a baby or toddler for over 30 minutes
- It takes a split second for a baby or toddler to pull a hot drink over themselves
- A cup of hot drink spreads a very long way over a small child’s skin
- Babies and toddlers don’t see danger: they’re learning to move and want to explore the world around them
Easy SafeTea rules can prevent hot drink burns
- Keep hot drinks out of reach of young children
- Never carry a hot drink whilst carrying a baby
- Never pass a hot drink over the heads of young children
Ways to keep hot drinks away from children
- Place hot drinks at the back of the kitchen surface
- Avoid drinking hot drinks around small children
- Do not place a hot drink on a cloth: a small child can reach up and pull the cloth – and hot drink – down over themselves
- Always remind visitors to keep hot drinks out of reach and away from young children
- Make a SafeTea zone: a safe place for hot drinks in your home, where you, family, friends, and visitors, can keep drinks away from babies and children
- Take the SafeTea Pledge today!