It's a quite deliberate and slightly difficult action to activate the boiling water, there's a ring around the base of the spout that you have to double-press and twist on the second press, completely independent of the normal cold/hot water.

I have two young children and honestly, I'm not concerned either for them, my wife, nor myself that there's any risk.

Using the microwave is a perfectly good solution I think, but I don't know many people who do that, and although it's fine for tea etc for one person, it won't do a house-full of cups of tea in seconds, nor fill a pan with boiling water.

I wouldn't dare to suggest that it's the best thing for everyone, but we are extremely happy with its utility in our home.

EDIT: Typos

How's your experience been? Do you preheat your mug before brewing? I like tea strong and dark!

As for pre-heating, I tend to use it to pre-heat my wife's tea mug and my coffee cup before I brew with the espresso machine in the kitchen, by filling it part way for a few seconds and then pouring away; mostly to take the chill off, as our kitchen can be cold in the mornings.

I know there are lots of other cheaper brands but my understanding from researching several of them a few years back was that many/most of the cheaper ones won't keep up with the Quooker, won't be as reliable, and likely won't have the after sales support as a product from a company that specialised in that single product. There are the office ones you speak of but they're been weaker performing in my anecdotal experience of our office, and often come with service contracts.