UPDATE - Picture shown is the old design.
They guillotine the tips of your fingers when closing. Take a close look at the design; now compare it to old-school tongs. The zyliss tongs close like scissors. Imagine your finger tips caught in the 'blades.'My other kitchen tongs close like tweezers - there is always airspace between the 2 tongs.I would not allow children to use these.UPDATE:I contacted Zyliss (1/2011). These tongs were redesigned 5 years ago to fix the pinching problem. Zyliss sent a free replacement within the week of the redesigned tongs.It is not possible to pinch your fingers with the new design. The Image shown on Amazon is the OLD designThey are excellent for handling hot delicate items - they work just like hands.