Why put microwave over the range?

This seems to be very common, I see it all of the time, but it seems as if it would be unsafe to reach over the (possibly hot) range. Especially for children. Do you not let children use the microwave until they are tall enough to reach it without leaning on the stove top? I never even hear anyone bringing up the issue. It also seems like heat from the range might shorten the life of the microwave, but I suppose engineers would have designed the microwave with that in mind.