Toddler-proofing your plants, part one

It was the sight of my daughter with half the leaf from my variegated umbrella plant (Schefflera arbicola) that reminded me that I've been meaning to blog for some time about poisonous plants and the potential hazards to children.

I don't think the schefflera leaf did her any harm - I managed to fish it out before she swallowed - although this plant is supposed to contain a skin irritant. it's definitely time to move that Schefflera from its current position at perfect toddler-baiting height. Indeed there are quite a few plants - both indoor and out - that you should think carefully before introducing if you have small children who aren't quite old enough to heed your entreaties to not put everything and anything in their mouths.

The dumb cane (Dieffenbachia) is a popular houseplant, but not everyone is aware (particularly if you don't read the labels on plants you buy) that the plant's sap is poisonous, causing a range of symptoms including inflammation of the mouth and a tingling sensation on the tongue if chewed.

Cacti can be a peril too. I had a range of shallow dishes on my lounge windowsill that have had to be moved to a less desirable location until my little girl realises that they're not to be used as cute little hairbrushes: likewise other spiky plants like Euphorbia Crown of Thorns, which also happens to be poisonous, too - a double whammy.

There are many garden plants parents of toddlers should be wary of - the RHS has an excellent list here of potentially harmful indoor and outdoor plants. It also offers this sage advice to drum into your offspring: if it isn't recognised food, don't eat it. My parents must have done well at teaching me this one as I clearly remember refusing to eat the elderberries that grew abundantly in an alleyway near our house until I'd taken a bunch home and checked with my mum.

Are there any plants you'd avoid? All advice welcome in the comments below.

Coming up in part two: are ponds a no-no around young children?

Comments

[Joanna]

I always used to think that the person who planted the bones of our garden hated children - lots of yew, laburnum etc ... but our four all grew up in it unharmed, despite the usual toddler tendency to put things in their mouths. Looking back, perhaps when they were very tiny, I was always with them in the garden; and when they were a little bigger, I was stern about "not in your mouth". More likely just lucky ;)

Joanna

[Woody Wilbury]

Oh, do be careful with ponds. I've never forgotten, although it happened 35 years ago, a work colleague who lost a child drowned in a garden pond. It was awful, truly awful, and toddlers can drown in very shallow water. Sorry to be gloomy but...

[Simon Sherlock]

We have a Dieffenbachia (dumb cane) at work but try as we might our manager has still never swallowed any...

Teach your toddler all about Daisy chains - my two love helping in the garden but mistaking vegetables and flowers for weeds is a big problem. If they're transfixed by making a daisy chain they'll be happy for oh, at least 10 minutes :)

I should add that now they are 7 and 9 this is no longer an issue. Having them grow bigger sun flowers and nicer tomatoes than me is fast becoming one though.

[Mrs Be]

I vividly remember when I was a tot being rushed to the doctors after I ate some green berries which I thought were peas.

As for ponds - we filled ours in when we moved here. I just knew that even with the best will in the world I couldn't watch our little ones every second and I'd rather not run the risk. Probably very boring. Inflated paddling pools and sandpits without lids can also pose problems after downpours. Actually, I might not let mine in the garden at all!

[ricki]

But don't all of those poisonous plants taste really awful? A tot would have to be dead-set (pardon the terminology) on personal mischief to get past the first teensy taste.
One consolation, if you really do feel the need to purge your entire garden of suspicious characters: the wee ones remain wee for a surprisingly (and, looking back, ruefully) short time.