This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.
Azalea & Rhododendron
michael fenn
Posts: 4
can someone please help me we have a 1 year old who now wants to explore the garden ,but everything goes in his mouth other websites tell you to dig them up because of poisoning,are they really that dangerous please help
0
Posts
Hi Michael, sorry I don't know, my littlest is 16 months and has just about got out of putting everything in his mouth, phew, wes were out in botanical gardens with friends a few months ago when my friend's 2 year old are some yew berries , she had no idea they were poisonous so I advised her to call 111, they sent her to a & e for the day but little one was fine, phew again, good luck, someone helpful and much more knowledgable than me will be along soon
Micheal have a look a the website link below. It tells you which plants are poisonous.
To be honest, my kids were let loose in the garden and ate, chewed, sucked and generally misbehaved with everything there. They all survived and are now bigger than me and my OH and healthy as anything. It's extremely rare for any child to be poisoned in a garden, they are more likely to be admitted to hospital from what we keep in the house, which we as adults are supposed to control.
Let them get dirty and let them explore, they'll grow up healthier for it. You made it didn't you, so did your parents and their parents before you.
http://www.thepoisongarden.co.uk/default.htm
Before they can talk or understand danger you have to watch them all the time. That doesn't mean interfere in their play, but be ready to intervene if necessary. Tell them no if they try to put things in their mouth. At first they won't understand, but as they get older they will begin to.
Show them things like roses and make them feel how the prickles hurt. Tell them that nettles sting and get them to try just a fingertip so they learn it is true. Then when you say 'those berries will make your tummy hurt' they are more likely to believe you.
At about 3 or 4 depending on the child you can have a rule, 'never taste things without asking mum or dad' and while you are at it 'always wash hands when you come in from the garden'.
At the same time you can show them how to enjoy looking at flowers, or picking some to give to someone, or feeling leaves, like fluffy lamb's ear, or teach them which things are safe and good to eat, like peas or strawberries.
Rather than poisonous plants that only harm if eaten, I would be more worried about things like rue and euphorbia which can cause a very unpleasant skin reaction if they are running about playing and they come into contact with the sap, or plants with sharp pointy leaves at child eye level.
I agree with Dave, with just a couple of exceptions; in general, I'd make sure there are no berries within reach of your toddler - they look very attractive, but many of them are definitely not good to eat (though very few things will actually do permanent harm). And while your toddler is putting lots of things in his mouth, I'd avoid growing foxgloves (because the flowers are a bit too attractive), and definitely avoid monk's hood (aconite) for the same reason.
It looks as if nobody has been poisoned by rhododendrons since 400BC when some people ate poisonous honey. So you should be ok!
Gardens are great playgrounds for kids.
Yup, avoid foxglove and anything else with "Digitalis" as the genus name. Pretty much anything else will be toxic, but unlikely to cause anything worse than an upset stomach or a dose of the runs.
Other than that, don't grow any Belladonna and don't go eating any Daffodil bulbs (they've been mistaken for onions in the past) and your kids will be fine.