In article .com,
"huerochingon" wrote:

Brilliant! Tell my children not to touch them! I never thought of that.
Oh wait, what about my friends children? I'll have to remember to tell
them too. Then there's my nieces and nephews, I better call them ahead
of time since they usually just arrive and go straight to playing in
the yard (not "garden" but yard, as in for playing on!). Oh, I almost
forgot..My neighbor's kids play out there near that planter. Got it!
I'll just hang a sign on it "DANGER! DO NOT TOUCH!", a little barbed
wire and I'm all set.

Maybe it would be simpler to just buy plants that are kid friendly and
not hazards.

No such thing. Even if they don't die from the frightful toxicity in an
apple seed, they certainly could choke to death on one bite. And while you
won't find even one case of any child's death by euphorbia, you will find
plenty of cases of death by choking on safe foods & small objects.

Just because I keep close tabs on my children doesnt mean
it's okay to build a pool without a fence does it?

Just because it would be irresponsible to chuck your child off the roof
doesn't mean it's irresponsible to have a garden. Chances are you have
fifteen plants in toddling distance that are more toxic than a euphorbia.
If you can't teach your kid how to safely interact with the world, maybe
you should just chuck him off the roof & be done with it.

There is always the
same response from people when it comes to advice about kids "Just
control your kids". As though if children everywhere could just be
controlled somehow we could just do whatever we want. Janet, thanks for
sharing your personal experience with the plant. It sounds like I
should find it a new home. See, my "garden" is for the kids to enjoy,
not for the kids to observe.

List all the other plants you have & I'll find reasons more credible than
Janet's medically improbable phytophotosensitivity for chucking everything
BUT the euphorbia. I guarantee you're missing the real dangers in the
environment. If you wanna buy into Janet's claim that euphorbias cause
phytophotosensitivity, maybe you'd better also worry about the plants that
are actually associated with this condition. Worry about kids getting into
the celery, lettuce, figs, beans, citruses, tansies, & asters -- because
while euphorbias are not associated with phytophotosensitivity, all those
others have been known to cause it. Scary, scary celery -- no responsible
mom would even let her kid inside a grocery store that has any of it, let
alone bring any home. People may think you're a loony, but it's the kids'
safety that matters, & since celery is known to induce photosensitivity &
euphorbia is not, you should certainly be more paranoid about celery.

If they kick the soccer ball into the
plant, I dont want them to have to call me to go get it because they
dont want their arms to blister and bleed again! But I'm sure all of
your kids dont kick balls into places where they are not allowed,
right?

You let your kids play soccer!?!? My god! Shame on you! Don't you know how
many kids get seriously injured playing soccer??!!! There's no plant
they'll fall on that is even one-one-hundredth as associated with injury &
death. Even just running, jeez, they could run slam into a tree or soccer
goal post & break their necks. And how many kids are just dead cuz they
followed a soccer ball into a street? Mommy can't be there all the time
after all, tellin' 'em not to run out in front of trucks might not be
enough.

The National Academy of Science ranks soccer among the leading causes of
child brain injury, some that result in death. The National Operating
Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment warns that even wearing a
helmet won't protect children from concussions & brain injuries playing
soccer. That euphorbia is a healthfood product compared to soccer, but you
worry they might fall on something relatively innocuous while playing a
game that could render them braindead???

If it's sensible to get rid of plants with caustic latex (that includes
dandylions by the way -- any dandylions in the neighborhood? Oh no!) then
it's sensible to hobble the kids so they can never run, & never let them
play any game that might involve any moving objects. I recommend you sew
the kids tight between two mattresses & let them breathe through a tube,
but be careful or they might choke on the tube.

Oh, & trusted Uncle Neddy -- you don't wanna know the stats on how likely
a guy like that is to be safe around the kids. Be afraid! Of everything.
Be VERY afraid.

-paghat the ratgirl
--
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"In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to
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