do you let LO pick flowers/grass/leaves when playing?

[CherryBombMama]

silly question, i know, but i honestly cant figure out what to do. we have TONS of plants and flowers are trees in the front and back yard, its a complete jungle and there is absolutely no way to avoid them. DS is 12 months and tries to pick at the flowers or leaves. I want him to touch them and smell and appreciate them, of course, but obviously, him being a year old, its a constant, "dont pick the flowers ... not in your mouth ... gentle hands ... smell the flowers ..."

family members here generally say, "DONT TOUCH!" and i dont want to adopt that approach ... what do you guys do? thanks

[babymommy2]

I have, unless it is something that is going to ruin the plant, like a small bush or flowers. I might let my child pick a few flowers if there are a lot of them or ones that keep coming back. grass and dandelions you can pick all you want. Are you worried about killing the plant, or eating the pickings?

[emmalizz]

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[swellmomma]

YEs with rules. No one else's flowers, stay out of the veggie garden and if we are out walking by the lakes etc those plants/flowers are there for everyone and can not be picked. The kids like to gather clover, dandelions, grass, leaves, sticks dirt etc and use them in their play. Right now my ds6 has a pine cone "store" set up on the front lawn. They also have been making "soup" in the little swimming pool mixing water, grass, dirt etc and stirring it all up. My oldest ds still loves to gather sticks, he uses the big ones as swords/light sabers, and little ones he pretends to build campfires etc.

I plan to grow flowers this summer specifically so my girls can pick and weave them. I don't see the big deal with them picking them as long as they do not destory someone else's or rip my veggies out of the ground kwim.

If you have a lot there that he can pick without ruining everything, why not start him on a nature treasure box. Each of my kids have one and they put rocks, sticks, feathers etc that they find in there. YOu can even take his finds of lfowers and lay them in between strips of wax paper and iron on low. Frame with construction paper and suddenly you have beautiful art work.

Another idea, take a small rubbermaid and fill with potting soil. When he pickes grass, flowers, sticks etc he can "plant" them over andover again as a sensory activity.

My kids have been picking, playing with (and even eating) flowers, grass etc since they were old enough to get off the blanket on teh lawn.

[CherryBombMama]

Originally Posted by babymommy2

Are you worried about killing the plant, or eating the pickings?

im just worried about a mixed message ... like he wont quite understand why he can pick this one but not that one ...

[CherryBombMama]

[QUOTE=swellmomma;15311979]YEs with rules. No one else's flowers, stay out of the veggie garden and if we are out walking by the lakes etc those plants/flowers are there for everyone and can not be picked.

If you have a lot there that he can pick without ruining everything, why not start him on a nature treasure box. Each of my kids have one and they put rocks, sticks, feathers etc that they find in there. YOu can even take his finds of lfowers and lay them in between strips of wax paper and iron on low. Frame with construction paper and suddenly you have beautiful art work.

QUOTE/]

i like those! thankyou (dont know why i cant quote this right...)

[HappyMonkey]

I think picking and tasting etc are part of how they learn... think about how it would have been way back when!

[curious&eager]

My LO loves to sit out our front door and pick the leaves off of our bushes. He enjoyes picking the grass too. I figure they'll look a little pruned this year and will be fuller next year when he's less interested. I don't have anything that he can't pick at.

[Norasmomma]

It's a futile battle that I'd rather not deal with honestly. Plants grow back and babies grow up, my DD is 3.5 and finally we can garden in peace. Our son goes out in the yard and eats grass, it's just part of how they learn. DD's food of choice in the yard was dandilion seeds, it was worse to freak out about it. Unless it's something dangerous, I just let it slide-for my own sanity.

[blumooned]

So far, yes. DS likes to pick pieces of grass, dandelions, etc. These are all things that I don't care about. Now, when the garden starts growing . . . we'll see how that goes!
He has already eaten lots of dirt, some dandelion pieces, grass, leaves, rocks, & sand. I let him know it's not OK, but there is not a ton I can do to stop it! He's quick & well, the stuff's right there, ready to eat!
I think they learn best by doing, so I'm not going to tell him no to everything. But, I do understand what you mean about mixed messages. Today I was showing him how to dig up a little dirt in the yard. A little while later, he crawled over near a flower bed and wanted to dig in that. I had to re-direct him, because I didn't want all the flowers dug up. I think re-direction is best at this age, just move him to a spot where it's OK to pick/dig.

[CalaRei]

I think I'd be concerned if it was not my lawn and I didn't know how it'd been treated. I *finally* convinced DH not to spray anything this year, now that the boys are born. But I know that most of the parks near me are sprayed down, plus I do agree with the "here for everyone" sentiment.

I don't think it sends a mixed message, though it will take a long time to smooth out the details in a toddler's head, I'm sure.

[CookAMH]

I didn't read the responses, but I take the approach of looking long term, at least in our own yard. Do I want DS to generally have permission to pick at flowers and herbs and leaves that should be left alone to grow? No. But I don't mind if he will "forever" pick at grass, sticks, pine cones, dirt, etc. So those things I let him explore until he's starting to eat them too much, then we'll move on to something else. I do let him GENTLY touch flowers and if he grabs, I say no.

If we're in a public place, more for his safety, I generally don't let him pick up things to eat. Who knows who peed on it, kwim?

[elmh23]

Yes. There is nothing posionus in my yard so I don't mind if they pick up stuff and yeah, they eat a few bugs, leaves, sticks. I don't let them do it at the park or anyone elses homes though.