Amanita? any suggestions please.

[flaxton]

Originally Posted by mollisia

Hello,


But I wouldn't come to the idea, that I could bring the town council or the kindergarden chief or whomever before court if it would happen nevertheless.
There is an ancient word, which come out of use since several years. But the older generation still remembers that long ago, in the last century, people knew its meaning. It's called self responsibility

And I have also learned that those limits can be very different from parents to parents Even more from adults without kids

best regards,
Andreas

Andreas
Sadly our legal system doesn't seem to recognise self responsibility any more - it must be someone's fault.

Mal

[Ditiola]

Originally Posted by flaxton

Andreas
Sadly our legal system doesn't seem to recognise self responsibility any more - it must be someone's fault.

Mal

Very true Mal

I do think that there is a tendency to get lost along the way in long threads such as this, and for clarity it is worth remembering that the initial post referred to a " local toddler playgroup area" this is very different to a general play area used by older children and teenagers.

Is also a bit hypercritical to say that on the one hand we are not allowed to mention anything about edible fungal on WAB in case of litigation following poisoning and on the other hand say that we should let toddlers be allowed to play amongst fungi without even checking if they are poisonous and then also not worry at all about any possible litigation following any poisoning from such a situation.

Peter

[gobbiner]

Originally Posted by Ditiola

Very true Mal

Is also a bit hypercritical to say that on the one hand we are not allowed to mention anything about edible fungal on WAB in case of litigation following poisoning and on the other hand say that we should let toddlers be allowed to play amongst fungi without even checking if they are poisonous and then also not worry at all about any possible litigation following any poisoning from such a situation.

Peter

Thats a very sensible way of looking at it Peter

[fairplay]

Originally Posted by Ditiola

Very true Mal

I do think that there is a tendency to get lost along the way in long threads such as this, and for clarity it is worth remembering that the initial post referred to a " local toddler playgroup area" this is very different to a general play area used by older children and teenagers.

Is also a bit hypercritical to say that on the one hand we are not allowed to mention anything about edible fungal on WAB in case of litigation following poisoning and on the other hand say that we should let toddlers be allowed to play amongst fungi without even checking if they are poisonous and then also not worry at all about any possible litigation following any poisoning from such a situation.

Peter

But surely with toddlers, the parents have an even greater responsibility of keeping their eye on the children ?
Why should fungi retain this 'nasty - yuk' image forever, but 'pretty crocus's' remain OK ?
It's down to educating the adults again.

Neil.

[Chris Yeates]

Originally Posted by Ditiola

. . . . on the other hand say that we should let toddlers be allowed to play amongst fungi without even checking if they are poisonous . . . . .

Peter

you would need a CRB check in order to ascertain whether a toddler was poisonous I think

I'll get mi coat . . .

[Ditiola]

Originally Posted by fairplay

But surely with toddlers, the parents have an even greater responsibility of keeping their eye on the children ?
Why should fungi retain this 'nasty - yuk' image forever, but 'pretty crocus's' remain OK ?
It's down to educating the adults again.

Neil.

I agree with you up to a point Neil, and in my previous job I have rejected calls to remove Hemlock from the local river bank and also rejected calls to remove castor oil plants from bedding displays for exactly the reasons you state. I have always said that people should be aware of natural dangers and if children are too young to understand such dangers they should be under the supervision of their parents, but I think dedicated toddler play areas are a bit different.

If I was to take a child to a dedicated toddler play area or leave a child with staff to supervise in a dedicated toddler area I would expect a safe environment free from Poisonous plants or fungi, broken glass, dog poo or any other similar dangers.

Peter

[fairplay]

I can't argue on that point, I guess I'd expect the same.
It was the vagueness of the opening post by saying next to a play area that had me pondering on the correctness of this action and later on, I believe, that is amended to 'within reach of' - but I'm too tired to read the thread all over again - its been a long old day, I travelled 60 miles against the wind this morning on my 125cc blke to be at a friends cremation service - one less 'nice old boy' who knew his fungi.

Neil.

[andyj301]

As a greenhorn I am bound to make mistakes. In this instance no-one was hurt or mislead and, more importantly, I chose to try and learn from my action by posting here. Your comments have made me aware of a clearly very important issue, and your varying points of view show there's no absolute right answer.

To educate people relies on their ability and willingness to learn. Most people I know would not have the time or inclination to gain much knowledge about fungi and perhaps the best that should be hoped for is they adopt the 'admire but don't touch' position. To eradicate the 'yuk' factor they might benefit from knowing one or two positive attributes of fungi in general.

I am not a fan of H&S legislation in this country, so was pleasantly surprised to learn there is at least one council trying to raise people's awareness. Neil, I assure you I have no desire to be a 'hero' to a cause, I just want to learn about fungi.

[fairplay]

No worries Andy, 30 odd years ago I did exactly the same thing when I found what I thought was the Death Cap growing in a park in Ipswich. I went into 'save the world mode', pulled it up and took it down the road to inform the museum and have it confirmed.

Turned out to be the False Death cap.

25 years later, this very same chap asked me to become the County Fungus Recorder, so ... perhaps you might not have to wait as long as I did Andy.

Neil.