They learn fast! Natural consequences are some of the best...it makes more sense when they figure out "why" you don't want them touching certain plants after they experience it for themself. I haven't had to remove any, but had to put up a small decorative fence to keep little feet (and paws) out of stepping on my baby roses...

I remember when mine were young it was hard to focus on the garden while they were outside, especially once they're walking. Mine were so busy and always into something. I agree with the others that you probabaly won't have to remove roses. Maybe just put in some kid friendly plants within your line of site and have a kids garden so they can play "garden" along side you. That's what I did. I put in little flowers safe to eat, things that grow fast so they could enjoy watching, also little veggies like peas and cherry tomatoes, etc. Kids will stay away from the roses for the most part once they get stuck once. Especially if they have their own area. Having a kids garden gives them a nice alternative and it's a really fun learning experience for them too. :)

You could make a point of showing the baby the thorns, like you show and demonstrate a hot stove top - here is the thorn, see how sharp it is (poke gently), it hurts a bit, huh? So, watch out and don't touch so you don't get hurt!

I think I have ONE rose with no or minimal thorns, all the rest are thorny buggers that draw blood every time I go out there... Once I get grandchildren, I too will be doing the 'thorn demo' for them.

I have had roses since before our daughter was born and she has been out with them the whole time. She learned quickly about not grabbing thorns. Her biggest difficulty at the moment is not trying to pull off the blooms or climbing through the less thorny roses and getting stuck in a thorny one.

I have a 2. 5 year old and agree they learn fast. He has a love of gardening already. Also he no longer wants to pluck every flower he sees, but rather inhales the fragrance. He even commented that dahlias don't smell good, roses smell good.

I have two girls, the eldest recently turned five and youngest has just turned three today. My rose garden started with about 5 roses a year before the eldest was born and today I have about 250 different roses in a relatively small area. They've helped me plant, fertilize, pick, pollinate, prune, harvest hips (with or without my approval :-) ) and even name them since they were mobile enough to crawl into the garden. I've never had any major rose related incidents although I made a point of not leaving any prunings where they might step in them. And I never sprayed anything when they were small as there was a time they put everything they saw in their mouths.... like the first time I discovered that Azaleas are poisonous after my then one- year old ended up with a hand full of flowers in her mouth, and we landed in the hospital casualty department for quite a looooong visit ;-) I immediately got rid of my foxgloves as well. Since then I mostly worried about potentially poisonous plants (since roses were safe it was an ideal excuse to buy more in order to fill the spaces left by the poisonous plants - hint, hint. So now I have a garden full of roses although I still sigh for those foxgloves on occasion. Nothing like a rose for a girl though :-)

You could have the foxgloves again once the girls get older.... I agree some of them are glorious!

Kids are smarter than we give them credit for. My 5 year is my "farm hand", and he already knew to stay far from the roses a long time ago

Exactly. You show them in a non-painful way, and they DO remember.

I hope that you are not using dangerous fungicides and insecticides.

Nope. I rarely spray (only about two or three times a year if really needed) and then only certified organic products safe for the environment (my husband is an environmental consultant as well so we try to be extra careful). I also try to apply the same principles to household products, detergents, shampoos, soap etc. Still, I do not want to take a chance with anything foreign that might potentially burn their eyes, mouths, make them itch, cause upset tummies etc.