I don't really have advice for you; just sympathy. A few weeks ago, I had a corn plant knocked down (by a dog, not a kid), but the feeling of loss is the same. This is the first time I've grown corn, and I've really tended those plants!

Are the kids friendly at all? Maybe getting them involved in gardening would be the best way to prevent future mishaps?

I had trouble with kids picking my flowers "to take to the teacher", until I "gave" them a plant or two of their own. Sometimes I have even (with them watching) taken cuttings and then given them one of the same type that I had previously rooted. When it is their plant, in their yard they understand better how you feel when your plant is bothered. There are rental houses in our area, so it doesn't always work, but sometimes it does! A ten cent package of seeds, that they help, or even watch you sow, and then recieve some of the plants, can work wonders! But there are some kids that you will never win over to your way of thinking.

The only solution i know is to develop a detachment to your plants. Many die through natural causes anyway, afterall. Be grateful if they make it to your table, try to not mourn too much if they get snatched or die through natural means.

jk