All styles and designs of a home, change when there are little ones crawling and running around the house. The sharp edged furniture might have to be replaced with something smaller, more appropriate and safer for children. You also have to make space for the kids to be able to play around and do their developmental activities.
Gardens are a great space for children to play around and have some fun. However, before you let your children out into the garden or other outdoor spaces, you must ensure that the space is safe for them. Kids are always exposed to dangerous objects or environments that could injure or hurt them, so it’s important to make the space child friendly.
Here are some ways in which you can make your gardens not only safe, but also enjoyable for children.
1. More Space
The first thing about making a garden more children friendly is to have a lot of space for the kids to play around and enjoy. Kids like to make castles, run around, roll over in the grass and do things in a large space. So, make sure that you don’t clutter your garden with too many pots, plants and garden furniture. Try to minimise the garden decor and leave things more natural for the kids to enjoy. Also, if you are placing plant pots and furniture, try to confine them to a corner or a specific side and not take over the entire garden.
2. A Garden That Caters to All Senses
A garden that stimulates all the senses of a child is not only going to be a lot of fun but also educational and developmental. For the eyes, plant and grow lots of bright coloured flowers like marigolds, nasturtiums, sunflowers and more. The rustle of leaves and grass is going to be a treat for the ears and leaves with unique textures are going to be extremely fun to touch and feel.
Grow some herbs such as chives, mint or strawberries so that the smell of those can refresh the the kids. Not only does a sensory garden become educational for the kids, it also makes for great landscaping and garden decor, so it’s a win-win for the adults and kids, both.
3. Some Playing or Sports Equipment
Well, now that you’ve decided to make your garden child friendly, it’s probably a good idea to include some playing or sports equipment. Depending on the age of the children in the house, you can get some cool garden playing equipment like swings, slides, inflatable pool etc. If the children are grown up and you have space in your garden, you can get some football nets, archery nets etc. so that the kids can practice and make good use of the garden to develop their sports skills.
Just ensure that the equipment is age appropriate so that the kids can actually enjoy using them. There are some things like a swing, trampoline and an inflatable pool that are evergreen for all age groups, even adults can enjoy them. So if you can’t really figure out what equipment you should get for the children, just go with some of the common ones that can be enjoyed by all.
4. Storage
It’s in the nature of almost all kids to forget their toys and create a mess by leaving them scattered all over the place. It becomes important in such cases to have a storage space where you can just dump all their toys and they can pick them out from there next time they want to play. Do include some large storage boxes or shelves in your garden where the kids can store their toys and other equipment that they play with. A dedicated space for the kids’ toys in the garden will ensure that your garden does not have toys scattered all over it.
Conclusion
In the age of digitisation it’s extremely important that kids get plenty of exercise and play outdoors to maintain their physical well being. To get kids to play outside more, you need to make the outdoors more attractive and safe for them. This is where efforts to make your garden more child friendly and attractive are going to pay off.
