As much as you want your garden to look beautiful and be as relaxing as possible, if children also use your garden regularly, it can’t be perfect until it is child friendly and safe for them. This doesn’t mean that your garden can’t look great, but it does mean that you should perhaps keep a few things in mind.
1.Keep Them Occupied
It will be difficult for you to properly unwind in your garden if you have bored children hanging around. However, providing them with garden games and toys is a perfect way of solving this problem. Sandpits are a great way of keeping the mess to a more confined space, while playhouses be loved by young homemakers, and Go Karts will occupy even the most energetic of children.
2.Cover Ponds and Pools
This is particularly important if you have smaller children that are curious and just finding their feet. Covering pools and ponds means that your mind can be at rest knowing that they are safe in the garden to wander around, without the danger of falling in. Ponds can be covered fairly inconspicuously with netting, and low-level fencing around it can add some extra protection. Pools are perhaps more difficult to cover without drawing attention to them, but should be covered nonetheless.
3.Make Surfaces Safe
If your children will be playing on climbing frames, you will probably want to create a more child friendly surface in order to reduce the risk of injury if they were to fall. Obviously, gravel and paving stones aren’t and ideal surface for this. If you want your children to be safe, but still want a traditional look, rubber chippings could be a good, more comfortable alternative to bark. However, if you do still wish to achieve a completely natural look at the same time as keeping your children comfortable, Gravelsafe could be the perfect solution for you.
4.Provide Shade
Even when the weather is beautiful, you won’t want your children to be playing in the direct sun for the whole day, but may still want them outside in the fresh air. Shaded areas are a good way of getting around this problem. Parasols are good for shading a smaller seating area, for when they eat, for example. Gazebos can cover a larger area in which they can play.
5.Keep it Secure
Garden security is a key component to making your outside space child friendly. It means that your mind can be at ease should you have to turn your back on them for a short time, knowing that they won’t get out and no one else will get in. Tall garden walls or fences make a garden secure, as well as providing some privacy. And whilst any garden gate with a secure catch would suffice, a tall one where the catch is out of their reach is ideal.
Do you have any more tips on how to make a garden child friendly? Share them in the comments!
[Photo Credit: Eoin C]
