Creating a Family-Friendly Garden Space
Gardens are the perfect area for you and your family to spend time together outside in the sun. Whether you have a wide lawn or compact concrete, each type of environment has some potential to keep everyone, especially the children, entertained. However, before you can let your little ones run around, there are essential safety precautions that must be considered.
Additionally, while a space can be made safe and enjoyable, there are also measures that can be taken to allow for more time to be spent outdoors. Gardens within the British climate, for example, are often left unused throughout many months due to the poor weather conditions. However, with the right outdoor design, there’s plenty to keep the weather at bay while you dine and play.
Review Your Plants
Keeping a close eye on your children soon becomes a habit. Although, even the most diligent parent can still find themselves losing focus, which is why consideration must be given to the plants that grow in your outdoor space. In addition to some plants being harmful to digestion and skin, others can be physically dangerous, producing thorns that can seriously injure children should they fall into them or try to pick them up.
Brambles and nettles are some of the most common culprits, appearing across the British landscape and being quite difficult to remove. Others, however, can be less easily identified, appearing quickly. So, before you let your children have their freedom, be sure to pay close attention to any potential growth.
Make The Space
Having fun in the garden doesn’t necessarily mean being outdoors. In fact, with outbuildings and personal log cabins becoming more readily available, many homeowners are enabling their children to have a covered or entirely indoors area within which to play. Such covered areas allow children an assured space to play, one that is covered and can accommodate games and toys, with the additional benefit of keeping these activities away from the central living space.
Such spaces can also double as family entertainment rooms too, allowing the garden to host cinema rooms and board game studios, those that struggle for dedicated space within the house.
The Extent Of Play
One challenge that comes from creating a safe space for children to play is imagining exactly what risks may occur. It can be easy to picture trees being climbed or footballs being kicked over fences but then far more difficult to remember that plant pots can fall from windowsills and hose pipes can cause trouble with their extensive reach.
With this in mind, it important to ensure your space is fit for everyone. While this doesn’t preclude outdoor hobbies from taking place, those that may pose a danger to younger family members should be contained in spaces, such as sheds and greenhouses.
Make It Fun
Encouraging your children to play outside isn’t always the easiest task, especially when the indoors have a digital advantage. This is why it’s important to consider the appeal of outdoor activities. By designing the garden as a shared space, one that contains activities and equipment for all to enjoy, you will find yourself more easily persuading your little ones to spend time outdoors.
