These 5 simple steps will help you create a safe and fun kid-friendly backyard to enjoy the outdoors just as much as your children do! I know as parents; we have so much we need to get done in a day. It can be hard to take time for fun when we have so much going on! But by creating a fun outdoor oasis for your family, taking a break to spend time outside will be something you actually look forward to!
Getting outside is beneficial in so many ways. It’s great for mental health and physical health for children and adults. We should be getting 10-30 minutes of midday sunlight (unprotected by sunscreen) per day to maintain healthy vitamin D levels (source) that affect our mood, immune system, bones, and blood, among other things.
Let’s bring the family together in one fun, safe, kid-friendly backyard using these tips!
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General Yard and Deck Maintenance
Before getting to the fun part, it’s first important to make your backyard a safe environment for children.
Here’s a simple checklist to go through when creating a safe, kid-friendly backyard:
- Minimize the risk of ticks, mosquitoes, and snakes by keeping the grass cut and standing water eliminated.
- Spray any visible wasp or hornet nests.
- Remove any poisonous plants such as poison ivy, poison oak, poke berries, etc.
- Walk around and look for broken glass on the ground and other hazardous material that children could get hurt on. Discard it safely.
- Check your deck for rotten areas, splintering, or rusty supports. Brazilian Wood Depot can help you maintain the safety of your deck year around.
Install a Fence
If you’re anything like me, I like privacy while outdoors in my own yard. “People watching” is fun and all, but I don’t want unknown people watching my children play. Adding a fence to your yard will provide a privacy barrier for added comfort and the feeling of safety for you and your children while enjoying the outdoors.
Horizontal IPE Fencing will keep out unwanted visitors, including wildlife, and keep your children in! No one wants to be that mom chasing their toddler around the neighborhood because the yard isn’t fenced!
Create Activity Stations
Here comes the fun part! Setting up activity stations in different areas of the yard will create endless play opportunities for your children.
Consider setting up stations for water play, gardening, sports, imaginative play, and/or the tried-and-true playground. Add an outdoor storage box to your deck to store all the kid’s kick balls, bats, basketballs, and other sports equipment.
Water Play Activity Ideas
In our water play area, we have a water table, sprinkler, and kiddy pool (remember, children can drown in only a few inches of water. Always be supervising them.)
Garden Area
Kids love to play in dirt. Mine do at least! Create a gardening area with a small plant bed for them to have fun planting seeds and playing in the dirt without ruining any other areas of the yard.
Seeds are cheap and it’s simple to grow plants, even just for fun! My daughter and I were eating watermelon outside, and she decided to bury one of the seeds. We eventually ended up with watermelons growing in our yard because of it!
It’s exciting for children to see cause and effect with something like planting seeds, watching them grow, and being able to eat the final product!
Imaginative Play Area
A playhouse is a perfect addition to the backyard to facilitate imaginative play for children. I recommend opting for a wooden playhouse, that way it can be painted or stained to customize it however you’d like.
Look through the reviews for it on Amazon to see how others customized their playhouses! You could even turn it into a fun project for you and the kids to paint the playhouse the colors they desire!
Playground
Playgrounds are enjoyable for kids of all ages. When I was a kid, I remember spending what felt like hours on our playground and those of other families in the neighborhood. The swings, slide and climbing up and down, was all so fun to us. It gets out pent-up energy and provides a place for fun and healthy exercise for children.
Two great options are the Backyard Discovery Playground, made of solid cedarwood, and the Cedar Summit swing set.
You may also like: Developmental Learning Activities For Babies 9m – 12m
Create a Comfortable Place For Parents To Relax and Supervise The Kids
Last but not least, create an outdoor oasis for yourself! Let’s start with a deck. Brazilian Wood Depot will provide you with hardwood decking that is real wood with unsurpassed durability and beauty. It’s naturally resistant to rot and decay and virtually maintenance-free. Check out their decking gallery to get ideas of what your beautiful deck could look like!
Next, let’s add some furniture. Depending on the size of your deck, a couch and two chairs are the ideal arrangement for a comfortable outdoor family living area to relax while supervising your kids as they play!
A beautiful set that is both comfortable and stylish is the sofa and chairs by Signature Design by Ashley
Finish your space off with a durable outdoor rug, and you’ve created a dream kid-friendly backyard oasis for your family to enjoy for years to come!
