Child Friendly Backyard

While some of the specifics of keeping your backyard child friendly will change with the age of the child, there are two overriding considerations that apply to children of all ages.  They are safety and utility.

Keeping Your Backyard Safe

Safety considerations vary somewhat as children age but they must always be in the forefront of designing your child friendly backyard and any subsequent changes you might make to it.  For very young children the first safety issue is containment.

While very young children should never be left unsupervised in a backyard for extended periods of time, even the most well-intentioned parent can become distracted.  Telephone calls or an expected quick trip into the house draws our attention away from the children and it takes only a matter of minutes for a child to toddle out of the yard and into the street.  Fences with childproof gates are a must for a child friendly backyard.  

If you store garden chemicals, fuel for lawn care equipment, or any other toxic materials, they should be stored and locked in garages or outdoor sheds.  Some plants can be toxic if ingested so unless you are 100% certain everything growing in your yard is non-toxic, you'll need to take a section of the plant to an expert for identification and evaluation.  This issue applies to young children and toddlers, as the older a child gets the less likely he or she is to experiment with eating a plant.

Finally, check your backyard for potential "trip and fall" accident opportunities.  For example, if your backyard has different levels separated by short retaining walls or landscape timbers, a young child or toddler could easily trip over the divider.  If possible, remove the divider and replace it with gradually sloping earth or mulching material.

Keeping Your Backyard Attractive for Children

Utility means usefulness and a child friendly backyard needs to be filled with activity areas that are attractive to children.  Sandboxes are a favorite as are swing sets that incorporate not only swings, but climbing opportunities as well.  Sand boxes are appropriate for all ages and even older children continue to enjoy digging in the sand.

Swing sets are another matter as children learn to climb up quickly without also knowing how to climb down safely!  While A-frame swing sets eliminate this problem, the only activity for which they can be used is swinging.  Young children can't swing without parental assistance so some parents hold off investing in a swing set until the children are old enough to safely use a more full-featured wooden swing sets.  Some more expensive models even offer tent enclosures at the top of a climbing tower that provide a private playhouse for children.

Separate ground level playhouses are also a fun-filled place for children.  You can buy playhouses made of PVC materials that are generally easy to assemble and install, or you can build a playhouse of your own original design or from available playhouse plans.

Finally, if you think all of the things you put into a child friendly backyard have a "shelf life" that only extends to the day your children outgrow them and leave the nest, think again.  An investment in a high quality wooden swing set, for example, can be a "forever" yard accessory with a little modification.

Climbing towers and ladders serve as trellises for beautiful climbing flowering vines and a three or four position swing arrangement can easily be converted to adult use with the removal of the child's swings and the addition of an adult glider bench.  

What could be more appealing that gently gliding back and forth under a canopy of flowers, reminiscing about the wonderful times your children had in your backyard that was once child friendly.