How to Make Your Garden As Safe As Possible For Kids

It’s every parent’s dream to create a beautiful garden area that is both comfortable and safe for their children. You should consider several things when adapting your garden space for children. Some examples include adding fencing, choosing softer flooring, and removing heavy objects.

In this article, we will go over the main things you should do when making your garden more child-friendly.

Add Fencing

Children are usually very curious and prone to wandering off to investigate anything that gets their attention. When it comes to toddlers, if you take your eye off them for one minute, they could easily crawl out of the garden.

This is why it is important to install fencing around your garden space. Fencing will allow you to control your child’s movements and make it easier for you to monitor them and avoid any unnecessary accidents. You must make sure the fence is tall enough so that they can’t climb over it.

Fencing is also helpful for keeping away trespassers, intruders, as well as wild animals or stray animals. Therefore, fencing is a great way to keep your children safe from any external threats.

However, you should also ensure that your fence doesn’t pose a threat to your children. If you erect a wooden fence, ensure there are no protruding nails or sharp edges that may cause an injury to a curious child.

Avoid Any Water Features

Water features can be extremely aesthetically pleasing in a garden. However, they can also be a big threat to small children and toddlers since the youngsters won’t know the necessary safety measures for these garden features.

Children love to play in the water, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if you came outside to find your child attempting to swim in your pond. Unfortunately, although ponds are usually shallow, this could result in your child drowning or becoming otherwise injured.

Water features also tend to attract a lot of birds and insects. This can be distracting for children, and some insects may even bite, causing a lot of discomfort for your child. Your child may also contract some kind of water-borne disease as ponds are known for harbouring a range of germs and bacteria.

If you do have a water feature and you don’t want to give it up, you must make sure you fence it off well and install some safety grids over it for added protection. You should also keep it well-maintained to minimise the number of pests that could become an issue.

Choose Soft Flooring

When children are playing, it’s inevitable that they’re going to fall over once in a while. It is, therefore, important to ensure they have a soft landing underneath them to avoid any serious injuries.

Laying artificial grass is a great way to achieve this soft landing. This type of flooring provides an effective cushion for children when they do fall and, therefore, there are fewer accidents during outdoor playtime.

Artificial grass also comes with several additional benefits. It is available throughout the year and isn’t seasonal, so children can enjoy playing in the garden all year round. It also doesn’t get muddy, so you won’t have to worry about dirty clothes or muddy shoes. With minimal maintenance, artificial grass offers a brilliantly reduced risk of children falling or tripping as it is evenly laid.

Turf is a good alternative to artificial grass. This provides a soft landing and is perfect for when children want to play ball games. The underlying turf provides a cushioning effect when your child impacts the ground.

Avoid Toxic Plants

Your garden design wouldn’t be complete without a few plants and bushes. However, it’s important to consider which types of plants and bushes you erect in your garden. Take note of the existing plants and bushes in your garden to ensure they are safe. Any that aren’t should be pulled out before your child is let loose in the garden.

Toxic plants are poisonous to children and can cause negative side effects if contact is made with them. Things like skin reactions, allergies, and thorn piercings are common injuries due to harmful plants and bushes.

Although toxic plants are rare, it’s still important for you to check your plants just in case and be wary when buying new plants. You should also educate your children on the dangers of toxic plants and what they should do if they come across one. This will help you to avoid any potential poisoning incidents.

Create An Area For Children

When introducing your child to the wonders of playing in the garden, it’s good to start them off with their own plot of land. This may be a small portion of the garden where your child can grow their own plants. This will help get them comfortable with being outdoors and build their self-esteem.

Children love to learn new things and be encouraged to achieve. Involving your child in your garden activities such as watering and weeding will help to give them a sense of satisfaction.

Your child will get to spend more time with you if you allow them to help you tend to the garden, which can improve the family bond. With their own space in the garden, your child will also have the chance to learn all about nature and expand their senses.

Add a Play Area

It’s no great secret that children love to play, and playing outdoors can be a whole new experience for them. Consider installing a play area in the garden, if you have the space, where your child can enjoy some outdoor activities.

Outdoor play equipment such as slides, swings, trampolines and climbing frames provide a lot of fun for your child. If you have the space and the budget, you may also want to consider installing a treehouse or playhouse to encourage the children to spend more time outdoors.

When considering play equipment for the garden, be sure not to spend too much as time moves quickly, and your child will soon grow out of some of the games and equipment that you install.

Discourage Pests

Pests can be a problem for children that just want to get outdoors and have a nice time. Wasps, in particular, are a nuisance, so be sure to take some precautionary measures to discourage these pests from entering your garden and becoming a problem.

Regularly remove any fallen fruit from trees or bushes that could attract wasps or other pests and remove any wasps nests if you find them in your outdoor space. Cats and other small animals may use your garden as a toilet. Before allowing your child to play on the lawn, do a quick inspection to ensure there are no foreign objects that need to be removed.

Slugs and other insects come out at night and may leave slime trails on your children’s toys. To help avoid this, don’t leave any small toys out on the lawn overnight. For larger pieces of equipment, simply give them a quick wash before letting your child play on or with them.

Remove Heavy Objects

Heavy objects may become an issue for children, especially as they start to grow. Children are very curious and will often push and pull things they’re not supposed to. Often, parents don’t even realise their child’s strength until something heavy is knocked over.

Secure any heavy objects that may fall over, or remove them if you want to be extra cautious. This may include things like garden ornaments, bird tables, and large plant pots. Check any stone walls for loose bits of masonry and re-point these as needed.

Secure Tools and Chemicals

When letting your children use your garden, an important thing to remember is to never leave any chemicals or tools lying around. As mentioned earlier, children are very curious and will mess around with pretty much anything within their reach, regardless of how dangerous it may be.

Avoid using chemicals such as slug pellets in your garden and always read the label whenever you decide to use a new product in your property’s outdoor space. You should also keep all garden tools locked away and out of reach to prevent potential accidents.

Lastly, inspect your garden for any garden wire, string, or plant supports as these may look inviting to your child, and they may try to use them as a climbing frame.

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