Child-Proof Your Back Garden In 6 Easy Steps

*Collaborative Post

If you’re the new parent of a growing toddler, then you know the challenges of upgrading your home from simple baby-proofing to securing every space from curious climbing, hiding, and all-around exploring kiddos.

Now that spring has sprung,  it’s also important to prepare your yard, along with the rest of your home, for your little ones to enjoy safely. Make the most of your outdoor space and spend more time together as a family by following these six simple steps to ensure your garden is both safe and fun for your children.

Create a safe barrier

Before you can let young children run rampant outside, it’s essential to have a safely divided space to keep them from neighbouring properties or busy roads. This makes fencing a crucial part of any back garden for growing families. 

If you’re in need of an upgraded fence or installing one for the first time, be sure to invest in materials that provide quality strength, privacy, and weather protection. This means shopping with trusted timber merchants, so you have top-of-the-line panels and fence posts for your DIY or professional installation.

Store dangerous materials away

The next step is to make sure any hazardous materials that could pose a danger to your young ones are stored away properly and safely. For example, if you own a barbecue, is the appliance properly covered? Has it been stored out of the way with propane tanks or coal out of reach? Are sharp and rusty gardening tools kept safely in a tool shed? 

And have any and all water features, like fountains, pools, or ponds, been given a sturdy cover or secure barrier to keep excitable minds from trying to climb in?

It’s important not to assume that it’s better for convenience’s sake to keep these materials tucked away in a designated corner. Avoid unnecessarily dangerous situations by cleaning up all tools and toxic materials and only using them when children are inside or under undisturbed supervision.

Even out your lawn

Our little ones are just getting their footing at this delicate stage, and because of this, falls and scrapes are common. While it’s impossible to prevent all slips and accidents, it’s important not to ignore lawn issues that can cause serious injury during play. For instance, holes dug up by pets and animals, uneven rocky patches, and unmanaged tree roots poking above the surface should be cleaned up and evened out properly with landscaping and new dirt to fill any gaps. This not only leaves you with a pristine-looking yard, but it also allows your young children to run and play with confidence, giving you peace of mind. 

Use responsible pest control

A sometimes frustrating but necessary part of spring is dealing with pests in our garden. Bees and wasps tend to find the most inconvenient corners to call their home for a season, leaving us anxious and frustrated over the new invasion and unable to enjoy our yard to the full. 

This can be dangerous for both us and these creatures, and while bee allergies can develop at just about any age, they commonly show up in children under the age of 12. 

Despite this risk and the frustration these critters can cause, they deserve our respect and protection, as they have a crucial job that benefits the entire planet.

Always contact a professional beekeeper to safely remove and relocate a bee’s hive without harming the colony. For wasps and hornets, avoid using exterminators and contact pest control companies that offer eco-friendly solutions for relocating and removing the nest.

This not only keeps your back garden safe and pest-free, but it also sets the example for young minds to show respect and care for all critters on our planet.

Evaluate and trim your foliage

After removing unwanted hives, it’s time to take a look at the shrubbery. If your outdoor space has ageing trees and bushes, this is a crucial step to take to prevent falling branches from becoming a hazard.

Clear away fallen and broken branches, thorny shrubs, and diseased trees from your property to avoid spreading the damage to other plant life. Contact your local arborist to asses the health and sturdiness of trees on your property, and to help you understand how to properly care for and trim them so they are maintained for a long time.

Designate a play space

Finally, the fun part. Pick a play space to keep your little ones occupied in a safe and open area in your back garden. There are tons of options to choose from. 

Check out a few ideas below:

• Toy-filled sand pit
• Small jungle gym
• Climbing prism
• Swingset
• Playhouse

These designated spaces keep children engaged and occupied in an area that’s easily accessible and monitored, and provides the excitement and exploration children need with proper supervision.

Conclusion

These steps provide an easy and clear plan to help you prepare your garden for your children to enjoy safely. Take the time to evaluate your space, child-proof what you can, and get expert input on bigger tasks to create a relaxing outdoor sanctuary for the whole family to enjoy.

For more parenting posts, check out our other articles here.

*This is a collaborative post. For further information please refer to my disclosure page.