Home Décor- the Dos and Don'ts of a Children Friendly Garden

Your garden should reflect if you have children at home. Not only that the children will have a cool place to hang out but also having a child friendly garden is extremely important for the safety of the children.

So read on the article to know the dos and don'ts of a child friendly garden.

Do: Make a play area for the kids

Children play area is very necessary. Having a separate play area will greatly boast the self esteem of the children and would make them feel wanted. The play area also confines the clutter of outdoor toys.

Don't: Forget the sand in the play area

The play area should be filled with sand. The children like to play with sand. The presence of sand outdoors may be a threat to the cleanliness indoors. However, the sand will ensure that the children do not get hurt when they fall.

To avoid dirt and sand indoors many people invest in outdoor showers. Click herefor an idea on what types of homes should have an outdoor shower and here for ideas to adorn an outdoor shower in a budget.

Do: Plant the plants of your kid's choice

It is a great idea to take your children to a plant nursery to choose the plants for the home garden. This way they will not only learn things about plants and natural sciences but also they will feel associated with the garden. You can allocate a section in the garden for each kid. This way they will also feel responsible for taking care of the plants they have chosen for their section.

Don't: Plant allergens and thorny plants

Give your child liberty to choose the plants for the garden. However make it clear to them that allergens and thorny plants are not allowed. Of course, you not want to burden the immune system of the young fellows and do not want them to get hurt.

Do: Have a fence

I wrote in another articleof mine that a fence to a garden is what a frame to a picture is. A carefully chosen fence will also ensure your children's privacy and security from passersby and stray animals.

Don't: Install fence with sharp and/or pointed edges

However, make sure that the fence does not have sharp and/or pointed edges. Many unfortunate incidents have happened due to these sharp edged fences in which both humans and animals have been badly hurt or injured.

Do: Invest in swings and slides

The kids are going to love the swings or a slide in the home garden. So, it is going to be an investment that is truly worth it. (This area too should carry sand).

Don't: Invest in pools and/or other water bodies

For children I do not recommend investing in pools, ponds, or fountains etc. The reason behind this is that you cannot leave the children unattended for the shortest span of time near the water bodies. Even if your children know swimming, it would be a great nuisance if a child falls into water in the freezing cold. So, it is better to avoid it altogether until the children grow.

Do: Encourage the kids to run around

The children do not really mind a bland garden as long as they can run around in it. So leave the interesting garden art and statues for the time when they grow up and can truly appreciate them.

Don't: Create gravel/stone/brick pathways

I strongly advocated gravel pathways in my article, Frugal Home Décor- Ideas to Design a Romantic Garden in a Budget. However, in a garden for children I do not recommend creating pathways at all. Other than sand, there should be grass and plants (not the thorny ones) in the children friendly garden. Children can get hurt if they fall on the hard floor. If there happens to be a fight between the children, it would be better if they throw sand at each other, rather than gravel or stones!

Source(s):

Personal knowledge (acquired by reading several garden books)

Personal observation (of kids playing around and fighting with each other)