I have mentioned on my blog before how you can make your garden child proof, safety is very important but so is getting the right balance with making the garden a fun and appealing place for children to play. So if you have ever considered developing a play area in your garden read on for some advice.

Time spent outdoors is vital for the health and wellbeing of children, I think our garden is lacking the wow factor to coax the boys off their computer screens!!! I want to enhance our outdoor space so they have the motivation to switch off and head outside without too much nagging from mum.

Growing up I was always encouraged to play outdoors.  My parents were never too precious about their garden.  We could make potions and dig in the flower beds. My granddad was an avid gardener but he always made us feel welcome in his garden.  I have so many lovely memories helping him pick out vegetables and tend his garden. I want my own children to have good memories of their garden too!

Here are a few tips to get you started creating a play area for your children:

Think about surfacing

I don’t think our garden is particularly child friendly.  We have lots of tarmac and the boys are always getting cuts and scrapes when they fall. I would prefer a softer surface for them to play on, I have been looking at a variety of play area surfaces to find the most suitable option.  Our garden is a good size so I want a combination of grass to encourage nature and wildlife and other surfaces that make it safer for the boys to play. The advantage of play area mats is that they can be very colourful.  You can quickly make your garden a bright and welcoming place.

Play equipment you can add

Depending on the space available in your garden you can either buy permanent play equipment that is set up all the time for your children to use or something that is easy to pack away when you need the area for other purposes.  If you are limited for space look out for lightweight, compact, foldable option.  These can be stored in a garage or shed when not in use.

Consider wildlife

My two are members of the RSPB and like spotting different birds in our garden.  I think we should all try and think about nature when developing our gardens.  Doing our small part to help creatures that share the space.  When working on the design see what you can incorporate to encourage more wildlife into your garden.  Think about bird feeders, an insect house and grow native wildflowers to help bees. My boys have saved lots of bee’s in the garden giving them some sugar water and they always feel so proud when they see the bee fly off!

If your children are older you might consider adding a pond.  Whilst they are younger you can still encourage nature by building a mini pond as its a safer option.  They will hopefully see newts, frogs and dragonflies enjoying the water in your garden.

Good luck developing your play area, let me know if you have any other ideas.