Some Child Friendly Garden Ideas For The Springtime

6th February 2023

Having a decent sized garden is a such a big advantage when you have a family and especially with small, energetic children. Child friendly gardens are brilliant ideas; they provide a great way for kids to burn off their stores of energy and get fresh air, making it easier for them to stay fit and healthy no matter what time of year it is as children don’t appear to feel the cold!

However, you do need to put a little thought into creating your child friendly garden so that your child will be safe and happy playing outside.

Here are some child friendly garden ideas.

Ensure it’s secure

If your garden is detached in any way then it’s important to get secure fences and gates to make it child safe, and stop them from wandering off up the road!

A lock placed at shoulder height on a garden gate will stop even the most wily children from escaping while your back is turned.

If you have a large garden, then fencing a portion of it off for your child could be an idea rather than attempting to make the whole garden child friendly, if that seems like an impossible idea!

Outdoor toys

Outdoor toys like water tables and sandpits are popular for keeping kids entertained and are one of the easiest and most obvious child friendly garden ideas. Ride on toys are also great fun, particularly if you have a flat area like a patio for them to speed around on. Remember to supervise children at all times – and especially around water.

Make your planting safe for children

Some plants can be harmful or toxic if eaten, and should be avoided if you have small children accessing your outdoor space.

As well as anything spikey which they could potentially scratch themselves on, plants you should avoid include:

• Bluebell
• Hydrangea
• Foxglove
• Poison Ivy
• Lily of the Valley
• Daphne
• Daffodil

Here is a long list of poisonous plants which you should make sure you do not have in your garden.

Grow your own fruit and veg

Conversely, planting a fruit and veg patch with your child, and bright flowers, can make a garden much more exciting for children especially if you involve them. Child-sized tools can get them hooked on gardening at a young age!

Encourage nature into the garden

Children love to watch birds and animals, so encouraging the local nature into your garden is a great way to make it more child friendly. Gardens can become fascinating places if you have a bird table. Maybe create a bug hotel and plant bee-friendly flowers. Read these tips from the Wildlife Trust for attracting native British wildlife into your garden.

But avoid deep ponds with young children

Although nature is a great benefit of a garden for children, it’s important if you have small children that they can play safely, and therefore avoid ponds which could pose a risk of drowning. If there is already a deep pond in your garden and you do not want to fill it in, then it is vital to ensure that it made safe.

This means fencing around the pond and placing mesh or grilling on top of it, and most importantly you should never leave a child unsupervised around it.

If you are keen to build a pond from scratch, consider waiting until your child is older. Alternatively a shallow nature pond is safer, but even so precautions should still be taken.

Think about a Wendy house

Add some adventure with their very own Wendy house. Child-sized plastic chairs and tables can make your child or grandchild feel like they have their very own house! You can get cheap plastic play houses, or purpose built wooden ones, depending on your budget.

Alternatively, build a garden room

If you want something with a bit more longevity than a miniature-sized Wendy house to complete your child friendly garden, a garden room can be utilised as an outdoor play room, a clubhouse or used to store toys. As they grow it can be put to use as a teenager den or as a games room, or you can claim it back and turn it into the summer house you always wanted.