It is no secret that kids love to play outside. They love natural surroundings and frequently turn to flowers, plants, animals, or insects when selecting playmates. This makes natural spaces like backyards perfect spots for a child’s playground. Studies have found that when given an opportunity, children would design playgrounds in open, outdoor spaces, preferably with plenty of plants, flowers, a small pond, fish, turtles, birds, or whatever else their wild imagination can create.
Maximizing Your Backyard Space for Play
This means you can look to your yard to see what space can be freed up to provide a play area for your children. We not only provide you tips on freeing up space in your backyard but also have some amazing design ideas for building an attractive and fun play area that your children will love.
1. Cut away trees or bushes
If there are too many trees or bushes, it is time to clear them out. An open, green lawn makes a much more appealing playground and is also safer as obstacles are removed. You can redesign your yard by cutting off long trees or bushes, planting multi-colored, flowering plants, and by keeping the lawn trimmed. This will not only free up space but also create a clean, clutter-free area for children to enjoy.
2. Clear rotting plants or weeds
As you look around the backyard, if you notice any rotting plants or weeds, be sure to remove them. This gives you more space to build the play area and removes unsightly plants. If you have a well-maintained ground, you can consider adding a flower garden or small pond. Children are easily attracted to bright, open, colorful spaces that make flowers, fountains, and even a sandbox wonderful additions.
3. Clean up
In most families, it is common to find odds and ends such as toys, broken bicycles, lawnmowers, and gardening tools taking up space in the backyard. These need to be removed and thrown out or stored somewhere else such as the attic, basement, or closet. Items that do not work or that could be a hazard need to be thrown out. After removing all the unnecessary items, you will be able to enjoy additional free space in your backyard.
4. Use foldable furniture
Wood is the most popular choice for outdoor furniture, but there may be a better option for play areas. Replace wood with foldable, plastic furniture. This way, whenever the furniture is lying unused, it can be folded and tucked away. There are also other materials for foldable furniture to choose from, and any of these will be sure to create free space.
5. Have the children help
Now that you have created space for the children’s play area, it is time to get the kids involved. Your children can use their natural creativity to provide you with some awesome design ideas or tips for building a play area they want. If you are planning to go ahead with the next designing steps, encourage the children to voice their ideas because the best ideas are always born out of collaboration.
6. Create a shed
Once you have the necessary amount of space for a play area in your backyard, the next step may be to build a shed. A plastic shed is practical and suitable, but you can also choose to use wood or other material if you like. A shed comes in handy for storing stuff and kids can use the furniture in the shed to relax or play board games.
7. Multi-level beds or steps
One unique design for outdoor play areas is the use of “multi-level platforms.” These can include multi-level flower beds, multi-level sitting areas, or simple steps to enchant small children. So depending on your available space and budget, you may consider adding some steps around a small pond or a two-level concrete platform for sitting and playing.
8. Install hardware for the play area
Once the area is planned and designed, you can carefully select a special area, and install some hardware items to add to the functionality. Children are known to have a fascination for water and sand which makes the addition of a pond, fountain, or even a sandbox a winning idea. If your ground is ready you can also consider installing a swing, or a seesaw. Children should have more alternatives than just video games to play with and more reasons to be outside. With these ideas, the backyard will be their favorite place to be.
