By 
Every responsible parent worries about keeping their kids safe. So, it can often be somewhat panic inducing to consider that they can get hurt in your own home! Especially when they go outside to play. In order to prevent this, here’s how to childproof your yard and garden.
Be smart with your plants
The first step to childproof your yard and garden would be carefully picking out what to plant in them.
A good example would be your selection of flowers. Roses may look great, and they definitely spread a calming, gentle smell throughout your yard. However, you can bet that the second they catch your children’s attention, someone is going to get stung.
And then you’ll have to deal with the crying and the hysterics that follow. To say nothing of the potential for your kids to actually hurt themselves badly. Then, there’s mildly poisonous plants which young kids can end up munching on during the phase of their lives when they tend to stick random things in their mouths.
Still, if you select your plants and flowers carefully, you can both enjoy your hobby and do some gardening with your kids!
Gardening with your kid can be fun if you manage to get them interested.
Put your tools out of reach
Everyone is aware of a child’s tendency to go straight for things they’re not supposed to touch. The same, of course, applies to dangerous gardening implements. You definitely don’t want to live a hoe or anything else sharp and pointy for them to stumble across.
This is why the experts from Peasley Transfer & Storage advise you either find a nice storage unit near your home or make the investment required to build a shed. Depending on what sort of shed you want, the former can actually prove to be cheaper in the end.
Regardless, so long as it allows you to childproof your yard and garden, the price would be worth it.
Make a designated play area
Obviously, designating an area for your kids to play in will not stop them from bumbling around the rest of your yard and garden. However, if you do it right, they will feel much less inclined to do it.
What you need to do is essentially make them a playground. You can put up play structures, such as slides, a tree house (though preferably not one that’s too high up a tree), swings, a sandbox and similar.
This will occupy your kid’s attention, provide a perfect place to play, and go a long way towards guaranteeing their safety. You can even DIY the projects and save money on them that way.
Minimize chances to trip
Kids are clumsy at the best of times. They can trip over their own legs when they’re not paying attention. Still, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t do your best to minimize the chances of them taking a tumble.
Unfortunately, a yard typically presents a considerable hazard. A hose left on the lawn often means a bad fall when they rush out of the house without looking, for example. Even the gardening equipment which you could not fathom being dangerous should be put away for the same reason.
Make sure all play structures are safe
We did recommend putting up play structures as one of the ways to childproof your yard and garden. However, in order to actually get the best use of them without having to worry about your kids’ safety, they need to be childproofed, too.
Mostly, this means making sure that they are in good condition and that they don’t have any sharp edges on them. The former is actually often more important than the latter. Edges become a problem only if the kid runs into them. A swing becoming worn and loose and breaking off in the middle of playing?
That could cause real harm, and you need to actively work to prevent it. Similarly, if any wood gets chipped, it needs to be sanded down or lacquered. You do not want to deal with splinter wounds.
Eliminate toy clutter
Interestingly enough, toy clutter can actually get dangerous after a point. If your kids have so many toys they’re not using they’re just leaving them out around your yard, then you can put them in a unit!
It is much better than allowing them to actually become a mini obstacle course and ruin the efforts we discussed you should make already in order to prevent falls. It is doubly important considering the fact that toys are mostly made of plastic and that stepping on them can actually be dangerous.
Your kids can still be happy with fewer toys.
Keep the limbs of your trees trimmed
It may sound like a silly thing to focus on, but you should definitely keep the lower branches of any trees in your yard trimmed. You may also think it’s a cruel thing to do, since many of us doubtless have fond memories of climbing trees in our childhood.
Still, consider this: how many times did you take a rough tumble off those same trees you so fondly remember? Probably a lot! And if you try to organize your yard and garden in such a way to eliminate anything dangerous they could fall on, there’s still plenty of danger inherent to such falls.
Make sure your yard is fenced
This final bit of advice on how to childproof your yard and garden is not actually here in order to prevent silly behavior on your kids’ part. Well, it is in the sense that it will stop them from running out onto the road chasing a toy.
However, the more significant benefit is that it will protect your children from intruders and other potential hazards. It is not a nice thing to consider, but security has definitely become a bigger concern than it was a couple decades ago.
Besides, having a proper fence or wall put up will also protect your kids from strays or other potentially dangerous animals.
This also helps if you have a pet!
Final word
Knowing how to childproof your yard and garden will let you ensure your kids stay safe when playing. Even if it takes a bit of effort to set everything up, it is definitely worth it!
Comments