With the prevalence of streaming services, smartphones, and video games, children spend a lot of their time inside. While the indoor activities they do aren’t necessarily bad – there are plenty of educational TV shows and games out there – that doesn’t mean it should completely erase quality time outdoors. Visiting natural beauty spots and encouraging outdoor hobbies is excellent, but in addition to that, you should also consider making your garden kid-friendly.
Whether your garden is small, large, or overgrown, here’s how to make it both safe and fun for your kids.
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Plant Vegetables
Want to get your kids excited about growing plants? One of the best ways to do this is by growing a garden full of vegetables. There are loads of veggies you can try, such as carrots, cabbage, broccoli, and tomatoes. The best part is, you get to munch on them once they’re fully grown! There’s nothing quite as satisfying as eating a meal from ingredients you’ve grown from scratch. To get started, visit Happy Valley Seeds for an excellent and diverse range of vegetable seeds.
Use Fences
Children have a habit of falling and going where they shouldn’t – fences will help you prevent this. You don’t have to put up a boring fence to keep your kids inside the garden, as there are lots of attractive fence designs out there. You could even grow plants up them!
Encourage Wildlife
A garden full of nature is what a garden is supposed to be. Children are naturally interested in wildlife, so encourage that curiosity by planting bug and bee-friendly plants, installing a pond, and placing bird feeders in your trees. You never know what will visit! Of course, you want to keep some of the more dangerous wildlife out for your and your kids’ safety, so look into plants that those animals dislike in order to deter them.
Research the Plants
Before planting anything, it’s important to research it to ensure it’s completely safe for children to be around. Some plants can cause rashes, for example, and it’s not always easy to keep small hands from touching pretty things outside! Take allergies into consideration, too – if your kid has an allergy, make sure none of your garden plants exacerbate it.
Include Kid-Friendly Activities
Kids go where there is fun, so it’s up to you to place some exciting kid-friendly activities in the garden. You could get a swing set, a football net, a paddling pool, or even a treehouse! With so much fun to be had outside, they’ll head straight for the back door after school.
Give Them Their Own Section
Give your kids a bit of responsibility by assigning them their own piece of the garden. It’ll make them feel important, inspiring them to take good care of that area. Look for easy-to-grow plants so they can feel accomplished with their work.
By making your garden both fun and safe, you give your kids a childhood that celebrates the outdoors.
