To most children, the back garden of your home is like one big playground that just needs to be explored, and now that the weather’s warming up, you’re probably looking forward to spending some time outside with your little ones. Unfortunately, it’s also important to remember that your garden is filled with potential dangers that could cause harm to your kids. Rather than limit the fun, you should make a few changes to create a safer space. Here are some tips to help you create a safe space.
Make Sure It’s Secure
The first thing that you need to do is go around the perimeter of your garden and make sure that it’s secure, and that it would be difficult for anyone to get in or out unnoticed. This means checking your fence panels for gaps or holes and making sure that the gate is locked. Even if your child is old enough to know not to go out of the garden, there’s still the risk that someone could come in, so it’s better to be safe.
Watch What You’re Planting
There are a number of plants and flowers, like lilies and daffodils, which look absolutely beautiful in your garden, but it’s vital that you research what harm they could do before you put them in your flower bed. Both of the flowers mentioned above are toxic to children and can cause vomiting if ingested. Because of this, you may want to consider less dangerous species. If you really want those flowers, then consider putting a fence around them to keep the kids away.
Think Of The Floor
Young children are prone to falling over, so it makes sense to do whatever you can to reduce the harm that these falls could do in your garden. A great way to do this is to put spongy flooring, similar to playground surfaces, around swing sets and slides. You could also invest in some anti-slip decking, so that your children can safely run around the garden whenever they want, even after heavy rainfall.
Lock Away Gardening Tools
When children see you mowing the law or digging up some weeds, they want to be able to do the same thing. Because of this, it’s vital that your gardening tools are always locked away when you’re not using them. Even with a gardening set of their own, your kids still might be curious about your grown-up tools, so never leave them alone with them, even for a few minutes, as they will seize this opportunity.
Hide Dangerous Gardening Chemicals
Things like pesticides and plant food may not seem appealing to you or me, but the brightly coloured packaging is going to be hard for your kids to resist, and they’re going to get curious about what’s inside. To avoid any dangerous problems, it’s best that these things are out of sight and out of reach at all times, preferably behind a locked door that your little ones have no way of getting past.
Summer is fast approaching, so remember the tips above, and turn your garden into a safe space to spend time with your kids.
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