Family-Friendly Backyard Entertaining Ideas
Creating a family-friendly backyard is one of the best ways to use your home’s outdoor space. There are many ways to entertain the kids and make better use of the space you have. From gardening with the kids to helping with sensory play, here are some handy suggestions.
First, Maintain the Yard
Setting up an outdoor space for gatherings, whether with neighbors, friends, or the kids, needs some work. You don’t want a hazard zone where people can hurt themselves, and a backyard can quickly get pretty rough. Fortunately, all it takes is a bit of garden DIY with the right tools. Modern equipment, such as a battery powered lawn mower, makes it easy to work in the toughest gardens. But if all else fails, you can bribe the kids to give you a hand with safe tasks.
Family-Friendly Backyard Gardening
Gardening is one of the most enjoyed pastimes all over the world. In fact, 91% of people surveyed with a backyard enjoy gardening. This can be a great lifelong hobby you can enjoy as a family and something the children can get into to enjoy their playtime and learn something:
- Work with the children on transplanting herbs they can use when cooking.
- Assign a patch that the kids can work on tending in any way they like.
- Install open-fronted boxes that the children can fill with things they find in the garden.
Build a Climbing Area
If there’s one thing children love to do, it’s climb! A climbing area in the backyard can be a great way to encourage exercise for the kids and keep them entertained for hours. You can build a climbing area together as a family, and there are many you can buy from toy stores and outdoor stores alike. Of course, these can be a little dangerous. So, always ensure they are built correctly. Additionally, it can help to build them over soft surfaces such as rubber or bark.
Create a Family-Friendly Backyard Campsite
Camping is an age-old family tradition. However, it isn’t always easy to get out into the wilderness with the children. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have the same fun at home:
- Set up your tent and make a fort using pillows, throws, and blankets.
- Put up string or battery-powered LEDs for added atmosphere and coziness.
- Buy a child-friendly fire pit and stools for telling ghost stories and making s’mores.
Magical memories can be made in simple ways, and a backyard fort is one of them! LEDs add a little touch of elegance but also help the kids feel safe out in the dark. A fire pit can be as cozy as it is entertaining and brings that authentic campsite feeling to your DIY garden campsite.
How About a Sandbox for the Kids?
Getting a bit messy is part of the fun when the kids play outside. Mud, rain, and sand are among the most common the children love to play in. A sandbox provides hours of fun where little imaginations run wild! Like their own private beach, the children can make sandcastles galore, bury their treasures, and swim like sandworms! Sand also has a very specific texture. This can help children learn through sensory play and help them appreciate the feel of something new.
Family-Friendly Backyard Sensory Areas
Further to sensory play, you can build a sensory area. According to Oxford Health, around 1 in 20 children in the UK has a sensory processing disorder. Playing around in various scenarios with as different sensory stimulation can help the children understand the world a little more:
- Include child-friendly plants for the touch, such as lamb’s ear, chenille, and cacti.
- Use herbs with strong aromas for smell, such as mint, lavender, and honeysuckle.
- Place seasonal fruits for fun snacks and tasting for the children to guess what they are.
Fun in the Sun with Water Play
Just like sand and other fun materials, children love getting wet! Water play has many benefits as well as being fun for the kids. Water stimulates the senses, including smell, touch, and hearing. But there are also health benefits. Early water immersion builds muscles and motor skills, and they can learn to respect water more before swimming lessons. Water also provides a type of therapy and can help reduce inflammation and muscle and joint stiffness.
Summary
Maintaining the yard is the first step to creating a family-friendly backyard. A campsite in the garden isn’t quite the same but you can still have tons of fun. You can also help the children develop their senses with sensory play areas using touch, aromas, and taste in the backyard.
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