The first priority for a child friendly garden must be fencing or walling to separate your garden from the street. Parents who are buying a property as a starter home for the new or intended family, should consider purchasing a property where the play area is behind the home, thus preventing visitors invited or uninvited from entering the property and walking through the designated play area.
Once your garden is securely fenced or walled in, you need to look at what you plant to ensure a kid-friendly play environment. Many common garden plants are toxic in small or large doses. New parents should be aware of the fact that their toddlers will be "tasting" the world and garden - grass, sand, stones and leaves will find their way into your toddler's mouth; often before you can stop it from happening. A garden with a large non-toxic tree or two to provide shady spots in which to play in the hot summer months is ideal.
If the property you purchase does not already have established trees, it would be wise to visit your local nursery and purchase fast-growing, non-toxic indigenous trees. It would be wise to avoid trees which shed seed pods containing small seeds which your child may place in his mouth and cause him to choke. While you wait for your trees to grow, alternative shade must be offered. Large umbrellas work well as do pergolas covered in shade cloth.
Older children will often spend time in the garden making mud pies and potions with leaves, sand and water. This kind of play must not be discouraged; but you do need to make sure that there are no poisonous plants, shrubs, berries or seeds available to add to the mixtures. Avoid the shade loving Arum lilies, the deadly Syringas, the fatal Oleanders and the toxic Moonflowers. Do your homework and Google your plants of choice, to ensure you do not introduce any dangerous plants into your garden. If your garden is an established one when you purchase the property; identify all the plants contained therein and make sure they are kid-safe.
It is always a good idea to fill in gaps in your planting areas with fast-growing fragrant herbs like Lavender and Rosemary. Use edible plants like Nasturtiums and oregano as your ground covers. Peppermint, mint and Penny-royal work well in damp areas and create a lovely fresh smell when brushed against or trampled.
If you plan to have pets as part of the family, you need to ensure that these pets do not create a danger or health hazard in your kid-friendly garden. Animal feces need to be removed daily and before your child goes out to play. This is an easy task when your household pet is a dog; but a different matter when you keep cats in the home. It would be wise to train your cat from when it is a kitten to use a sand tray with gel, odor absorbing litter. This sandbox must be inaccessible to your toddler or child. This practice will hopefully minimize the use of sandy garden beds as toilet facilities for your cat.
If you keep cats and are going to provide a sandpit for play purposes, it is vital that the sandpit is kept covered or it will become your cat's toilet. All household pets must be de-wormed at least twice a year. It is wise to de-worm the whole family - human and animal at the same time to prevent cross-transfer of any health hazards created by common intestinal worms such as tapeworm and roundworm.
A kid-friendly garden should include some play equipment such as a swing and a sand play and water play area. It is safest to use a small inflatable swimming pool and water table on hot days for water play. A toddler can drown in the equivalent of a bucket of water and therefore, established garden ponds should be emptied of water until your children are older and able to swim. Swimming pools are extremely hazardous and need to be securely fenced off with a locked entry gate that cannot be opened by your child.
A kid-friendly garden affords safe opportunities for outdoor play, grass to run on, non-toxic flowers to pick, a sand play area and a water source for water play supervised by a parent or caregiver. Wise parents will enthusiastically influence their children to respect the garden as a source of beauty and food. Plant small lettuces, fresh peas and similar easy to grow vegetables among your decorative plants and enjoy God's provision with your child when you play outdoors.
Find out more information on learning through play activities on my blog at http://www.publicschoolsofsubstance.blogspot.com
See Also : find more save Portable DVD Player Lcd Hdtv Now can tell you about save ledhdtv Imac Cheap Today for love imac find save more about Scrabble Deluxe and activity table
