As the weather starts to brighten and warm up, your backyard, which may have been lying vacant for months now, might begin to look rather tempting to your children. They’ll want to get outside and play, and that’s a good thing; fresh air is a great way to get healthy, and running about in the yard is a great way to get fit.
However, before you can simply let them out to run around, it’s a good idea to make sure the yard is actually safe for them. If it’s not been used for a while – or if you’ve just moved in and not yet checked things over – then it could be that it’s not entirely safe, and you’ll need to do a little work before the kids can start playing. Here are some of the things you might need to do to ensure you have a safe backyard.
Check The Trees
It’s great to have trees in your yard, and if you do have them, they don’t only look lovely, but they are wonderful places to play in too – your children are sure to want to explore them if they can get to them. Not only that, but trees provide shade, and therefore they make the garden a safer place to be by their very presence, protecting anyone out there from the sun’s UV rays.
However, you will need to check the trees thoroughly. Loose branches can be highly dangerous, and if they were to fall due to high winds or even just because they are weak, they could cause a lot of damage, including physical harm. The best thing to do is to have an expert check over the trees and remove any potentially dangerous branches.
Create A Boundary
To really keep your children safe, you need to create a boundary around the yard. This will keep them in one place, ensuring they can’t slip through gaps in the fence and go exploring outside the boundaries of the backyard. Check your fences and gates to ensure they are as strong and safe as they need to be, and make any fixes you need to before allowing the children to play outside. You can also put fences around any ponds or water features, as well as using a wireless dog fence to keep a section of the garden just for pets, keeping your children (and your backyard) even safer.
Even if you have older children who know they shouldn’t leave the garden, it’s best to ensure everything is safe and secure – you’ll be protecting your property from intruders as well as keeping your children where they are meant to be.
Learn About The Plants
What plants do you have in your backyard? Do you recognize all of them? If not, it’s time to do some research because it could be that some of those plants are poisonous. Of course, you or the previous owners won’t have intentionally planted anything that could cause harm, but many plants are poisonous without the average person knowing about it, plus birds will drop seeds into your yard as they fly by, and those weeds that grow as a result might be dangerous plants.
As the same time, it’s wise to educate your children, so they know what to look for in terms of poisonous plants, as well as understanding why it’s crucial never to put any plant matter in their mouths and to always wash their hands after playing outside.