There are few experiences more heartwarming than watching children begin to explore the world around them. Your backyard and outdoor lifestyle area, complete with a sofa cover and solar shades, is the perfect place to start. However, it’s crucial that you enact safety measures throughout your backyard to ensure that little ones can play and learn without risk.
Lovely Lawn
The first step you should take to ready your yard for a kiddie play date is to do a clean sweep of the lawn. Even the smallest, most innocuous natural features can pose a danger to crawlers and those taking their first steps.
Clear out any fallen branches, remove rocks or debris, and fill in any small holes in the ground that you might come across in your clean sweep. Having a clean yard for young ones to explore will make all the difference in the world.
Padding Perfection
From sharp corners to rough edges, there’s no limit to what nippers can scrape up against as they explore your patio. The solution to keeping your accessories around without putting the wee kids at risk of a scrape? Padding.
Small pieces or strips of foam padding can be added to table corners and chair arms with sharp edges. You can’t keep a constant eye on the little one, so a bonk on the head is inevitable. Proper padding where it’s needed most ensures that no injury will come from it.
Plant Precautions
Your garden may be the pride of your backyard, but not every plant is moppet safe. Popular garden plants such as daffodils, hydrangeas, English ivy, and foxglove are harmful to small children if touched or ingested.
Plant netting is your best option for separating little ones from potentially poisonous plants. The added benefit of garden netting? It keeps critters away so you can maintain a picture perfect flower bed.
Fenced In
Setting boundaries is always important, especially when it comes to childproofing your backyard. Fences and other perimeters prevent little ones from wandering too far and away from dangerous spots such as the driveway or road.
If you do not have a fenced-in yard, there are plenty of perimeters you can set up ahead of time for the wee one’s big day in the backyard. Temporary fencing can be found at most hardware stores and features simple installation for quick set up and take down.
Stairs Made Simple
If you’re the proud owner of a raised deck, it’s your responsibility to ensure that any steps or stairs present on your patio are sufficiently childproofed. A dedicated baby gate placed at the top and bottom of the deck stairs next to your plastic furniture covers will make simple work of preventing falls.
Pesticide Prevention
If you’re an active gardener, there’s a good chance you’ve used chemical pesticides on your plants to keep pesky insects away. But while pesticides may serve their purpose, they are harmful to humans – especially small children who do not understand the dangers they present.
The simplest way to keep bugs at bay without harmful chemicals is to make a switch to natural pesticides. You can easily make one using ingredients from your pantry.
Mix 2 tablespoons dish soap, 1 cup cooking oil, and 1 cup water for a pesticide that’s safe around babies and harsh against bugs.
Smart Storage
Maintaining a manicured lawn requires plenty of equipment not suited for a childproofed backyard. Lawnmowers, weed whackers, and the like should all be safely stored away in garages or work sheds under a tarpaulin and far from play areas.
Play Structure Safety
Whether it’s a swing set, sandbox, or a playhouse, it’s crucial that the play structures in your yard are up to par when it comes to safety. Taking the time to inspect the play areas in your backyard will help you stay on top of safety.
Some of the things to keep an eye out for when inspecting play areas are threadbare ropes, creaky or cracked wood, and nails that have begun to stick out. Make a quick fix of these nuisances and the kids will be able to play in peace.
Wonderful Water
Water features are a lovely addition to any backyard, but can prove to be a danger zone for nippers on the move. Thankfully, you can keep them safe without having to drain your pond, pool, or fountain.
The simplest way to keep water features out of bounds is by adding temporary fencing around the feature in question. Another safety solution is to set up a pool alarm that will alert you if a little one crawls too close to the edge.
Child-Friendly Fire Pit
Everyone loves pulling off the plastic furniture covers and spending a summer evening around the fire pit, but we don’t always consider the safety hazards they present – especially when it comes to curious toddlers who are prone to losing their balance.
Keeping your fire pit covered at all times when not in use removes any possible worries you may have regarding child safety. And much like measures such as sofa covers, a fire pit cover will protect your pit from harsh summer sun and children alike.
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