15 Ideas to Make Your Kids Love Playing in Your Backyard

Having kid-friendly landscapes can help foster good relationships between family members, both young and adults. Many children prefer to explore outdoor fun with their playmates, siblings and even parents. It helps to have a garden equipped with fun and engaging objects.

How to Make a Kid-friendly Landscape

If you want to create a kid-friendly backyard, you have to consider what children want. Think about the things they do for fun or hobbies they do in their past times. It may be best to incorporate things that kids will enjoy by themselves or with you.

Here are some landscape ideas that your kids may appreciate:

1. Small Splash Pad

Every kid loves to play and splash in the water. A small splash pad is a great addition to your landscape that can encourage kids to have fun outdoors and enjoy a dose of vitamin D. The best thing about splash pads is that it does not take up too much space nor does it use too much water. It can also help kids have cooler summer days.

2. Shade Sail 

One of the reasons that drive kids to stay indoors is the heat caused by direct sunlight. It helps to have a shade sail or a marquee umbrella. Those outdoor umbrellas you see at bunnings. Have them in your garden where kids can stake out and enjoy the warm breeze under the shade.

3. Play Structure

This is one of the trendy landscape additions that many homeowners build on their spacious lawns. It offers some physical challenges as kids can climb, slide and swing in the play structure. Just remember to install age-appropriate play structures to ensure the safety of children.

4. Turf and Quirky Paths

If you have sports-oriented kids at home, a huge turf can give them some encouragement to play some physical activities. You can also complement your turf with quirky paths where kids can drive their mini cars, bikes and scooters, or race with their rollerblades. Ask a landscape expert for the best pavers to create safe paths for your little ones.

5. Sandpit is a Must

Most kid-friendly yards have sandpits where kids and the kids at heart can hang out and create mini sandcastles or dunes. A sandpit does not take up too much space and you can place it beside a row of flowering plants for a better sensory experience.

6. Playhouse or Treehouse

Playhouses offer a natural habitat for children. It makes play-pretend games a lot more fun as it presupposes real-life activities like cooking or doing household chores. Older kids make treehouses their personal space whenever they like some alone time or simply hang out with their friends.

7. Hopping Stump Jump

If you have loose stumps from a tree that you recently cut, you can use the tree trunk as a hopping stump jump. Simply cut the trunk to different heights and paint them with different colours. Kids can hop from one stump to another or make a course that they can complete.

8. Outdoor Chalkboard

One of the many things that children love doing is scribbling on walls. An outdoor chalkboard can provide them with a space where they can write and draw. You can also teach them to clean the board after they use it and store their chalks, pens and erasers so they can use it again next time.

9. Art Corner

Similar to an outdoor chalkboard, an art corner can be fun and engaging for kids. You can prepare an easel and changeable canvas or paper where they can paint and be creative. It can be a shaded corner where kids can have a good sight of the entire garden for their inspiration. You can equip the art corner with different mediums like coloured pencils, watercolours, oil pastels, acrylic paints and so much more.

10. Outdoor Pond

One of the many eye-catching landscape structures that you can add to your backyard is an outdoor pond. Both children and adults love the sight of colourful and wiggly fishes swimming in the pond. You can also add some water features for a more attractive pond.

11. What kid doesn’t love a Trampoline (even some of the bigger kids still enjoy it!)

Another simple and must-have fun structure in your backyard is a trampoline. Many kids enjoy the simple idea of bouncing back and forth over a trampoline. It can help invigorate both the body and mind of children and even adults.

12. Swing, Slides and Seesaw

One of the more basic fun structures that most kid-friendly landscapes have is a swing, slide and seesaw setup. It offers leisure and relaxation by simply swinging back and forth, sliding through and racking up and down. Kids love how the gush of air that blows over their faces and hair when they swing, slide and seesaw.

13. Spacious Lawn and Shade

Some kids simply enjoy the invigorating effects of the green spacious lawn. You will be amazed at how children can be creative and active under good shade and a spacious lawn. They can bring their toys, books, food and beverages to keep them busy and entertained.

14. Outdoor Kitchen and Picnic Set

Kids like imitating their elders. One of the many things they like to mimic is food preparation. They typically use what they see in the garden as ingredients, hence, it helps to have a small vegetable garden for kids to enjoy. A picnic table and chair can be a good pair for your outdoor kitchen set as kids can enjoy the food they have prepared over the picnic table.

15. Kiddie Lounge and Camping Site

Children of all ages always enjoy a good rest on a lounge or a mini campsite by the yard. It gives them a sense of outdoor adventure minus the dangers of wildlife.

These are just fifteen ways you can add some kiddie fun to your landscape.

Contact Mazzega’s Landscaping Supplies for the best landscaping tools and products!