Creating the dream playground for your children can be exciting. You probably have many plans, ideas, and half-finished projects in the works ready to make your kid’s fantasy a reality. However, before you fully embark on your task, there are a few things that you should know and a few tips that you should keep in mind.
Understand the Risk
It’s important that you understand the risk that’s associated with creating your own playground. Professional playgrounds are made by, well, professionals, so there’s little to no risk involved for your tiny tots. Everything is tested and you know that you’re getting a safe product.
When you make something yourself, you don’t really know how safe it’s going to be. Sure, you can test the equipment yourself, but you’re also putting yourself in danger by doing that. So, before you start, understand the risk associated with making your own equipment.
Create a Sense of Place
When creating your kid’s fantasy dreamland playground, you should try to create a sense of place that evokes feelings. Is your child a big fan of Cinderella? Maybe build a playset that looks like a castle. Is your child a big fan of pirates? Go for a pirate ship theme.
No matter what your child likes, try to build a theme around what they want in order to make the playground feel cohesive.
Work With What You’ve Got
A flat backyard will work the best for a playground as you won’t have to work around bumps and hills to accomplish your goals. However, if you do have to work around a bumpy backyard, use it to your advantage. Build on hills and use tree branches to hang swings.
There are many ways that you can incorporate your backyard’s natural appearance into your child’s new playground.
Make a Den, Playhouse, or Treehouse
Your backyard should definitely have a spot where your child can hide, read books, and feel safe, whether that’s a den, a playhouse, or a treehouse is up to you. It may seem challenging to build your own treehouse, but it’s totally possible.
Before you go about building anything in the trees, check with your city or town to see if you need to receive any permits or permissions to build on your property.
Once you’ve obtained permission from the town (if necessary), you can start drafting your treehouse plans. There’s no shame in asking for help, especially when it comes to building a small house in a tree.
There are many free resources out there that can help you design and execute your child’s dream treehouse. Use them if you’re feeling stuck.
Use Zones
Incorporating zones into the playground will really help to give your playground that extra wow factor. You can dedicate different areas to different things. Maybe have an area where your children can use art supplies or an area where they can kick a ball around.
It doesn’t have to be too intense, but try to make small designated areas for different games or activities.
Get Creative!
If you’re looking for inspiration on the internet and nothing strikes you, you might just have to make up your own ideas. Make sure to exercise extreme caution when thinking outside the box, especially if you’re making something that’s never existed before.
Ask your children what they want to be included in their dream backyard and work off of what they ask for. Children are incredibly creative, so you never know what they might think up.
Take your time, make sure everything is safe, and have fun creating the playground of your child’s fantasy. Nothing will be better than when they get to see it for the first time.
