We all want our kids to be happy and healthy and encouraging them to get out and exercise is an important part of that. But unfortunately, that’s harder than ever to do because of the influence of screens on kids. Finding ways to get them away from screens and convince them to do something more active instead is a struggle for a lot of parents and they worry about their child’s health as a result. If you’re going to get them outside more, you need to find ways to make it more exciting for them. One of the best ways to do that is to create a great garden area that they’ll love playing in. These are some of the best changes that you can make to your garden to encourage your kids to play out there more often.
Open Up The Space
Kids need a lot of space to run around and play, so you need to make sure that the garden has a lot of open areas. If you’ve got big trees and bushes that are growing into the garden and taking up a lot of room, you need to know how to use a reciprocating saw because it will make light work of those branches. Cut away all of the trees and bushes and you’ll open up a space that the kids can play in easily.
Add Some Color
Kids respond well to color so you should try to make the garden as bright and colorful as possible. If you’ve got flower beds around the edges of the garden, try to fill them with lots of colorful plants. Just make sure that you check before you plant anything because you need to make sure that there isn’t anything that is poisonous if eaten. Kids tend to explore the world through touch and taste and if you’ve got young kids you need to be sure that they’re safe in the garden. You can also add a bit of color and make the garden more exciting by painting murals on the fences.
Grow Some Vegetables
Getting kids involved in a project is a good way to keep their interest in the garden, so you should try to grow some vegetables out there. They’ll enjoy planting them and watering them regularly and they’ll be excited to get out in the garden to see how they’re growing. At the end, they’ll learn a valuable lesson about hard work and patience when they finally see the end product, and they might even start eating their vegetables more often if they’ve grown them.
Play Equipment
You’ll need some play equipment out there to keep them entertained. You can pick up a cheap sandpit or just make your own with a few bits of wood and some sand. If you’ve got a big tree out in the garden, you could even try to build a treehouse up there. You can also get a swing set for fairly cheap and they’re easy to put together.
If you set up the garden so the kids love playing out there, it will be a lot easier to encourage them to stay active.
This post is a collaborative effort by St. Louis Dad.
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