Your outdoor living space is meant to be enjoyed by you and your kids. This is where you can go running around with your toddler, or make DIY projects with your older kids. However, you cannot supervise your kids every single minute that they spend in your yard, garden, or deck. It is usually during these unsupervised moments that injuries occur.
We can avoid that, of course! Here are some tips for ensuring the safety of your kids in your outdoor living space:
- Keep fixtures out of the way, or at least cover them. Cover all electrical sockets, keep your outdoor hoses and their nozzles in unreachable areas, and hide protruding fixtures out of the way so there is no risk of your kids tripping.
- Find yourself some furniture paddings. Outdoor furniture can have sharp corners that are a magnet to head bumps. Avoid screams of “ouch!” by padding table edges and other dangerous parts of furnishings.
- Double check the safety of your plants. If you cannot identify a plant in your garden or yard, it shouldn’t be there. There are a lot of plants that can be poisonous when they are ingested. For your kids’ (and your pets’) safety, it is better to rid your space of any plant that you are not sure about. Some plants are so poisonous that they can make one sick when they are touched.
- Place their play equipment securely. Always check the ground if it’s level. Even something as small as a bumpy hill can cause slides and monkey bars to top over when a child climbs. Always inspect the area for any changes, especially after extreme weather. Of course, make sure that the play structures themselves are proven to be safe and age-appropriate.
- Lock your garden tools and equipment away. Lawn mowers are not toy cars. Keep them where your child cannot accidentally drive them. The same goes for your rakes, trowels, spades, and more. If you have a garden shed, better store them there and be sure to lock it.
- Install barriers where necessary. Assuming that your yard is already fenced, you should check for areas where your kids shouldn’t go. If you have toddlers, outdoor stairs could be a tripping hazards and it is just much safer to have a barrier until they are old enough to go up and down those stairs safely.
- Check out the space from a child’s perspective. You may not be able to see everything from where you are standing. Try getting down low or in a crawling position and take a look around. See if there is anything from that view that could attract your kid’s attention. Also fix up any hazards you can see from that position.
You ought to enjoy your outdoor living space with your kids, especially this fall. Following these easy steps can help keep them safer and you breathing easier.
