Have you ever considered building your playground? Perhaps you want to conserve energy, protect your children from a variety of playground injuries, or just spare yourself the stress of numerous park play dates over the holidays? Luckily, with the right planning and execution, you can have a more-than-decent playground for your kids in your backyard. Of course, it is a wise decision to consider buying cheap interactive play equipment as long as these equipment ensure overall safety and provide the same level of benefits children acquire by playing interactive games.
By making the project a family endeavor, regardless of the size of your courtyard, you can create a captivating and adventure-filled play space with your kids. Applying a couple of the following playground ideas, ranging from the placement and arrangement of playground necessities such as a sandbox, a tree house, and swing set accessories, you can create a fun and active play area for your kids in your backyard.
1. Prepare A Backyard Playground Plan
Begin your backyard playground process by first clearing the designated area in your backyard where the playground equipment will be placed or built, as the case may be. Ensure that debris, glass, plastic, and other unwanted materials are removed, leaving a clean slate for the building. Now that you can visualize the available space, proceed to draw out your home playground plan and make a list of all equipment that would fit into the play area. Be sure to check out tips on how to design a playground as well.
Bear in mind that the layout of your backyard will most likely determine the type of playing equipment you can set up. This is exactly why planning must be done before execution. You can go ahead and seek advice from professional contractors to get an idea of the cost of each item. You can take a step further and get a quotation. With this, you can prioritize the order of purchase in line with the available funds set aside for the project.
2. Select The Playground Foundation
Making sure you use the right foundation and the right placement is the next step in converting any backyard into a playground. Knowing the theme of the playground can help with this stage. Although available funds would most likely determine the material you might end up settling for, it won’t harm you to know some of the available foundation options you can go for.
Sand and grass foundations are basically the cheapest and most convenient options because both do not require drastic modifications. Similarly, pea gravel is a softer choice that’s equally economically efficient. However, options like rubber and artificial grass are a bit more expensive owing to factors like installment cost and manufacturing cost.
3. Handpick The Appropriate Playground Equipment
Make sure you consider the available space while selecting playground equipment for your backyard. To make the most of your available space, measure the area you have to work with. There are many different types of playground backyard equipment available, and occasionally you may even discover pieces of equipment that combine many distinct activities.
-
Swing And Slide Combo
Slides are a fantastic playground feature. In addition to being a lot of fun, they aid in developing children’s coordination, flexibility, and stretching abilities. Swings are also a playground favorite. Swinging can aid in core and coordination development in kids.
You can buy a standard or simple swing set, depending on your preferences. Meanwhile, you can reuse your old tires if you opt for a more daunting swing set and make entertaining swings out of them for the kids.
Remember that you’ll need chains, a tree, or other sturdy objects to hang the swing from. As a general rule, ensure everything’s secure and safe before allowing the youngsters to use anything.
-
Tree House
This ranks among the top do-it-yourself projects for the backyard. A treehouse is unquestionably necessary, providing children with a space to play together, arrange meetings, and have fun all day. The nicest aspect of owning a tree house is the construction process, which you may do with your child or children.
-
Swing/Tree House/Zip Line Combo
You can go all out for your kids’ playground with this trifecta combination. Swings can be readily hidden beneath a treehouse or playhouse that incorporates exciting attractions like zip lines. This can feature a swing bridge with rope bars connecting two treehouses if they have enough space.
-
Sandbox
Children of all ages enjoy playing in the sand. Incorporating a sandbox into a garden and surrounding it with plants would look great in the backyard. It’s advised to add a cover to keep it out of the weather while not in use and to use hardy plants to border the sandbox.
-
Climbers
Climbers are a fun addition to one’s backyard park but do well to select an age-appropriate design. By using outdoor toys like climbing equipment, kids can develop their balance, endurance, and agility skills. Toys ranging from freestanding climbers to rock walls, jungle gyms, and monkey bars can equally improve coordination and stamina.
-
Suspended Chairs
As much fun as it is to play and move around, sometimes one just needs to sit down, relax, and unwind. This surprisingly satisfying static activity can be spiced up with hanging seats. You can all unwind and cherish special moments as a family by hanging chairs or benches in your backyard.
-
Challenge Course
You can use the kids’ assistance to construct an obstacle course with old tires. Encourage your children to create box tunnels and mazes to lengthen the course. Other equipment, like a spring-free trampoline, could make the obstacle course more difficult and fun.
4. Set Up The Pieces Of Playground Equipment
The next step here is the playground equipment setup, which can be straightforward if you contract skilled personnel to execute the task. On the other hand, you can embark on the project with your kids, but this option is highly dependent on your skills and the type of playing equipment you settle on.
5. Remember To Run A Safety Test
The final step, after choosing and setting up the suitable playground equipment that works for your yard and your children’s preferences, is the safety check. By doing this, any potential accidents caused by improper equipment assembly are avoided. Just like in every other situation, safety, hazard, and endurance checks must be carried out on all playground equipment. Check each piece of equipment individually to make sure it is securely put together.
Conclusion
Always be creative and follow your parental instincts when building a backyard playground. No matter what activities this unique, private playground provides, it’s