Creating a Kid-Friendly Yard

A kid-friendly yard doesn't need to mean a lawn littered with weathered neon plastic toys. In fact, creating a great kid-friendly yard is less about buying equipment and more about creating an exciting outdoor space that offers plenty of opportunities to explore, experiment, have adventures, play, and imagine. And, fortunately, a lot of the things that kids love about a yard are the same things adults love. The goal is to hit the sweet spot between an aesthetically-pleasing space the adults want with the fun play space the kids want. Here are some ideas for getting there:

Make it safe. Get rid of toxic plants. Fence pools (and other water features if young children are around). Don't use chemical fertilizers, pesticides or treated wood. Make sure play areas provide shade and are in the sight line of a kitchen window or other work space.

Think long and hard before buying a big piece of playground equipment. Big equipment takes up a big chunk of yard real estate and is expensive. Equipment can also cause problems with your home's re-sale because buyers without children don't want it and it's expensive to move.

Go natural, not plastic. Winding paths to explore and large boulders to sit on and hop across will get more use than a two-foot tall plastic slide that a toddler enjoys for a couple of months. Instead of buying a green plastic turtle shaped sandbox, dig a sand or pebble pit in the ground and surround it with attractive rocks. When the kids outgrow it, it can be converted into a plant bed.

Lay down some track. Dedicate a portion of the yard to hardscape—either pavers, concrete or other surface kids can use to bike, skate, or ride on. It can be a solid block in one place or a path that winds around the yard. Keep chalk and washable paint on-hand for kids to create lanes, road signs and obstacle courses.

Create secret places. Kids love secret nooks, even more so if there's a trick to getting there. Try a tree house or a hammock tucked away at the end of winding path. Create a cozy reading spot with shade and a couple of outdoor pillows or inexpensive weatherproof chairs. A secret space can even be a space carved into a shrub and a path for sneaking inside.

Put in edible plants. Plant easy things like strawberries, parsley and green beans. Put up a children's garden where kids can choose what goes in. Create a theme garden like a pizza garden with basil, garlic, tomatoes, and peppers. Put in blueberry bushes and fruit trees for kids to harvest.

Add plants that do cool things. The Tickle Me Plant (Mimosa Pudica) has leaves than curl up in response to touch and Snap Dragons are fun to pinch open. Put in mint that tastes and smells like pineapple, chocolate, or oranges. Add some geraniums that smell like roses, lemon, chocolate, or pine. Lamb's ear has appealingly hairy leaves and sunflowers can be arranged to grow into (another) secret hideout.

Attract wildlife. Put up a hummingbird or bird feeder or try a bat house for evening bat-sightings as well as natural bug control. Attract butterflies with lavender, Black-eyed Susan and butterfly bushes and hummingbirds with Summer Phlox, or Daylilies. Lay down some stepping stones that can be easily-lifted for kids to discover bugs underneath.

Add water. Younger kids love water in the form of sprinklers, kiddie pools, tarps for sliding on, or a water table to float boats in. For older children, put in a fountain or small pond and stock with tadpoles or fish.

Leave some open space. Keep a wide expanse of grass or other lawn-like surface for games like badminton, croquet, and “Simon Says”.

Make the night time yard special. Set up a fire pit for s'mores and ghost stories. Replace the bulbs in an old chandelier with solar lights for glamorous, electricity-free lighting. Paint planters, benches or stepping stones with glow-in-the dark paint for an eerie night time glow. Line paths or flower beds with weather-proof rope lighting set with a timer.

Appeal to the ears. Hang wind chimes or have kids make them out of keys or old silverware. Make a music station with pieces of bamboo hung from trees to make an outdoor xylophone, cans strung up to clang or drums made out of plastic water cooler jugs. Check Pinterest for a host of interesting (and not bad-looking) ideas.

Choose items that kids and adults can both enjoy. Put up a hammock in a shady spot, pop a sundial in a corner, put up a table for picnics and hang a porch swing.

Be whimsical. Hang a board on the fence and paint it with chalkboard paint. Sneak some little toys or plastic coins into a sandbox so kids can find “treasure.” Hang fairy ornaments from the tree branches. Set up tents for camp outs and stargazing. Make a balance beam from a fallen branch. Provide tools for exploring the outdoors like magnifying glasses, a rain gauge, shovels, measuring cups and pails to store “finds” like leaves, seed pods, and such. The truly daring can leave space for a dirt pile for digging and worm-finding that, with water, becomes an excellent mud pit.

And if something is unsightly, plant something tall and grassy in front of it. Not only does this hide it from your sight line, it gives kids (another) extra nook.