Creating an Outdoor Play Area

We go to the park and playground a lot, but rarely play outside at our house, since we don't have a good setup. I would like to change that and make the yard a fun, safe place for the kids.

We have a huge front yard, and a small backyard. The backyard abuts woods and several trails. We don't have a fence or a deck--I don't mind investing in one of these if they would make our outdoor space more usable. We don't have room for a pool (well, anything besides a baby pool) and can't put in a concrete patio or anything like that due to the septic system being in back. We have a huge, paved driveway and I'm thinking of getting one of those nets to block off the end of the driveway. Our street is not very busy, but there is a drainage system right at the bottom of our driveway, and I don't want the kids going into the tunnels.

How did you make your outdoor space work for toddlers?

 

I might not be the person to ask because we really have no outside space for our kids. Our front is just our steps, landscaping and driveway and our backyard is a two level deck with a pool and no grass (I hate to say it but I do wish "something" would happen to the pool). But for our limited outside play area, I put a small baby pool out...they have some outside toys (like a Little People BBQ), we sit on the deck and they chase bubbles. They have sidewalk chalk for out front or to color on the deck.
With how you describe your yard space, I think a net at the end of the driveway sounds like a good idea. Maybe you could get a Little Tykes play structure or house, a sandbox, or a sand and water table?
Good luck!

 

We have a *huge* yard (almost 4 acres) that is on a busy country road, and has woods in back. Needless to say, it's rather a challenge to manage 2 toddlers out there by yourself. :faint: The best thing we did was put up our superyard on the deck to block off the stairs and bought a sand/water table. It's rather messy, but they will play for long periods of time (yesterday they played quietly for almost 2 hours! :shok in a safe area, and you can even sit down for a few and read a magazine! :good:

We also got a Kangaroo Climber and put it outside. They liked it, but it couldn't keep their attention for very long. The boys always want to run over and see the neighbors horses, escape into the woods, or throw mulch. <_<

A baby pool is a great idea too, especially when it's hot. Throw in a few bath toys, and it will amuse them for a good long time.

 

We have a standard home lot sized back yard. WE have it fenced (first for the dogs, now for the kids). We have a patio at the bottom of the stairs on there are the pool, sand and water table (water only because I hate mud) and a few ride on toys. In the grassy area, we have a swing set and a plastic playhouse. We accumulated the outside toys over time, starting with the sand and water table. I like your driveway idea. It took us a while but eventually the babies learned not to run into the street. However, we don't have much room out front so we don't play out there too often.

 

We havent fenced our back yard yet. And we will do so this summer. But right now, we have a club house, little tikes 8 in 1 adjustable playground, baby swimming pool(I put the pool under the slide. I add balls in it to back it a ball pond. They love to slide down to the pond lol), sand box, picnic table, couples car push and ride toys and a swing set. We have concrete floor too. So they can play with chalk. they love their play yard. But its a pain in the bottom to mow the grass though.

btw, I got all our toys on craigslist!!!

 

We are lucky to have a nice big fenced backyard.
We have accumulated our outdoor stuff over time too. We have a large sandbox, large metal frame swingset, plastic playgym, Little tikes ride ons.
We also have a covered patio where I've put twins bigger toys like FisherPrice laugh and learn home, playpen etc.
I try to use the backyard as another 'station' in our days schedule. For ex. I'll let them wander around the lounge room/ kitchen/ patio while I tidy up, do the dishwasher etc. When I can't hold them off any longer (they get restless), we'll go downstairs so I can hang oout my washing while they have a play and I keep an eye on them. Of course, now they're walking, they get into things a bit more but at least I get my exercise :silly:

 

Turning a yard into a toddler-friendly zone can be surprisingly fun once you start planning it like a series of little “stations.” In our place, the driveway became a mini riding track, and I used my old homelite blower to keep it clear so the kids didn’t slip on leaves. A simple pop-up play tent near the shaded area worked great for breaks, and a driveway net gave everyone peace of mind. Since your backyard touches the woods, a small boundary of planters or garden stones could define a safe zone without feeling closed off. Kids love structure, even outdoors.

 

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