In these uncertain times, more children have become stuck in their homes, spending more time in front of a screen than ever before. The parks are less accessible, and if they are, there's a lot of fear surrounding them due to this invisible disease. 

The truth is, you can't restrain kids from playing together or force them to observe Covid protocols. At some point, they will innocently forget, and it will be back to play as usual. None of them will remember that there is a virus that they need to guard themselves against. 

With this in mind, creating a playground in your backyard would be the perfect solution. Your kids can play outdoors safely with easy supervision from your house. However, before you add a kids’ play space to your backyard, there are a few things to consider:

Things to Consider

1. Age

Think about the age group you're catering for to invest in the right play equipment. Different age groups will enjoy different types of play equipment. The number of kids you have is also something to consider when adding a playground to your backyard. This includes their friends who drop by once in a while.

2. Space

How big is your backyard, and how many children can it accommodate? Once you ask yourself this, you can now decide on the type of play space to create for your kids.

3. Activities Your Kids Enjoy

Creating a playground with activities that your kids barely find interesting will be a waste of time. So, as you plan for a play space, take time to identify what your kids love and, more so, the things they would enjoy for a long time.

4. Inspections and Maintenance

As you plan to set up a playground for your kids, remember that it will need maintenance from time to time. Make sure to have a routine check of the play equipment to ensure that they are in good working condition and repair what needs to be fixed.

5. Safety

Above all, the safety of your kids comes first. Whatever you decide, do not compromise on this. It may be helpful to put up proper fencing to ensure the kids' safety while playing within the area.  

7 Steps to Creating a Playground

After considering all these things, you can now start the process of creating your playground. Here is how:

1. Choose and Prepare the Playground Site

Identifying the site for the playground is the first thing that will help you know how to organize your space. First, the play space you choose should accommodate the choice of games you’re considering setting up. Also, your playground should be flat-surfaced. If the only remaining space is sloppy, try to bring it up to a more flattened level. 

Avoid places with hazardous material such as rocks or old stump trees. A safe playground will protect your kids from unnecessary injuries and falls. Also, as you decide on the play space, ensure that the area is big enough for them to move around freely without bumping into each other. 

2. Sort Out the Junk

There's a lot that you need to remove from the space you've chosen as the playground. It would be ideal to consult specialists that deal with junk removal in Freehold to help you clear all the clutter from your backyard. They will keep this process seamless and stress-free, and at the end of it all, they will help you dispose of or donate the items you don't need. Also, you can recycle some of the things to build up with unique playing equipment for your kids. 

3. Decide on Landing Play Surface

Deciding on a landing play surface ensures that the kids will play safely. It will be wise to work with recommended soft-landing surfaces like wood chips, rubber, or sand. Also, ensure that the cover extends at least 6feet around the playing equipment. Avoid hard-landing surfaces such as concrete, gravel, or dirt. Rubber surfaces are most preferred since they require little to no maintenance and are the safest choices.

4. Leave Room For Creativity

Remember that a good play space helps the kids play, but it also helps their brain development. Therefore, it would be a clever idea to invest in playing equipment that allows the kids to get more creative and learn more about themselves and their surroundings. Additionally, you can develop more exciting and mind-boggling games that challenge them mentally by requiring them to create quick solutions to solve them.

5. Use Good Construction Material

The choice of playing material that you choose to use in your play space is critical. Whichever material you pick out, ensure that it can withstand all climatic conditions of the year. For example, if you choose metal, ensure that it is well plated to prevent rust and cuts. Alternatively, if you opt for wood, ensure that you use the correct type of long-lasting wood that doesn't rot quickly and certainly not one that is susceptible to pests. 

6. Observe the Playing Safety Measures

As mentioned above, you wouldn't want to be nursing injuries at the end of the day due to things that would have been prevented in the first place. In this case, come up with methods that will shield your kids from unnecessary injuries such as:

• Setting up playground rules with your kids. It helps them guard one another as they play and helps them raise the alarm in case of any underlying danger. Also, it will help them keep each other in check. 

• Putting up supportive guard rails, especially on high climbing surfaces

• Ensuring your kids have dressed up appropriately for playing. Your children shouldn’t be playing with loose hanging necklaces or strings, which could lead to strangulation.

• Disapproval of playing with sharp objects

• Putting up a shade to prevent excessive exposure to the sun

• Applying sunscreen to prevent sunburns from sun-exposure

Above all, ensure that the kids have adult supervision while playing. Some kids may be notorious for trying out dangerous tricks and stunts while playing, so it would be wise to keep them in check. 

7. Don't Disregard the Necessities

It would be ideal to have a segregated section in the backyard with the things the kids may require while playing. Some of these are:

• Seats for supervising adults or kids when they need to take a break

• Equipment storage bins and trash cans

• Drinking water and snacks

• First aid kit

With all these, you can never go wrong when adding a playground to your backyard. It can sound a bit technical going through all of these steps and precautions, but this will be one of the best and memorable investments you can ever make for your kids. The memories shared on that playground will last for a lifetime.