To your child, your garden is one big play area waiting to be explored! Although potential hazards might be lurking in your garden, don’t curb their enthusiasm; with a few simple adjustments you can child proof your garden so they can enjoy their surroundings.
While nothing can replace adult supervision, here are some of our top tips for keeping your child safe in your garden:
Lock Up Garden Tools
Storing your garden tools safely in shed is the first step towards keeping your child safe in the garden but, curious children aren’t afraid to venture into sheds when they’re looking for new toys to play with! Make sure that your sharp tools like secateurs and lawnmowers are stored safely behind a locked door to prevent accidental cuts and scrapes.
If your child is helping you in the garden, don’t leave tools lying within their reach when you have to make a quick trip inside. Even if you’re only gone for a few minutes, your child could take this opportunity to play with sharp shears or, spiky garden forks.
Keep Garden Chemicals Out of Reach
The bright colours on the packaging for pesticides, weed killers and plant food can be appealing to small children. Ideally, you should store these dangerous chemicals behind the locked door of your garden shed. However, if this isn’t possible, the next best place to store these products is on a high self where they will be safely out of reach from small hands.
Watch Out for Toxic Plants
Lily of the Valley, Foxgloves and Azaleas might look beautiful but these blooms harbour a dangerous secret! Like many other common garden plants they are extremely toxic to children when ingested.
If you don’t want to remove these plants from your garden altogether, consider fencing them off using chicken wire or pretty trellis fencing.
Invest in Anti-Slip Decking
After spells of heavy rain, decking can become extremely slippery! If you live in an area where there is exceptionally high rainfall, consider investing in anti-slip decking. This ingenious solution is perfect for parents with active children who want to be outside as soon as the unpredictable British climate lets them.
Keep On Top of General Maintenance
Before you let your child explore the garden, take a walk around to see if there are any general repair jobs that are creating hazards in your garden. For example, are there any broken shed windows? Does your fence have any broken, jagged panels? Keeping on top of your garden maintenance jobs will go a long way towards keeping your child safe in your garden.
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