How To: Entertain your children in the garden this summer

Summer is here but it won’t last forever so make the most of it while the sun is still shining and get your children outside to enjoy the great outdoors.

In the digital age children are having less and less contact with the natural world, instead choosing to stay indoors to engage with iPads, YouTube and games consoles. Change is inevitable, but following recent news stories that have linked the risk of rickets with children spending too much time indoors, it is hugely important to get your kids outside.

Social skills and emotional development are both enhanced by outdoor play, and there are plenty of physical and health benefits for children too.

It is not only your children that reap the benefits though. Property experts at We Buy any Home say that garden improvements can significantly add value to your home and while spending huge sums on lavish garden features can be a waste of money, inexpensive child-friendly additions can make a big difference.

Encourage your child’s green fingers

Introducing children to gardening at a young age can inspire them to get involved and enjoy a healthy hobby throughout their lives. It is a relatively inexpensive way to capture your child’s attention and helps to teach important life lessons such as the importance of healthy eating and the process of pollination. Your child will love getting stuck in the mud and you will love the added colour and charm to your garden.

Sunflowers are usually a good place to start. A hardy and fast-growing variety, sunflowers can grow very tall and children love following the progress of the plants. Growing vegetables with children can teach a good lesson in sustainability. Courgettes, carrots and tomatoes are usually good bets if you decide to grow food instead of flowers.

Build an enchanted garden hideaway

Bespoke treehouse experts at Blue Forest say treehouses have the magical ability to transport us miles from reality and bring people closer to the natural world. So why not set your child’s imagination free by building a secret garden hideaway they can escape to?

Build an enchanted tree house high above the ground where they can fantasize about being ruler of their own treetop kingdom. It doesn’t have to be terribly grand or expensive either, although a well-constructed treehouse is a unique selling point that significantly adds value to your home.

If building a treehouse is slightly out of reach, dens are a great alternative. We’ve all done it, building a den is a childhood rite of passage. Hang some sheets or blankets over a washing line or rope, fill the interior with cushions and voilà, you have a dreamy little hideaway. On warm evenings you can even enjoy a spot of stargazing and indulge in cosy summer sleepovers.

Come face to face with nature

Interacting with wildlife from an early age helps youngsters to become more compassionate people. Going to the farm to meet the barnyard residents or to feed the ducks are great excursions that thrill children, but you don’t have to venture so far to come face to face with nature.

Making homemade bird feeders is a fun activity that teaches children which species are native to the area. Household items such as empty milk cartons and hollowed out oranges can be transformed into efficient little feeders, or take the easier option of purchasing a quaint little bird table to attract some feathered friends to your garden.

Hedgehog homes are an increasingly popular and simple addition to gardens. Place a sturdy crate upside down in a protected place, cover it with earth, wood and vegetation and make sure there’s an entrance. If a hedgehog takes a shine to its new home, don’t rule out having a hibernating guest over the winter.

Another way to welcome the wild is to build an insect hotel out of old bricks, slate and cardboard. It won’t take long for the creepy-crawlies to make themselves at home and does wonders in preventing phobias in later life.

Take a garden classic and sink it in the ground

If you are a parent, chances are you either already own a trampoline or are fed up of being incessantly pestered by your children who desperately claim that all of their friends have one. Trampolines are fantastic in that they provide hours of fun and are an excellent way of exercising, but the downside is that they often take up a large area of garden space.

A simple trick to avoid them becoming an eyesore is to sink them into the ground. Many trampoline brands are redesigning their models to blend into a lawn making them far easier on the eyes. Sunken models also reduce the risk of injury as overzealous children who accidentally bounce off the edge have less height to fall.