Some of the best moments you had when you were a kid happened in the backyard of your own home. You remember the tree house your dad built. If you had a pool before, you can still remember the cool pool parties your parents had. You got to mingle with their guests. How about that playground your grandparents gave you as a gift? The slide. The swing. The see-saw. The playhouse. The good memories are endless.
But times have changed. Without aluminum fence panels, you don’t feel safe letting your children stay in the backyard. Gone are the days when kids from other houses would simply walk over from their own yard and into your own to play with you. Now, fences and gates are erected not only to determine land boundaries but also to keep strangers away from your family.
You need to take precautionary measures to ensure that your children are safe in your backyard. You can’t let them get bored inside your house. Otherwise, they will depend entirely on TV and game consoles for entertainment. They will lose their self-motivation. They will get bored. They will not develop their sense of adventure. They will also lose the opportunity to make lifelong friendships with your neighbors.
Establish Safety Rules
Tell your children that if they want to stay in the backyard, they have to follow some rules. These include not talking to strangers who may be calling them from the other side of the fence. The number of children abducted while they’re playing in the backyard is astounding. You’d think parents would be more vigilant these days, but this is still one of the primary causes of child abduction.
Other safety rules include not pushing each other around the pool area or tinkering with the tools in the shed or garage. Make sure that your kids are well aware of these ground rules before allowing them to play outside. If possible, post the rules somewhere where they can see them.
Supervise Your Kids All the Time
Kids can’t recognize potential hazards in the backyard. They are so innocent they wouldn’t even think twice about roughhousing around the pool or playground. Of course, you know very well what happens when kids push and chase each other around any equipment. One of them will get hurt. The next thing you know, your kids are bawling their eyes out.
If you have to leave your kids to pee or check something inside the house, call someone else to keep an eye on them. If you are alone, take them with you inside the house. At the very least, if you have older kids, make them responsible for looking over their siblings while you grab something inside.
Improve the Security of Your Backyard
Remove poisonous plants in the garden (why do you have those, anyway?). Survey the yard for possible hazards and eradicate those. Put up a tall fence around your house. Make sure that your kids can’t climb over the fence. Also, make sure that strangers can’t climb over this fence, too. If possible, install security cameras facing the fence. This will discourage criminals from targeting your property.
Do not let your children suffer the consequences of living in a more unsafe world. You can do many things to allow them to have fun and be safe at the same time. While it takes a lot of time and effort from you, imagine the kind of memories your children will have.
