The best way to get your kid outside – short of yelling “Go outside and play!” as our parents did – is making outside a place they actually want to be. Unfortunately, we’ve somehow decided en masse that outside is a dangerous place. Alas, gone are the days of exploring creeks, roaming the woods for adventure and walking to the corner liquor store alone to pick up a pack of Salems for Dad – though that last one is probably for the best. But most of us still feel OK with sending kids into our own backyards. So, how can you create a kid-friendly yard in order to lure your kids outside so you can get some peace and quiet and/or so you can enrich their souls with the glories of Mother Nature? Try some of these ideas:
Teach them gardening. Yes, even at this time of year. “Plant vegetables that kids like to eat and that are easy to grow,” said Joanne Byrd, a UCCE Master Gardener of Orange County, who does workshops for teachers, parents and youth leaders on how to set up children’s gardens. “We always recommend sugar snap peas, especially this time of year. They can pick and eat them right off the bush or vine. We tell teachers: If the kid grows it, they will eat it.” Other good cool-weather crops are lettuce, carrots, scallions, chard, kale and radishes (from seed) or broccoli and strawberry plants. “If you are adventuresome, plant potatoes in a big pot – really fun harvesting for treasure!” Byrd says.
Try a theme garden like an herb garden, salad garden, succulent garden or flower-cutting garden (let kids pick what goes in). In warmer months, try pizza or salsa gardens with tomatoes, onions, pepper, and herbs like basil, cilantro and oregano. And go organic. “Don’t worry about bugs; have the kids examine them,” Byrd says. “Use water to wash off pests rather than chemicals. Tell the kids, ‘Bugs gotta eat too!’ ”
Create secret places and hangout spots. Try a hammock tucked away at the end of a winding path, or put up a little tent or treehouse for secret meetings. Create a cozy reading spot with an awning and a couple of outdoor pillows. Make semi-private spots for older teens too. You can go simple with an inexpensive picnic table, or create a posh, picturesque outdoor room with upholstered furniture, cushy pillows, outdoor rugs and solar lanterns.
Save some open space for play. Keep a little grass or some kind of ground cover for games of tag, badminton or Simon Says. With younger kids, driveways, sidewalks and pavers can work as roads for bikes and play cars. Keep some washable chalk on hand for drawing roads and hopscotch courts and making obstacle courses.
Put in some plants that do cool stuff. Snap dragons are fun to pinch open, and the Tickle Me Plant (Mimosa pudica) has leaves that curl up when someone touches them. Put in mint that tastes and smells like pineapple, chocolate or oranges, or plant geraniums that smell like roses, lemon, chocolate or pine. Plant a circle of sunflower seeds to grow into another secret hideout.
Attract wildlife. Put up a hummingbird or bird feeder or try a bat house for evening bat sightings (plus natural bug control). Attract butterflies with lavender, Black-Eyed Susan and butterfly bushes, and lure hummingbirds with Summer Phlox or daylilies. Lay down some stepping stones that can be easily lifted for kids to discover cool bugs underneath.
Think long term. Instead of buying expensive playground equipment that kids will tire of, plant trees for climbing and shade and get some big rocks for climbing and jumping. Instead of a plastic sandbox, buy or build a wooden box that can be converted to a raised bed when the kids get older.
Encourage adventure. Hang a board on the fence and paint it with chalkboard paint. Sneak some little toys or plastic coins into a sandbox so kids can find treasure. Hang fairy ornaments from tree branches. Set up tents for campouts and stargazing. Make a balance beam from a fallen branch. Provide tools for exploring the outdoors like magnifying glasses, a rain gauge, shovels, measuring cups and pails to store finds like leaves, seed pods and such.
Even a pile of dirt can be fun. When I was hugely pregnant with my second, I was so exhausted one afternoon that I could only slump in a lawn chair watching my toddler, Ava, run around the backyard, which at that time was about 20 percent barren dirt. When she stripped down to nothing, I kept sitting. When she got out the hose, I kept sitting (this is predrought, in case you’re judging. OK to judge the sitting/lax parenting, though, because that was totally going on.) When she created a big mud hole and jumped in naked, still I sat. And that kid had the best time ever.
After her sister was born, Ava taught her about the glories of the mud pit and the two of them would strip down, squish their feet in it, then cover themselves in mud. The mud pit didn’t look good, it was probably insanely unsanitary, and cleaning the girls up afterward was kind of a nightmare. But seeing them out there together, naked, muddy and laughing – in that moment at least – I felt like I knew what I was doing.
