Skip to main content

5 Ways to Ensure Your Yard is Safe for Children

5 Ways to Ensure Your Yard is Safe for ChildrenPhoto by samer daboul

Originally Posted On: https://www.fencemakers.com/news/5-ways-to-ensure-your-yard-is-safe-for-children/

 

Your home’s backyard can be a magical place for your children. Outdoor games, sport and play-time are all a huge part of a child’s upbringing and social life. How many of us remember playing backyard cricket as a child?

Children love to play and explore, however from time to time it can lead them into trouble and potentially a dangerous situation. During our 20+ years of operation, the team at Fencemakers have seen and heard many stories about what children get up to in backyards. In this blog, our team shares five tips for making your yard a safer and more child-friendly area.

  1. Ensure Fencing and Gates are Secure

A good quality fence and gate can keep your children away from potential dangers including roads and strangers. It can also keep wild, stray and neighbourhood animals out of your yard. Your fencing and gates are your first and main line of defence against unsupervised or unwanted access and exits.

 

At Fencemakers, our range of pedestrian and security gates are all made to order. This allows us to design a solution which will not only look great but will ensure your family and possessions are kept safe.

If your yard has a pool, you have a legal and moral obligation to ensure a properly installed and maintained fence and gate surrounds it. The complete set of requirements for pool fencing and gates can be found here.

At Fencemakers, we have over 20 years’ experience in manufacturing pool fence and gate solutions that not only look great, but meet and exceed all legal requirements and will keep your family safe. We can guarantee all pool fencing and gates installed by us will exceed the legal requirements and will pass council pool fencing and gate regulations.

  1. Remove Poisonous Plants

Dangerous plants, as well as plants that you suspect of being dangerous should be removed from your yard. Plants such as deadly nightshade and hemlock can be extremely harmful to children. When ingested they cause fever, vomiting and diarrhea. If found, ensure that these plants are removed and destroyed.

Other less-harmful plants can also be painful and disorientating if ingested. Your vegie garden’s chillies, for example, if eaten or touched (by a child that then rubs their nose or eyes) can cause intense pain. If you have chillies or any other “risky” plants in your vegetable patch, it’s best to fence them off.

You can find a more complete list of Australia’s dangerous plants at http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/dangerous_plants_checklist.html.

  1. Keep Play Equipment Safe

It’s worth checking your child’s play equipment from time to time. Older equipment such as climbing gyms can become rusted and sharp. Screws can come loose on swings making them unsafe. Additionally, spiders and other nasties can make their home in cubbies and sheltered areas.

Older trampolines are especially notorious for causing injuries. If you can, replace your old trampoline with a new netted or spring-less model, or at the very least cover the springs with padding. Taking precautions now can save a lot of pain, and potentially broken bones, later.

  1. Lock the Garden Shed

The garden shed can be filled with all sorts of things which are dangerous for children. Potential hazards include:

  • Handsaws, axes, weed cutters & other sharp-edged tools
  • Poisons such as insecticide & weed killers
  • Lawnmowers, screw-drivers & power tools
  • Small sharp objects like screws, nails & pins

Be sure to put away any tools or poisons after use and keep your shed locked or firmly closed.

  1. Teach Animal Safety

 

Pets can be a great addition to your family. Many children form a significant bond with their childhood pet and this bond can help teach your children a life-long respect, love and care for animals.

While domesticated, pets, however, are still animals. Children therefore need to be shown the right and wrong way to play with pets. For example, teach them how to pat the dog or cat, or explain why it’s important not to startle pets, especially if they’re eating, sleeping or when they’re young.

Educating your children about animals can extend to what to do should they encounter a wild animal. For example, what to do if they come across possums, stray cats or snakes – all of which can be found in rural back yards.

At Fencemakers, we love animals and have a long history of working with the RSPCA and supporting them in their efforts. Through this close relationship we have been able to ensure our fencing and gate products are not only visually attractive but also pet-friendly.

 

If you would like more information or advice and how you can utilise fencing or gates in your backyard to keep your children safe, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are more than happy to come out to site, discuss options available and provide you with a free no-obligation quote.

Data & News supplied by www.cloudquote.io
Stock quotes supplied by Barchart
Quotes delayed at least 20 minutes.
By accessing this page, you agree to the following
Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.