Now that it’s summertime, you’re likely anxious to get your kids outside to enjoy some sunshine and fresh air. And while it’s great to take your kids to the park or a community pool, sometimes you as the parent or guardian just want to be able to relax at home while your kids play.
One way to facilitate both of these things is to encourage your kids to build a fort in your backyard. But while this can be fun, it can also be a big project to undertake, especially for your little ones. So to help ensure that everyone has a fun and safe time, here are three tips for helping your kids build a fort in your backyard.
Get Creative With Your Materials
While you might be envisioning an actual building with a floor, walls, and a roof when you picture a fort in your mind’s eye, you definitely don’t have to go running to the home improvement store in order for your kids to build a fort at home. In fact, getting creative with building materials can be one of the most fun things about building a fort at home.
According to Alison Zeidman, a contributor to Fatherly.com, you should try to encourage your kids to use things from nature for building their fort. Sticks or tree limbs or part of a bush can make for great building materials. Additionally, other odds and ends from around the yard can be all the materials your kids need—as long as they’ve got a little imagination, too.
Be Wise With Roofing
Depending on how long you and your children want to keep their fort up and running, there likely are a few areas of the building that you’ll want to make sure are stable. One of these areas is the roof.
While you’re not going to be needing to call in a contractor to do professional roofing for you, the last thing you want is for the roof to fall down on your kids when they’re inside their fort. Some of the best materials to use if you and your kids are wanting the fort to stick around for a few days or longer, according to HGTV, is corrugated plastic. This will help to keep the elements out while also being light and fairly inexpensive.
Know When You Need To Step In
Although you might be wanting your kids to take the reins on their fort project, there will probably be a few moments where you might want to step in and help them so as no one gets hurt or puts themselves in any danger.
Especially if there’s going to be any heavy lifting or attempting to use any type of power tools, Chrystle Fiedler, a contributor to This Old House, recommends that you lend a hand to your kids.
If you and your kids are interested in building a fort in your backyard this summer, consider using the tips mentioned above to help ensure this project gets accomplished safely.