Now that our boxes are almost unpacked in our new house in Brighton, following our move from London just a week ago, we’re starting to enjoy the great weather and our newfound sense of freedom – a garden and outside space of our own.
No more communal greens around our apartment complex in London, which seemed to cater more to the local dog population and their sanitary needs rather than toddlers and babies.
Now that we’re using the garden, however, a new challenge appears – making it all toddler safe. But can a garden every be really safe for a toddler or crawling baby?
We have a few issues I can’t see an immediate solution for:
- Our patio stops short of the house wall by 1 foot, with a 1 foot ditch between each, lethal for a toddler who can’t stop running around
- The flower beds are framed with heavy timber and about 2 feet off the ground – low enough for my daughter to be able to climb up on (which she loves to do) but potentially lethal for her coming back down
- Steps from our raised patio to the pavement – two of them and total drop about 1.5 feet onto concrete
Up until now I’ve prided myself on my ability to Google and find an answer to any of the new challenges of parenthood as they have arisen. Baby banging head on cot sides – get an air wrap, baby won’t stop crying – get one of those Japanese crazy frog things.
For the garden however, no answers seem apparent. The only gates I see in Google are of the indoor stair gate variety. There’s no suggestions at all on how to net off a dyke/ditch beside a raised patio.
The barbecue seems even worse – they get very hot, and take 24 hours to cool down. How can I possibly put a barbeque in our garden where our daughter wants to run, play and explore?
Answers on a postcard (or comment) please…
