Bigger house, or bigger yard?

[tamagotchi]

What's more important to children growing up: a big back yard, or more space inside the house?

Let's say for the purpose of discussion that we are choosing between

A) teeny tiny house with enormous jungly back yard, big enough to put another small house back there (or playhouse, treehouse, climbing structure, fruit trees, vegetable garden, ...)

B) bigger house with plenty of room indoors but a very small back yard, just enough for a little slide or a picnic table

[Heffernhyphen]

Cast one enthusiastic vote for choice A: small house, big yard.

As a former child who had neither, I can say that I don't think either is especially important. What matters, of course, is what happens in the space. I think Americans have gone CRAZY in their unquenchable thirst for bigger better faster more. A smaller space is easier to care for, easier to pay for. And that adds up to more time with Mom and Dad. But that's another post.

All that said, we just bought our new house, which is smaller than our old one (1207 sq. ft.), because the yard is huge and there's a deck where I can sit to watch him play in his sandbox. I think the adventures a child can create in a big yard with nothing to play with but sticks and dogs are much more stimulating than being inside with real toys and a TV.

[MelMel]

well, I agree with the pp that smaller in general is better, imo. But we have an 800 sqft home (for 5 people right now!) but a huge lot....room for the kids to learn about their trees, grow their own garden, climb and run in the sun or the snow. A smaller space inside to avoid collecting and storing junk...I just love it.

So for us, we vote for small house, big yard.

[bigbellydreams]

Before kids we lived in a small house with a great back yard. While I was pregnant we moved into a bigger house with a much smaller backyard. I often wish we hadn't moved.

[mightymoo]

We have a small house with a big backyard and we love it, we feel we made the right choice.

[PeacefulSeams]

We just moved to a smaller place with a bigger yard. My DS is so excited that I am getting him a swing set this summer. Smaller space makes it easier to clean and you also have less room to accumulate clutter. The saying less is more is perfect to describe a smaller house.

[northwoods1995]

I would say smaller house and bigger backyard!

[yaM yaM]

Well, I suppose the climate that you live in plays a role, for sure. We live in a very warm climate and chose the bigger yard. I made this choice 5 years ago when we moved into our home and I'm filled with gratitude for that choice to this day. Our yard is big enough for my children to get very interested in all the things I'd always wanted for them:


* gardening
* excercise (we have a big trampoline with a net around it - they spend tons of time on there.)
* tree-climbing
* running around in general (they love to play hide-and-seek in the bushes and trees.)
* creativity (outdoor play kitchen set up with lots of supplies, tables and shelves for mudpie-making, etc.)
* hammocks! (I can't say enough good things about our snuggling time in the hammocks...)


We also have tables and chairs set up out there and do art outside, often. It is especially lovely on a sunny day. . . amongst the singing birds. Also supports us to eat meals outside, too.

[SoHappy]

Small house, big lot. You can always make the house bigger in the future if you really want to, but there's no way to grow the parcel!

[Marcee]

Big Backyards Rock. We have 5 kids and live in a 3 bedroom 2 bath. We have a huge backyard and we (me included) are always outside!

[AlbertaJes]

Originally Posted by Heffernhyphen

Cast one enthusiastic vote for choice A: small house, big yard.

:

[luvmy2boys]

Just remember...you can always add on to the house as resources allow. Can't usually add on to your lot, though.

[SonomaMom]

We have a small house and a big yard too. Like you said, big enough to put another house in. The maintaince is crazy, it's always overgrown unlike my friend's yards, but our toddler son loves running around helping us garden.

Growing up, we had a small yard but lots of open space that my mom let me wander around in. Being able to roam around nature really nurtured my creativity and imagination. I have such great memories of pretending to be an explorer, watching tadpoles grow into frogs, caterpillars make cocoons etc. I hope my little guys are able to have similar memories growing up in our 'jungle' backyard.

[AngieB]

The PP makes a good point about maintenance. The big question is do you like doing yard work and caring for a big back yard and would you truely use the space and enjoy it? We live on 5 acres and DH and I enjoy the the work required to keep it up and my kids live outside when the weather is nice. My sister and her husband do not do yard work and their kids would rather be inside so her having a big yard would not only be a waste but a bad idea. Another question is how would you feel about living in a small house, would you always be wishing for it to be bigger or could you be content?

[ChrisCountryGirl]

I'd rather have a small house with a big yard. I love being outside.

[avendesora]

I have to say, I'm not really an outdoorsy person, neither is DH. We have a small house and a big yard, but the yard is funny - a lot of the space is to the side opposite the side where the kitchen is, so I can't just watch them while I work inside. We have too many trees to garden well, but not enough to enjoy the really deep shade. Lots of weeds from our neighbors behind us. We also have lots of yard in the front - but that's where the road is.

If you choose a large yard, make sure that it's yard space that you enjoy.

I think I'd be happier with a small house with a small yard.

We go to the park when we really want to spend time outside anyway. There's one with great sun and one with great shade, and other moms to talk to, etc. Or we go for walks.

Aven

[Izzy's Mom]

For me it totally depends on where you live. We live somewhere where there are plenty of close play spaces (a couple of parks, lots of walking paths and a big open field just around the corner) - plus it is winter for a very long time and we go through several periods each winter where it truly is too cold to spend much time outside at all (-30 degrees celsius) so for us having a decent sized home with play areas for the kids was really important.

If you truly think your kids will spend a lot of time outside using the yard then I vote for yard, especially if it's possible you could add on to the tiny house eventually if money permits.

For me, I would personally prefer a bigger home and just take advantage of other outdoor play spaces though.

[cdmaze]

We went for the small house, big lot!!! We feel like it was a greaty choice. Our only thing now is wishing we had MORE property!