[aylinhyatt]

Hi all. We have a small patch of our garden which is relatively flat, and the rest is a bit of a hill. We cleared the flat part only to discover that there were uneven paving slabs underneath the shrubs /tree stumps etc. Any ideas how to make this uneven surface child friendly? We wanted to put a fence on the other side too but the concrete slabs meant this was not possible. We've been advised the bricks In the retaining wall were not secure enough.

 

[Bonny&Blithe]

An uneven surface isn't a bad thing for children. There is a lot to be learned at a young age of how to move and how to maintain balance and children are being deprived of opportunities to challenge themselves in "perfect" play areas. I attended a lecture recently by a couple that are looking at physical education for children in a new way. The husband works with professional athletes internationally and has to teach them basic skills that kids used to learn innately in the past. Children need the chance to walk on uneven surfaces and even how to balance on an unstable surface, like a wobbly rock; how to run, keeping track of their friends while not tripping over things in their path and how to figure out how to cooperate in achieving common goals.

 

[SkyMJ]

An uneven surface isn't a bad thing for children. There is a lot to be learned at a young age of how to move and how to maintain balance and children are being deprived of opportunities to challenge themselves in "perfect" play areas. I attended a lecture recently by a couple that are looking at physical education for children in a new way. The husband works with professional athletes internationally and has to teach them basic skills that kids used to learn innately in the past. Children need the chance to walk on uneven surfaces and even how to balance on an unstable surface, like a wobbly rock; how to run, keeping track of their friends while not tripping over things in their path and how to figure out how to cooperate in achieving common goals.

I totally agree with that

 

[SkyMJ]

An uneven surface isn't a bad thing for children. There is a lot to be learned at a young age of how to move and how to maintain balance and children are being deprived of opportunities to challenge themselves in "perfect" play areas. I attended a lecture recently by a couple that are looking at physical education for children in a new way. The husband works with professional athletes internationally and has to teach them basic skills that kids used to learn innately in the past. Children need the chance to walk on uneven surfaces and even how to balance on an unstable surface, like a wobbly rock; how to run, keeping track of their friends while not tripping over things in their path and how to figure out how to cooperate in achieving common goals.

A garden like this can be both a playing ground as well as a place to learn things indeed. Though be aware that kids might ruin your plants 😁 Anyway, the idea is great but you'll need to install mosquito zappers like this otherwise you won't be able even to go outside in the evening. At least we do that in Ohio...