garden for kids - how important

izzybusy23

scotboy82 wrote: »

Hi

Buying a first floor two bed maisonette, really nice inside, but it doesn't have a garden. We are however about 400 yards from a nice park.

Me and my wife are looking to start a family soon and just wanted to know if anyone can share their experiences of how important a garden is for young kids.

Have those that have kids with who own a house with a garden found it invaluable?

Or those that have kids who have a flat/house without a garden how have you found it?

Thanks

As a kid growing up we always lived in ground floor maisonettes which never had a garden as such, just a piece of grass about 2ft wide outside the window which led onto the path. We always lived near parks though so I never really 'noticed' not having a garden as a child. However, my daughter plays out in the garden all summer and I can't imagine her not being able to do that now.

I suppose you don't miss what you don't have??? Although I would agree that space, whether your own garden or a play park for kids to run about is important.

matmad

We've lived in our 2 bed 2nd floor maisonette for the last 15 years, and have two daughters aged 12 and 8.

No lift and about 40 external stairs, but a shed to store pushchairs etc in on the ground floor.

We don't have a garden, although we have a tiny bit of communal balcony space outside the front door. The neighbours probably think I'm batty as I've managed to fit a garden bench, greenhouse and some plant pots on it, as well as drying the washing outside.

We have been talking about moving to somewhere with a garden for years, but have still yet to make the move.

I have to say that although I love our little flat, it has always been a regret that we haven't had a garden for the girls to enjoy. The last year has been better, as we got an allotment, so we have had some outside space of our own even if it is a walk away!

We do have several parks nearby, which we visited constantly when they were little, so it hasn't been too bad.

My advice would be to definitely get somewhere with a garden if you can, after all, when they're little, you can't get those years back again.

space_rider

I bought a house with a small garden, just enough for sitting outside enjoying the sun when it shines! I had 3 children but they were old enough to go to park by themselves and the house did overlook the park. Along came another daughter and the garden was only just big enough to fit a tiny paddling pool with the other outdoor furniture. I moved when she was 5 and she loved the big garden, I didn`t as there way way too much lawn to mow. Unfortunately she missed out on being able to play in the garden having a swing, slide etc etc though her big sisters and myself would take her to the park but we all got fed up with it. I would say if you are thinking of having a family look further ahead and try and make sure you get all you need in one swoop or you`ll be needing to move and we all know how costly that is.

toja

I have digged out this old topic as the garden issue is very relevant to me. I am buying 1st floor 2 bed maisonette with a share of garden (long narrow garden split into two more narrow parts). Must say it is not a "shared garden", is it ownership of half of the garden, but the essence is the same and I was wondering if I am not making a mistake? I can hardly afford a house with a garden that would all belong to me and conversion flats with gardens are rare in my area, so I thought this is the best option for now, but really wonder how this works when you have a child and practically share a garden with you your neighbour? I could put a high fence of course, but would it be a wise idea?
If anyone will say that I should wait until I can afford small house because the prices are falling, I would reply that even if I could afford a house, the maintanence of all house (council tax etc) I find too high for me as compared with flat/maisonette.

poppysarah

Maintenance of a maisonette could be massive - you're responsible jointly for the whole structure aren't you?

I wouldn't buy something you knew you could potentially be unhappy with in the next few years. Kids benefit from gardens and so do adults!

Doozergirl

Unless it's a very small conversion of two or three flats then maintenance will be less on a house. At least you can decide autocratically what gets done.

It's fine to have a share of a garden - in London we found that it's only really the ground floor that make use - when we were top floor you couldn't have reached our share for the jungle that belonged the the middle floor (ours must have been worse - I never even went down there!)

When we were ground floor and had our own little space (the three ground floor flats had little gardens) but the rest shared between all nine (including ours) we had the whole thing to ourselves virtually. Only one family with kids would come down and they'd put a swing up etc. They were hardly down there though either.

confused31_2

Ive got 3 kids and we couldnt live without a garden i take my kids to the park, but you always have to keep a eye on them, i suppose its the same with your garden with kids under 3, but now my older kids go in the back garden and play on their own, if theres a problem they just come in at tell us, i wouldnt dream of leaving my kids to play in a park on their own in this day and age.

The other thing like someone said is, its good in the summer having your own space to chill in and entertain guests outside, our garden isnt massive but there is no way i would buy a property with no garden.

R&C

Essential for us I'm afraid. We have a 2 year old and live in a ground floor flat. We have a patio but it's not safe enough nor big enough. Having lived without a garden it has become quite a priority for us now we're looking to move.

We are out and about every weekend so she gets plenty of fresh air, but it would be nice in the summer to just relax at home sometimes but outdoors at home rather than indoors!

kunekune

In our family, the garden is as much for the grownups as the children. The place we're buying has a conservatory and a small-ish garden, it has a patio, small lawn, shed and deck. There's not much room for football but there is room for us to sit out there with a drink, to eat outside in the summer evenings (we eat outside whenever we can) and room for flowers and veg in pots (or maybe even a veg plot if we decide not to keep the lawn). There's enough room for the children to potter around outside safely, and grow their own sunflowers. We had a quarter-acre in New Zealand with swings, climbing frame, etc, room to ride a bike, and really we only used the terrace. It was a LOT of work (especially cleaning up after three full sized oak trees). I prefer the little one we're getting.

TJ27

I've got 2 kids and quite a big garden. I'm also very lucky to be close to a fantastic park (2 in fact), a boating lake, woodland and a reservoir.

We use all of them regularly. Only yesterday we walked through the woods to the reservoir, then played on the swings at the park, then came home and played some more in the garden.

Is the garden essential? Hmmm, I'm not sure. Like others have said, it's very handy if the kids want to go outside while you're, say, cooking. You can keep an eye on them but get on with stuff. I think I would miss it if I didn't have it.

I've deliberately made our garden low maintenance though. It's got some lovely trees and shrubs but not many flowers. All I have to do is run the mower over it every week or so in the summer and strim occasionally. Luckily I'm the sort who doesn't mind doing that sort of thing.

If you hate looking after the garden and have parks or fields nearby, then no I don't suppose it's essential.

I came across the ideal solution while visiting friends in North Wales once. All the neighbours in a terrace of houses got on well together. Individually their back gardens were medium sized. They decided to take down the boundary fences, so that all their kids could play in the huge area now created. They took it in turns to mow the lawn, with one set of tools kept in one shed. If somebody was ill, or on hols, or whatever when it was their turn, so what. Seemed like a good idea to me but with so many people being picky about every inch of their boundaries it couldn't work in most areas. All it takes is a little bit of sharing really.