If you have kids, how important is backyard space to you?

Mystery2B · November 2011

It's important.

If there was a nice front yard instead, or a park RIGHT there (like directly acrross the street) that would be ok. But having some outdoor space to run around is critical to my mental health. We usually go out front though (not to the backyard) because there's more to watch in front).

snapplegirl · November 2011

We have a smallish yard (you can see the whole thing from our back window) but it's still big enough for the kids to enjoy playing and running around in. Our biggest problem is the huge Maple tree that makes it hard to grow grass. Right now it looks more like a mud patch than a yard with grass

gretchenh · November 2011

SwizzleStiX:
We live in a TH/condo and just have a small concrete slab patio. It's big enough for two plant beds, a four seater table/umbrella and a grill. It's definitely too small.
I'd want something big enough for a little patio/deck, a grill, and then a small patch of grass for the kid to play soccer/catch, run around, etc.
We also have a dog, so it'd be nice for the dog to have a grassy patch to hang out in and lay in the sun, instead of having to poop on concrete.

Same here. We take DS to the playground and FIL's to run around but wish we could just let him out back. He has a sand box on the deck but even that got little use as West Nile and EEE were found in our area so we didn't go out too much at dusk.

ondrea · November 2011

personally it's very importatnt to me. I grew up on acres of land and now living in the suburbs and a 0.3 acre lot. our back yard is nice sized - not huge - but big enough for DS to run and play and chase the dog, etc... and it's not that much maintenance.

snansley · November 2011

We have two dogs so a fenced yard is a must have. They can go out without me having to pack up a toddler for every potty walk.

DS also loves running around in the grass and throwing the ball so its pretty important for him as well. Front yard is big, but on a huge hill so not practical for playing.

gt7301b · November 2011

This time of year I fvcking hate our yard. All the leaves have fallen and there is probably. 5 hrs of yard work to do. It took me 3 hrs to take care of the front before this batch fell.

RockysLove · November 2011

HisSchnukums:
Its a dealbreaker for me and I don't have children yet. I want to have space for a garden, large bbqs and dogs running around.

Exactly. We have just over an acre and don't have kids. I love the yard work.

liveintheville · November 2011

I'm the loner here. We live in a condo with no back yard and I find it fine. We just take the kids to parks, museums, etc.

kjhharris · November 2011

It's hard to find large backyards in San Diego; we have a small backyard (enough grass to play catch with toddlers or kids up to 5-6 years old), but I appreciate the small size since yard-work isn't DH's cup of tea. If we had a large one we'd have to hire gardeners to take care of it. We have LOTS of great local parks within a few miles.

JaqiDec04 · November 2011

We currently have a backyard and never spend any time there. We also hire a gardener.

We are moving, and considering a townhome or condo. There would be a park for us to walk to, and an outdoor patio space. Don't need much more than that.

80s junkie · November 2011

gt7301b:
This time of year I fvcking hate our yard. All the leaves have fallen and there is probably. 5 hrs of yard work to do. It took me 3 hrs to take care of the front before this batch fell.

I think this is how DH feels right now. It's funny because at first he wanted a bigger yard and now I think he wants a condo.

Sue_sue · November 2011

You will miss it. Your kid will lvoe having somewhere to run run run. Somewhere to build a fort, a treehouse, put a kiddie pool, a swing set, all that crap. It was REALLY important to my sons to have this place to roam relatively unsupervised (fenced, large yard).

I wouldn't trade for a no-yard place till the kids were gone.

carmen_sandiego · November 2011

Our backyard is relatively small--not as small as what you are looking at, but small. It's fine, honestly. DD likes playing out front in general anyway and we are walking distance to a park so it's no biggie not to have a swingset, etc.

I will definitely have a bigger backyard in my next home but more for the dog than the kid.

BarefootContess · November 2011

very, very important. But I also have four boys.

Flamingo Stalker · November 2011

It would be a dealbreaker not to have it.

WhitePicketFence · November 2011

It is extremely important to us and that's one of the reasons we moved out to the country.

Our house is on an acre and the very back of the yard is wooded. We have plenty of room for our kids to run even with a large back patio. We also have a somewhat secluded part of the yard where we have a burn pit for bonfires. We absolutely love having so much land and don't find it to be too much work. We have a riding mower and only the land directly by each side of the house is landscaped.

Knitty · November 2011

Very. There is nothing as energy-reducing as going outside to run and scream. It also gives them aspects of childhood that are important to me, like digging in dirt and making collections of worms and watching things grow. A patio is too controlled an environment for real nature-ness.

annetteh72 · November 2011

Very, we have an older home on a acre lot in the burbs and I wouldn't choose a new house if it meant losing the lawn. I love that we have potential to add things down the road like landscaping, the kids love the swingset, we can play sports outside and I love how private our lot is, we never hear neighbors.

chocoholicchick · November 2011

For me, backyard space isn't important. We love city living and know how to take advantage of neighborhood parks and playgrounds. Kids can figure out how to play in any environment, IMO.

WinesNot Whines · November 2011

I prefer to have a small yard. Our old house had a large yard (0.5 acre) and the upkeep was grueling. Our current home is on 0.2 acres, and most of the land is landscaped. We also have a small concrete patio and a vegetable garden. I really like it. We have no grass to mow, and we're a 5-minute walk to a very large park.

Mabmin · November 2011

Very important! We currently have none and I cannot wait to move to a house with a backyard where DS can play. I grew up with a decent size yard for a suburb of Chicago and we likely will end up with a smaller yard. I think it is most important when kids are younger. As we got older, my brothers and I went to the park for batting practice, etc. since my dad was afraid we would break windows.

JoanE2012 · April 2015

@ElizabethSagarminaga - Why oh why do you always bring up posts that are YEARS old? Please, please, start a new thread if you want to chat about a topic. These people on these old threads are no longer here.

shakinros · April 2015

EastCoastBride said:
We used to live in the city w/a concrete pad as our "yard". A park was w/ in easy walking distance. But now that we have a yard (.36 acre w/ a 2100 sq ft house on it), I LOVE it. DS literally will just go out back and RUN.

And it's nice to be able to open up the door and let him go instead of having to plan on going for a walk to the park. We can easily kill a few minutes byjust going out back to let some of the steam off.

We're not super thrilled w/ the yard work - but we're trying to make it as low- maintenance as possible.

This is us exactly. Having a place she can run around safely without my supervision while I cook dinner was critical to me in the house hunt. Our kitchen looks over the back yard and that was key for choosing this house.

I'm not a fan of the yard work either. We also have a decent sized front yard, and coming from an urban environment (parks nearby but only a parking space outside our condo), a front and back yard feels excessive. So much to maintain! I'm getting used to it though.

If you have kids, how important is backyard space to you?

Re: If you have kids, how important is backyard space to you?

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