Summer is officially here and my daughters are playing outside as I type. I love that on long summer days my children get to spend so much time in the garden. They are happy and my house stays slightly tidier so I’m happy too. My children are out there earlier than I’m sure many of the neighbours appreciate and I have to work hard to get them inside in the evenings.

Fortunately we get on well with the neighbours and all our children love to play together whenever they can. My girls turned green with envy earlier this year though when next door got a swing and slide set and they couldn’t wait to go and have a play. I am very tempted to get one in our garden too so I’ve been browsing Fatmoose to see what style I like. I love the climbing frames which have a little raised den or playhouse, because I think that it adds a whole other play dimension. 

Having a play frame in my garden would have been the absolute dream when I was a child. I often go to playgrounds with my children, just like my parents took me as a child. I’m happy to sit there relaxing on a sunny day, but it soon loses the appeal when summer turns to autumn and the weather cools. And why do none of my local playgrounds have a toilet nearby? Is it a ploy by the council to make sure people don’t stay so long, a kind of crowd control?

Having the best bits of the playground at home seems like an absolute dream to me as a mum too. No need to pay for parking and no having to rush off home when someone feels a sudden toilet urge. To make it really comfy for me though maybe I need something for me too? Somewhere to relax like a hammock with stand (we don't have a suitable tree). Then there is the luxury that on colder days I could watch my children play happily through the window while I sit cozily inside.  The idea is getting more tempting my the minute!

Of course there are lots of other ways to keep children entertained outside. My daughters’ love to play with balls, but that really requires the involvement of another person so on the days big sister isn’t around I am in demand. I love to play with my children, but I have to work, cook, clean, browse social media, have a cup of tea… there just isn’t always the time to play. I am a little jealous of those who have their children close together in age (once they have got through the tough first few years). 

One of Little’s other favourite activities in our garden at the moment is playing with our mud kitchen. It might seem an obvious word of warning, but one I will make anyway: playing with a mud kitchen can get very muddy (and wet frequently too). Many of our plants are missing leaves as they have been claimed as essential cooking ingredients. We often have several changes of clothes a day: Little regularly decides to come inside stripping off her dirty clothes and then redressing before heading back outside 5 minutes later only for the process to be repeated. Give me a good old swing set any day, my washing loads would halve.

***Disclosure: This is a collaborative post***