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Original poster

House with a small garden if you have kids?

71 replies

Pleaselettheholidayend · 28/10/2023 07:33

Husband and I have seen a house in an area we like and are really interested in the property as it has lots more internal space (which is what we need) but it has a small garden.

We have two young kids so part of me thinks we are insane to consider. However the house is right next to a lovely big park with woodlands and it has lots of really great community events all the time - the neighborhood has a really nice community feel, much moreso than where we currently are, which is part of the appeal!

Are we insane to go for it? Our current home has a decently sized garden but i feel we've never made the most of it but conventional wisdoms is it's handy to have? Also worry about the appeal of this house selling on, though there's scope for us to do improvements and maybe add an extra room.

OP posts:
MaggieFS · 28/10/2023 07:39

How small is small?
Plenty of kids are bright up in flats but a little bit of running around space is nice.

Big space is a bonus but kids can have fun and make the best of any space.

Being right next to a park sounds ideal too. I think it sounds great.

Tryingtokeepcalmandcarryon · 28/10/2023 07:41

x2 children here, 3 and 5 and we barely used the garden this summer! But really close to a park so would go there all the time and I prefer that as the children and I bump into friends etc. We find a big garden such a pain to maintain, need a gardener really it always looks so scruffy. If we had nice doors / patio from our kitchen straight out onto the garden I think we would use it more but you have to go through another room to get outside and I just find it all such a faff. Once the children are at school obvs they also have a lot less time to use it depending on if you work full time / summer clubs etc. we also don’t entertain much so don’t need a big garden for bbqs etc

MotherOfCrocodiles · 28/10/2023 07:44

How small is small? A garden is handy because you can send them out there unsupervised. If it's big enough for some swings or a trampoline that would do the trick.

Somewhatchallenging · 28/10/2023 07:51

How small is small? My garden is about 20 feet. Our DC were fine with it. We never had swings or a trampoline, or any garden toys. We had a paddling pool in summer, a small sandpit etc. There was a park nearby.

Totalwasteofpaper · 28/10/2023 07:53

How old are the kids?
How small is the garden?

It's really pretty key

Original poster
Pleaselettheholidayend · 28/10/2023 07:53

It is fairly small, I think if we went for it I'd treat is more like an outdoor playroom - put up a black board on a fence, have a muddy kitchen etc. There could possibly be some room for a climbing set of you were clever. There's also an old conservatory, which looks a bit rickety - the temptation would be to pull that down and make the area into a terrace for outside picnics/lunches.

@Tryingtokeepcalmandcarryon this is sort of where we are with our garden. It's a decent size and the kids do use it but I never feel we get the most use out of it and husband and I aren't gardeners really. The park by us is great and I'd hope my son in particular would make friends there - he's really sociable and gets bored playing alone.

We do currently have some outdoor play equipment, my worry would be we'd have to give some away, which would make me feel like Cruella!

OP posts:
Original poster
Pleaselettheholidayend · 28/10/2023 07:53

Kids are 4 and 18 months!

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UpsyDaisyMegaphone · 28/10/2023 07:54

I moved from a house with a massive garden that we barely used, to a small garden that's much safer/better designed that we use a bit more. But more internal space has been life-changing.

I did reject one garden for being too small because it was also north facing so wouldn't have had any sun at all. If you're South facing I'd go for it though.

UpsyDaisyMegaphone · 28/10/2023 07:55

We had to give our swings away and DCs haven't been bothered at all.

PinkPlantCase · 28/10/2023 08:00

If there’s a park just across the road I wouldn’t worry. I would want some grass but if it doesn’t have that now you could always add it in.

W the housing market how it is at the moment if you liked everything else I’d probably go for it.

OneCup · 28/10/2023 08:02

Are you garden people though? We find gardens so boring. We have a park and a forest not far from us so wouldn't waste time in our garden. Some neighbours do use their garden so obviously everyone has a different view on theirs. You just need to ask yourselves if you'd be missing a big garden given you have a park close by.

daffodilandtulip · 28/10/2023 08:04

But also think of the time to maintain a big garden. It's no fun if everytime you go out to sit and relax, there's a hundred jobs to do first.

Persipan · 28/10/2023 08:04

I am not personally fussed about gardens. I can't be bothered (and in any case have no time) to look after them. Having a bit of outdoor space is handy but I don't think you're doing something wildly out there to consider moving to a house that meets your space needs and has loads of access to great outdoor spaces nearby, no! Especially since you already have a garden you aren't using all that much.

We moved to our current property - which has a very small yard - for similar reasons of needing more space in the house and I haven't regretted it at all. I think Mumsnet can sometimes lean very heavily towards people who can't possibly contemplate living anywhere that isn't detached, with a massive south facing garden, off road parking for at least five cars, playroom, boot room, garden office and chicken run, or whatever, and it's important to take that with a hefty pinch of salt if that's not your situation.

DaisyWaldron · 28/10/2023 08:07

With a nice park nearby, I'd be happy with a small, childsafe garde. I'd want enough room to sit outside, eat outside, fit a paddling pool and sandpit, for a child to pay with a skipping rope, to dry laundry, maybe to use a swing ball set, possibly hang a hammock. Space to do handstands and cartwheels would be nice but not essential. A sunny spot to grow tomatoes is good.

You have the park for your big outdoor space needs, so your garden just needs to be good for the private stuff - for the children to burn off some energy while you stay inside, for making a den, for you sit around a firepit with friends after the children are in bed, to cool down on a summer day, to do messy activities.

Once my kids got to the age of 10 or so, the garden became mostly an adult space.

Edwardandtubbs · 28/10/2023 08:12

Think it really depends on the children - we always thought we would get a house with a big garden 'for the kids to run around in' but actually DD isn't a full of energy/charge around child. She likes the garden, but only really to dig up worms and make mud pies etc so a big garden isn't necessary. However my nephews/nieces go out in their garden and ride bikes around etc all the time...

We've lived opposite a park before and it can be quite nice and quite useful to compartmentalise the outdoor time i.e. we'll go to the park in 20 minutes for an hour and as pp have said its easier to meet friends without having the hassle of making the house hospitable!

wherethewildtbingsgo · 28/10/2023 08:12

Don't do it. We are about to move from my dream townhouse with a postage stamp garden near to parks and woodlands. In the summer we have to get out of the house as soon as we get up to go outside because our garden is only really big enough for sitting in and some very small play. Now that we have two I find it's so limiting and I feel so guilty when we go to other peoples houses with gardens where they can run around. I also feel we make our lives harder by not being able to put a trampoline in and Chuck them out the door or whatever. We also can't properly host friends- we can do a bbq with 4 or 5 people but it's not easy and we generally don't bother. The added difficulty with ours is that it's down some steps out the back door. I think it would be a bit better if it was directly off the kitchen.

wherethewildtbingsgo · 28/10/2023 08:15

Pleaselettheholidayend · 28/10/2023 07:53

It is fairly small, I think if we went for it I'd treat is more like an outdoor playroom - put up a black board on a fence, have a muddy kitchen etc. There could possibly be some room for a climbing set of you were clever. There's also an old conservatory, which looks a bit rickety - the temptation would be to pull that down and make the area into a terrace for outside picnics/lunches.

@Tryingtokeepcalmandcarryon this is sort of where we are with our garden. It's a decent size and the kids do use it but I never feel we get the most use out of it and husband and I aren't gardeners really. The park by us is great and I'd hope my son in particular would make friends there - he's really sociable and gets bored playing alone.

We do currently have some outdoor play equipment, my worry would be we'd have to give some away, which would make me feel like Cruella!

Oh sorry just reading this and it sounds much larger than you first indicated. Space for a conservatory and a climbing frame doesn't sound small to me. I'm sure it would be fine.

We are the sort of people who definitely do use our garden though. I don't get why people don't use them- what are you doing when it's warm?

Original poster
Pleaselettheholidayend · 28/10/2023 08:33

@wherethewildtbingsgo haha I am probably being daft, but it's a definite downsize from what we have now and I can hear the howls of outrage from parents/in-laws, which is probably colouring my view.

Interesting in your first post, cause I think I would love to be up and out early doors. Really helps my mental health and makes the day better. I think I'm worried about he impact on the kids, but I feel that would be compensated if we really got stuck in with the community aspect, widen their social circle (and mine!).

Anyway thank you Mumsnet, really helped clear my thoughts!

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BootCampSucker · 28/10/2023 08:34

We had exactly the same dilemma as you, OP - literally each of the factors and considerations you've listed were the same. We made the move seven years ago and have not regretted it for a second. We use the big park and woodlands 2 minutes away all the time and neither of the DC, now 9 and 11, have ever been bothered about not having a bigger garden (I have asked!). The garden that we do have works perfectly as we have bifold doors that open straight out onto it from the kitchen, so it's really like an extra room, and when the DC were smaller they could be out there on their own with minimal supervision. And the extra space in the house has been so worth it.

We did invest in one of these, and it sounds like you might have room for something similar so could be worth considering - fatmoose.co.uk/wooden-climbing-tower-cleverclimber-club-xxl

BootCampSucker · 28/10/2023 08:41

I would also add that I grew up in a house with a big garden (.75 acre) and mostly remember my parents nagging us to go out and use it when we really just wanted to either mooch about in the house or go out somewhere different!

wherethewildtbingsgo · 28/10/2023 08:58

Pleaselettheholidayend · 28/10/2023 08:33

@wherethewildtbingsgo haha I am probably being daft, but it's a definite downsize from what we have now and I can hear the howls of outrage from parents/in-laws, which is probably colouring my view.

Interesting in your first post, cause I think I would love to be up and out early doors. Really helps my mental health and makes the day better. I think I'm worried about he impact on the kids, but I feel that would be compensated if we really got stuck in with the community aspect, widen their social circle (and mine!).

Anyway thank you Mumsnet, really helped clear my thoughts!

I'm also the sort of person who likes being out and about but it honestly feels so claustrophobic in the summer when the weather is lovely and we can't host or just sit in the garden and watch the children run around. We have no choice but to get out and about which is definitely different from choosing to be out and about.

But tbh the size you're describing sounds decent anyway. It sounds like you would have enough space to let them run around unsupervised and have a trampoline and paddling pool and a bbq etc which is all you really need.

As someone else said too I think it's a lot about how you access the garden. Ours is down steps so it doesn't feel like it flows nicely from the house. I think ours would feel more usable if it was the same level as the kitchen. Having said that though we are moving to a house with a garden UP steps to the garden. I suppose there are compromises with every house! But I'm already fantasising about getting chickens and having friends over for long boozy lunches whilst the kids run around. Bliss.

GonnaGetGoingReturns · 28/10/2023 09:00

My NDNs have a large garden but always used to use the nearby parks much more. With a girl and 2 boys I think the parks had more and more space for them to do things especially play football properly.

My DM has a house with a large garden which we grew up in. Yes, we played in it, but it had a swing, seesaw and pool in summer. There are a few parks near that too and there’s no contest if you really want to get out and meet friends.

Irelandscaul · 28/10/2023 09:11

A big garden is only useful for a very small number of years whereas the internal space is important well into their late teens

Original poster
Pleaselettheholidayend · 28/10/2023 09:12

@BootCampSucker oh wow that set looks amazing! I would be in my eldest's good books forever if we had that!

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Original poster
Pleaselettheholidayend · 28/10/2023 09:13

@Irelandscaul that is very true! Especially with kids staying longer with parents to save deposits/study etc

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