Every home that has children should have a designated place outside for the them to play in. For those with children, making an outdoor play area part of the landscaping is always a good idea: the children are happy with a place to play, parents are happy because they know the kids are safe, and it keeps the kids out of the rest of the garden. You may find that if you create a nice area, all the kids in the neighborhood will be hanging out at your place, which may or may not be a good thing. It is usually quite easy to add at least a small play area to your landscaping plans.
For small kids, a play area should be closer to the home so the children can be visible but not feel too restricted. Somewhere that is in plain view of a kitchen window would be perfect. There are a lot of toys that you can go out and buy for play areas. However, young kids can often have as much fun creating their own games using nothing more than rocks, dirt, and other natural objects. A basic simple sandbox, with cover when not being used to keep neighborhood critters out, will keep small children busy for hours. Equip the sandbox with some common elements like small rocks and sea shells. (When the kids are all grown up, you can turn the sandboxes into a raised garden beds.) Old logs make a good climbing frames and so can a small tree, especially if it has strong branches that are closer to the ground.
Older kids prefer to play a little further away from the house. However, they still need a visible safe spot designed into the front or backyard landscape design where they can play. Older children love to use their imagination, so don't provide them with a treehouse immediately. Start simply, possibly with some board steps nailed to a tree or a rope ladder up into the branches of a tree. Then the tree can become anything that comes to the imagination. A plane, boat, castle, house, or almost anything.
A rough grassy patch can be good as a play area as it is soft enough to fall in and possibly long enough to be a hiding spot. If this idea doesn't quite go with the rest of your landscaping, give bark chunks or chips a try as a cushion under play equipment.
A concrete pad will also serve many uses and purposes as the kids grow up. This is where they will learn to skate, ride their tricycle, learn to ride a bike, and practice many other ideas and skills. And who knows. They may even take up gardening if you give the kids a sunny spot of their very own.
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