How To Buy Your Child A Playhouse?

Imagination is a beautiful thing and it's moulded society over millennia to change and create. Where does this imagination come from though? Play. The most constructive way of learning when you are young and what we learn during those moments of imaginative play stays with us the rest of our lives. That's why it's important to make sure that we are encouraging our children to play, learn and develop. The most popular tool to do this in most households is the Playhouse. Playhouses have developed over the years and generally you can buy a decent playhouse for your children at a reasonable price. However as with all things, most products today are not built to last and getting value for money is rare. That's why we've put together a little guide on the best way to buy playhouses for your family. The points below are what we think are important when you are looking at purchasing a playhouse.

1. Safety

2. Size

3. Longevity

4. Features

5. Play Value

6. Appearance

7. Price

Safety - Safety is always at the top of the list for any parent and so it should be. The latest trends in manufacturing mean that everything we buy today is mostly from China etc. Always keep an eye out for the EN71 standard on products, this means that it has been built to European safety regulations and that means that the product is fit for use.

Besides looking for the obvious such as safety standard certification and the like, have a look at the general build quality of the product. Even novice DIY fanatics will be able to spot a bad build quality product, our advice at this point is to walk away. If it looks poor to start with it will generally be poor, that's our general rule of thumb.

Size - Size of course is a very important factor in a some ways. Not only does it need to be the right size to fit into your garden but depending on the size of your family it needs to fit the needs of the children.

Longevity - More than likely you would like your children to make the most of their new playhouse. Ideally then you would look at getting something large enough to last a few years. A good idea is to buy a modular playhouse, there aren't many on the market but they are there. That way as the children grow you can buy the next upgrade and so the playhouse life extends.

Features - Features are key to any product and the playhouses are no exception. There are a number of playhouses on the market that are pretty dull, but for not much more or in some cases the same price you could pick up a playhouse which is loaded with features.

Play Value - As stated in earlier points play value is essential not only to your budget, but to the development of your child as well. There are a number of playhouses on the market that have more than one activity to offer and these are preferable as they stimulate the imagination and promote growth. Look out for what features where incorporated into the design at the time and what aspects of play where planned into the layout.

Appearance - Appearance is critical, this is not necessarily for the children's well-being, but rather the parents. The appearance of the playhouse greatly influences how long that playhouse will be in the garden for as like the rest of us we want our homes to look smart and not necessarily fill of gaudy child's toys.

Price - This will come as a surprise coming from a retailer, but haggle on the price. Get the playhouse that you dreamed of having for your child. You will be surprised what the sales can come up with if you just give them a call and explain your needs. Take the time and ask for what you need.