How to Be Safe in a Treehouse

A treehouse is adventuresome fun for a child and must be a safe place for them to play. Most treehouse designs include many safety features to prevent falls and injuries, but without teaching proper safety precautions to your children, even the most secure treehouse can become a dangerous place. Here are some of the most important things to remember about treehouse safety.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Conduct a regular child safety inspection of your treehouse. Look for rough, splintered areas and sand them down if necessary. Check for nails sticking out and replace them with screws, if possible. Get inside the house and make sure the floor is stable and that there aren't any loose or rotten boards. Always keep your treehouse in good repair.
2. Post a list of safety rules for the children to learn and make sure they follow them. Some of the rules to follow are no rough housing or pushing and no climbing on the outside of the structure. Although it's a child's play area, it can be dangerous if not supervised by an adult.
3. Build a sturdy rung ladder with rounded edges if you don't already have one. Rope ladders are not secure and can pose a hanging risk if entanglement occurs. Only allow one child to climb up at a time.
4. Add porches, railings and window boxes if it doesn't already have them. These are easy to add onto an existing treehouse and provide fall barriers for extra safety. Use fencing to restrict access to small children, especially if you live in a neighborhood. Safety in and around your treehouse is ultimately your responsibility.
5. Restrict the number of children allowed in the house at one time. Most treehouse designs start with a sturdy foundation, but you need to determine a safe weight limit for yours and strictly enforce it.
6. Construct a pulley and bucket system for hauling items up to reduce the chance of fall or injury. An arm full of toys or snacks makes it difficult to climb a ladder safely.
7. Keep the area beneath the tree house free of debris and consider a thick layer of pea gravel or sand to pad the area in case of falls. Keep slippery leaves and brush out of the house by conducting regular cleaning.
8. Never allow children in the treehouse during inclement weather. Have the kids come in if you suspect bad weather. Lightening strikes can occur even when it isn't storming, and it's best to be on the safe side.

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