Most parents want their children to have everything we wished for when we were growing up. We’re not talking about a swimming pool next to their bed or a roller coaster on the roof here. But we do want to provide them with a space of their very own, where they can have fun and play while they learn. From building a treehouse to indoor rock climbing, here are some amazing DIY ideas for making your home the most magical place for your kids to grow up happy.

1. Hidden Playroom
All children love anything that involves imagination, so your kids will love the idea of having their own secret little world. In fact, creating a hidden play area for your kid will pretty much turn a normal bedroom into the coolest spaceship, princess castle, or playroom your kid has ever seen. Secret passageways and hidden rooms are exciting for children because they love thinking they know something that adults don’t. Plus it makes them feel adventurous like they’re Indiana Jones or Dora The Explorer.

The good news is that you can make this project as easy or as difficult as you want, and there are even options for rental properties too! Homeowners can go all out by building new walls with a hidden access passageway, whereas renters can simply push some old cupboards into a corner. If you can find a closet that looks like the real deal, just remove the back to give your kids their own private Narnia! You can also use an elevated loft bed and create a little cubby underneath by putting walls up around the sides. There are so many cool ideas for hidden playrooms and your kid will love them all.

2. Indoor Rock Climbing
A rock-climbing wall can be built outside of course, but installing it inside is great because it helps ensure your kids can keep themselves occupied and exercising indoors. Even if it’s raining outside! Plus it will help them with their mental development as they’ll have to use their brains when they’re figuring out their climbing strategy for how they’re going to make it all the way to the top. And then they’ll be using the majority of the muscles in their body when they’re climbing their way up there.

All of this is great for your kids as it helps them to create good habits while they’re young, so they’ll want to stay fit and healthy for life. While it can be an excellent way to improve their cognitive thoughts and teach them all about scientific ideas, like gravity, rock climbing is mostly just a heap of fun for kids.

Before you start installing your rock climbing hardware indoors, it’s really important you make sure the wall you choose is going to be strong enough for you to install the specific hand-holds for indoor rock climbing. This really is the most perfect activity for indoors when you have an outdoor kid or two.

3. Treehouse Cubby
Treehouses have been every kid’s ultimate play area since forever. There’s just something that’s so cool about the combination of climbing a tree in their backyard that resonates with them. Probably because not only does it give children their own space, but they also feel a sense of freedom as well. Start with a sturdy tree in your backyard, and ask your children for their input with the design by asking them to draw their ideas.

If you’re not a fully qualified builder, it’s probably a good idea to find a simple treehouse design online to follow. Or maybe you can start by just building a basic platform with a ladder and a swing, so you can then just add to it as you learn how over time. If you don’t have an appropriate tree, another great alternative is a cubby house on the ground. Whether they’re playing in a cubby house up there among the trees, or a tiny home of their very own on the ground, your kids will get hours of sheltered playtime right there at home. Just be warned that a treehouse in your backyard will probably turn them into the coolest kids on your street, so expect their friends to be coming over all the time!

4. Indoor Slide
Because most kid’s bedrooms are where they spend most of their time playing, why not add an indoor slide to create the ultimate playroom for them? If they have a loft or bunk bed, it can help them get out of bed each morning. Most parents want their kids to spend less time looking at screens anyway, so it really makes sense to add something inside the house that they’ll actually want to play on. You can make sure they’ll have hours of fun and exercise, even on a stormy day, simply by adding a few other playground items like a rope swing, rope bridge, a rope ladder, or something like gymnastics rings.

A child’s surroundings at home can have a big impact on their physical growth, mental development, and overall happiness. So when you’re following these ideas, start by letting out your inner child again. And not only will your kids end up loving their own adventure playland, but your house will probably become the coolest place in town.

Christina Elroy

Tinybeans Voices Contributor

Christina is a proud mother, entrepreneur, author and world traveller. Previously a successful businesswoman who gave it all up to raise children, Christina spent a lot of her free time during those years flipping through books. She hopes her books will inspire and motivate others.