How to secure a backyard retaining wall or drop for toddlers
A backyard drop or retaining wall creates a dangerous fall hazard for small children, making it difficult to let toddlers play safely outside. Homeowners can use dense plantings, shrubs, or physical barriers like fencing to block off the drop and keep kids away from the edge.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Installing a deck railing along the retention wallDid this help you?
- 2Fencing off the high area using a wood or PVC picket fenceDid this help you?
- 3Putting up a physical barrier like a temporary orange snow fenceDid this help you?
- 4Consider boxwoods and rhododendronsDid this help you?
- 5Thinking of expanding the drivewayDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“We just bought a new home, the backyard has quite a large drop (1 meter at the highest point) & wraps around most of the backyard. Any ideas how I could make this safe for my 2 small children!”source ↗
“Would appreciate ideas on what to EASILY plant and maintain between the arborvitae trees (middle of pic to far right of pic) to keep my toddler in the yard.”source ↗
“Looking for ideas on how to close our fence so our yard is fully gated for our dog and children.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 14How to stop dogs from ruining yard paths
- 3How to get other parents to watch their own kids near water
- 4How to keep toddlers out of the trash