High porches and little kids, wooded backyards - ideas? (Raleigh: houses, neighborhood)

[runner13]

We are moving to the Raleigh area from California. We have found several houses that we love but have two concerns that are a little foreign to us since they aren't things we've encountered in California.

1. The houses we have liked the most have these beautiful but really high porches. We have nightmares about our toddler figuring out how to climb up on one of these and falling/jumping over the edge. Do people with little ones have these kinds of houses? Any safety precautions that anyone knows of (other than the obvious of keeping an eye on them at all times!)

2. One of the houses we love is on a huge lot but most of it is sloping backwards and a heavily wooded area. Does the weather allow people to use backyard space alot? We don't want to find out that our kids want to be outside all the time and we don't have anywhere to put a play structure, etc. Also, any ideas of clever ways to use all this wooded space (i.e. building a fort or treehouse for the kids, etc.)

Any and all ideas greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

[lovebrentwood]

They'll want to be outside much of the year.

[lamishra]

Our kids play outside all year long. Some families with young children have play structures built or installed. It's pretty common! We don't have a "high" porch, but I have never really heard of anyone having an issue with it. I think porches that are of a certain height here are required to have a railing built onto it, so I'm not really sure what you mean when you say "high".

I think porches that are of a certain height here are required to have a railing built onto it with slats that are not wide enough for a toddler to squeeze through. When we had a deck built years ago, the builders were very contientious about deck railings and height/width requirements.

[CaryGal]

The last little boy I was a nanny for practically lived outside, lol...the weather here allows for kids to get lots of outdoor play time. They also had what I guess would be a high porch and a porch swing, so he enjoyed being out there quite often, just never unsupervised and there were no issues. He was too big to fit through the railings so I just had to make sure he stayed away from the steps. You can also put a baby gate up when you have the little ones out there to be extra safe.

[J_Lurk]

The only thing I'd make sure of with the porch is that it is built to recent code. Our house is older (1991) and the original porch had railings far enough apart that a child could have put his or her head through them. The owner had put some wood slats against it to try to correct that, but it still made me nervous. We had the porch screened and the railings were fixed at that time. Assuming they are normal vertical railings, it would be very hard for a toddler to climb them until he or she hits the age that you can actually discuss risk.

[sls76]

Are you talking about front porches or 2nd story porches? In our old neighborhood some of the front porches were high so a railing was added on the side. I don't know whether it was a code issue or not. We did look at one home with a second story porch. We really liked the home but ruled it out because the entrance to the porch was in a bedroom that would have had to be used by one of our small children and that was too much of a safety concern for us.

I'm not personally a fan of sloped backyards. Ours wasn't flat and when we sold our house that was constantly mentioned. I do like woods though. I'd much rather look at trees than someone else's deck.

[MikeJaquish]

You do not have to have a high porch or painfully sloping yard.
And it is worth considering the possibility that resale may be difficult if either item is extreme.
(An extremely steep driveway can also be a resale issue.)
What is it about your criteria that is showing you a preponderance of homes with those features?

Are you just looking at basement homes? A sloping back yard is common with our basements, as many-to-most basement homes are built on a slope.

The porch on newer homes, within the last 15 years or so, must be built with railing balusters/spindles/pickets a maximum of 3" apart, so the kiddies can't put their heads through the space. If you are looking at older homes with wider spacing, it is generally a small task to install additional balusters to narrow the spacing.
And any porch over 30" off the ground must have a railing installed.

With kids around it is a good idea to install a gate at the top of the steps

For further security, you can have the porch screened.