Chain-link fencing may be a very affordable way to fence off your yard and keep your children safe while they play outside. Once the fence is installed, there are some other things to take into consideration when it comes to keeping kids safe around chain-link fencing.

Child Proof Latches

Chances are that your fence has some sort of gate that allows access to the outside of the yard. If so, you'll want to make sure that your younger kids cannot leave the yard without you knowing. It will help to install a childproof latch on the gate so that only the adults can open it. These latches typically involve pulling a latch upward, which requires a child to be much taller and have some strength to use it. The latch engages automatically when the gate swings shut, so there will be no chance of forgetting to latch the gate behind you. Without a latch on the gate that is child proof, your children could open the gate without you knowing.

Privacy Slats

The nice thing about chain-link fencing is that you can leave it in its basic form that allows everyone to see in or out of your yard, or you can make it more private. This can be done with privacy slats. They are thin pieces of metal that you weave between the fencing material, and they prevent others from seeing into your yard from the street. This may be beneficial to you if you happen to have concerns about people seeing kids in your backyard unsupervised, since the slats will add a lot more security to a fencing material that doesn't hide anything. You can also easily remove the slats when your children become older or when you want to refresh the look of the fence again.

Tall Fencing

Chain-link fencing comes in a variety of sizes, with the small sizes being fairly easy to climb over . This can be tempting to small kids, who will easily fit their hands and feet into the holes of a chain-link fence. You can always prevent this by building a taller fence, which is possible due to the variety of sizes that chain-link material comes in. A tall fence can be a deterrent to climbing for a small child, because taller fences can be harder to climb, and the child may be scared as they get higher.

For more ideas on how to keep your children safe with chain-link fencing, speak to a fencing contractor from a company like Canyon  Fence Co prior to the installation.