Whether they’re built using old blankets, pillows, cushions, or tablecloths, as parents, we love forts because they help beat boredom around the house and limit screen time. If you’ve been searching for fun and creative kids’ fort ideas, you’ve come to the right place.
It’s incredible to watch kids play in a space they’ve designed themselves. We get to hear the exciting stories they come up with and witness them tap into their creative side.
In this article, we’ll share seven fort ideas that are easy to create, require minimal supplies, and offer lots of fun. Let’s get started!
The Incredible Benefits Of Kids’ Forts
Before we get into the creative ideas you can try at home, it’s important to know the advantages of building forts. Why is helping your child create forts at home so beneficial for their development?
Simple Engineering
First, you get to witness your child become a mini-engineer. A lot of planning goes into creating forts, and kids learn the importance of building a firm foundation so that the structure doesn’t collapse.
Depending on the materials on hand, children may tie sticks together or use chairs to hold items up. They may also need a partner to hold the other end of a sheet, which develops important life skills such as collaboration and communication.
Problem-Solving
Second, creating kids’ forts helps develop problem-solving skills.
If you ever built forts as a child, you remember how challenging it was to work with different materials. You had to twist, stretch, tighten, and manipulate some of the items to get the final product that you wanted.
Working through these challenges allows children to think critically, be persistent, and work through their frustrations. All of these are essential skills every child needs.
Imagination
Third, one of the biggest benefits of encouraging children to create their own forts is that it helps nurture their imaginations. Forts often represent a mystical world to your child.
It might be a castle from medieval times, a secret planet in the solar system, or even a world where no one else can go. Using everyday objects, children innovate to create these fascinating worlds and achieve their desired outcome.
Alone Time
Last but not least, constructing forts allows children some alone time. Once the structure is up, it can be used for anything your child desires, including reading or playing with some of their favorite toys.
While there are plenty of articles online about the importance of adults getting some alone time, not enough is said about kids needing this, too. Sometimes children need to take refuge in a safe space to decompress, and kids’ forts allow them to do this.
How To Help Your Child Get Started
Our list of kids' fort ideas is coming up, but we thought this was a great time to share how to make the most of these activities as well.
Use Available Resources
You don’t need to break the bank to create the perfect structure. Pillows, blankets, cushions, and anything else in and around the house can all contribute to the fort’s design.
Ensure Safety
Another aspect of helping your child is to always ensure safety. Kids are usually not thinking about their health and safety when they do something. They’re willing to stand on, jump from, or squeeze through anything they feel like.
As an adult, one of your most important roles during the fort-building process is to ensure that everyone is safe. This includes making sure the structure is secure and won’t collapse and that sharp objects (i.e., scissors) are removed after use.
Let Them Lead
And lastly, let them take the lead. You may be inclined to jump in and help your child a little too much. After all, making a fort can bring up wonderful memories from your own childhood.
However, while you may have more experience constructing something out of pillows and sheets, your child needs a chance to use their own creativity.
As we mentioned previously, children need to learn how to problem-solve, tap into their imagination, and witness how hard work can lead to good results. If you interfere too much, it might hinder these learning opportunities.
The best approach is to think of yourself as your child’s sidekick who happens to ask all the right questions — Do you want an indoor or outdoor fort? What can we use this blanket for? What can help us tie these sticks together so that they’re nice and secure?
Now that we’ve discussed the importance of building forts and how to best help your child during the process, let’s get into the seven fun and exciting ideas your child (and you) can enjoy at home.
5 Awesome Kids’ Fort Ideas
1) Pirates At Sea
Pretending to be pirates or explorers is often a favorite home activity for many kids. They get to spend hours sailing the open waters and looking for new lands.
What’s not to love?
If you have the resources and skills, you can help your child construct a little boat outside the house made from wood.
Or you can easily transform a baby crib you’re no longer using into a sea vessel. This route might be easier because all you’d need to do is decorate the crib by adding relevant props — like play binoculars and a sail (using a strong, cotton sheet).
Don’t forget the fun costumes to help bring this idea to life. Arrr, matey!
2) Castle In Town
Creating a cardboard castle is another option that requires very little resources. With a few cardboard boxes, adhesive, a pair of scissors, and some paint, your child can feel like a queen or king in no time.
Castles usually have lots of windows and rooms, so don’t forget to cut out window frames and doorways in your cardboard boxes for your child to make their way through their beautiful creation.
A little color and some fun royal costumes will add the finishing touches to this magical play space!
3) Fairy Garden
If your child is currently obsessed with fairy stories, why not help them create their very own fairy garden? To accomplish this, place a couple of chairs a few feet apart and use sheets for draping.
There are many options for decorating the space, including flowers, string lights, and some fairy dust (glitter). If you want to add extra comfort on the floor, a crib mattress can also come in handy.
Fairy gardens can easily become peaceful spaces, so if your child has started reading, this could be the perfect place for them to continue working on their reading skills.
4) Indoor Teepee
Teepees can be incredible little sanctuaries for kids to play in alone. People often use them to camp in the backyard, but indoor teepees can be just as entertaining.
Constructing one might require a little extra work. For example, you may need to use a drill, wooden dowels, and screws to create a frame. Or, you may choose to hold your teepee up with a rope instead. Whichever option you go for, remember to keep it safe.
Your child’s role can be to decorate the teepee. They might also have a few stuffed animals or favorite toys they’d like to invite into their space.
5) Jungle Den
Most kids love animals. Not just the furry friends they may have as pets at home, but also the small and large creatures found in jungles around the world.
If your child gets excited about going to the local animal park or National Geographic is their favorite channel, they might love their very own jungle den!
Constructing this den can be similar to the fairy garden above, where you use a couple of chairs and sheets (or blankets) for draping.
Decorating the space can be lots of fun too — stuffed animals, house plants, and some safari outfits will make this jungle really exciting to explore.
Say Goodbye To Boredom
Making kids’ forts is a great way for your little one to exercise their creativity, learn to problem-solve, and just have fun!
Forts are unique play spaces for children because they can become anything they imagine and only require supplies that you can easily find around the house. And they provide kids with lots of learning opportunities.
When creating a fort with your child, always focus on comfort and safety, and take advantage of supplies you already have, like our comfy crib mattress or organic cotton sheets.
Happy fort building!
