Many first time home buyers who do not yet have children make mistakes when buying their first property.  The main reason is they do not know what they want in terms of having a child friendly home and neighborhood.  We ourselves made several mistakes when we bought our home - not taking into account the elementary school where our house is located.

If you are buying a home and do not yet have children or have very young children, you should take the following into account when buying.

• The school district is key.  Many buyers know to look at the school district when buying.  However, you should also look at the elementary school that serves the neighborhood.  Even within excellent school districts such as Bellevue not all elementary schools are the same.
• You generally should not purchase a home on a main road as it is dangerous for children.  Instead look for homes in cul-de-sacs or quiet side streets that receive little traffic.
• Keep in mind the yard when purchasing your home.  Kids love to have room to run around and a nice backyard will bring you and them many hours of enjoyment.
• Do not buy a home with a pool.  When your children are older, this may be worthwhile.  However a pool is a significant risk with small children.
• Likewise, watch out for any outside water source.  Small artificial ponds and deep fountains can be death traps for young children.  Seriously reconsider any homes that have these features.  Also watch out for any natural ponds or deep streams reachable by children.
• Avoid homes with steep slopes and extremely large landscape rocks.  Children can be seriously injured in them.  In some cases with proper care and landscaping this risk can be lessened.  For instance in our yard we have a bush planted in front of a potential fall from a large landscaping rock.
• If the property backs to a forest, consider building a fence to prevent small children from wandering off and getting lost.  While backing to a green belt is beneficial for children, a fence can at least ensure that they do not explore without your supervision.
• Consider homes with a good view of the backyard from the kitchen.  Very often your kids will want to play while you are cooking and you will want to keep an eye out on them.
• If the property contains a playground, make sure it is in good shape and is built on a soft base (mulch, rubber chips, other soft surfaces) that can help reduce injury in case of a fall.
• Keep in mind if the property has sunken dining rooms or living rooms.  These can injure children when they are first beginning to walk.
• You will likely want to avoid homes with the master bedroom on a separate floor from the other bedrooms, unless you like taking stairs often in the middle of the night.  On a more serious note, this could injure children as they try to run to your bedroom at night.