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Playhouse For Older Kids

Updated

A playhouse isn’t just good for little kids — it can also make a huge difference in the mental and physical well-being of older kids. We all agree that many kids spend too little time outdoors in the fresh air away from their screens. These outdoor playhouses for older children are sure to make your backyard more enticing for them and their friends. From simpler styles to ones with lots of bells and whistles, these seven outdoor (and one indoor) playhouses will help your kids develop their social skills, engage in physical activities, and get some much-needed vitamin D. And all while they’ll just think they’re having fun.

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Our Picks

1
Cedar Playhouse for Older Kids

Cedar Playhouse for Older Kids

Canadian Playhouse Factory

What we like: Great size for the average backyard

What we don’t like: Window openings don’t have glass or screens

Perfect for: As a clubhouse for up to six 8-10-year-olds

Not so great for: Setting on soft ground unless you pour a foundation

Constructed from cedar and spruce wood, this older kids’ outdoor playhouse is the perfect backyard clubhouse. Its natural and unpainted finish makes it weather resistant. Cedar doesn’t require any chemical preservatives and will not rot. Comes with a covered front porch and pre-shingled cedar roof.

With 48 square feet of play area, this outdoor playhouse is suitable for 8 to 10-year-olds. It has one large open space that could be furnished with some bean bag chairs, a table and chairs for clubhouse meetings or even a couple of mattresses for overnight sleepovers. This outdoor fort can be painted or stained — the only limit is your kids’ imaginations.

$2349.99

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2
Playhouse for Older Kids

Playhouse for Older Kids

What we like: Realistic tree trunk, branches and leaves

What we don’t like: The primary house colors may not suit every backyard style

Perfect for: Backyards that can’t be accessed by a crane or forklift

Not so great for: Fully landscaped gardens

The artificial tree has a hefty steel frame, while the trunk and branches are coated with a “bomb proof” coating (also used to line truck beds or new factory roofs.) All the tree leaves are made from an exterior poly-blend that will last for years outside in the sun or snow. The tree and playhouse are approximately 12’ square and 14’ tall.

Custom built, this Victorian playhouse comes with its own tree and a set of wood stairs to climb. No crane or forklift is needed to install this house in your yard. It comes in multiple pieces that are easily carried by two to four people to just about any location. If the bright house colors are the only thing stopping you from buying this playhouse for older kids, it can be painted as it’s made from kiln-dried wood.

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3
Hanging Playhouse For An Older Child

Hanging Playhouse For An Older Child

What we like: Weatherproof/waterproof fabric

What we don’t like: Colors may not suit everyone

Perfect for: A private retreat space

Not so great for: Smaller children who may fall out

Shaped like a flying saucer, this floating play house for an older child has a 40” round seat and can support up to 600 lbs. The detachable tent cover measures 52” high and comes with a roll-up door that can be lowered for perfect privacy. The weather/waterproof fabric lets you keep the playhouse out for the entire summer season.

This playhouse for teenagers does more than just provide a getaway space. It is designed to also support sensory needs through swinging. Swinging has been shown to help calm nerves and anxiety. It is regularly used as part of treatment for depression. Also very therapeutic for those on the Asperbergers/autism spectrum.

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4
Exotic Playhouse for Older Kids

Exotic Playhouse for Older Kids

What we like: Comes with a 200’ zipline

What we don’t like: High-ticket price point

Perfect for: Firing up the imagination

Not so great for: Small backyards

You’ll need a lot of space in your backyard for this amazing playhouse for older kids. There are gates and stone side walls, a crashed airplane and an extra-large country cabin. An eight-foot stone pond with a working water wheel and water tower ensures plenty of wet and wild fun.

The setting of this outdoor playhouse for eight to 12-year-olds is that of a Texas ranch. Apparently, an African airplane carrying exotic animals crashed at the ranch (without anyone being injured). But all the animals escaped, even a Tasmanian Devil! The adventure can begin with finding the escaped animals and using the zip line to stay safe. 

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5
Tree Playhouse for Older Kids

Tree Playhouse for Older Kids

What we like: Extremely easy to set up

What we don’t like: Need a mature tree to attach to

Perfect for: Two kids

Not so great for: Trees that are bigger than 24” round

An adjustable safety ladder is included with this ripstop nylon tree playhouse for older kids. The UV-resistant nylon fabric playhouse body on a sturdy steel frame extends up to 33”. A shade canopy can be easily lifted or lowered. Your older kids will feel like they’re in their own world while still close enough to raid the fridge for snacks.

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6
Huge Shipwreck Playhouse for Older Kids

Huge Shipwreck Playhouse for Older Kids

What we like: Lots of opportunities for physical activities

What we don’t like: Lots of work to set up

Perfect for: Homes with large backyards or acreage

Not so great for: Smaller children

This huge pirate ship playhouse comes in two parts. It measures 8’ wide and 18’ long when combined, but the pieces can easily be placed further apart. Included with the shipwreck is a sculpted concrete tree that supports the larger section of the playhouse.

We love how this outdoor playhouse for older kids is set up for maximum physical activities. Your kids (and the neighborhood ones) will race up and down the net and stairs, and climb the rock wall. They’ll shoot water from the cannons and water balloon launchers. Send them out with plenty of water and a packed lunch, and they’ll make memories for a lifetime.

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7
Large Canvas Indoor Playhouse for Older Kids

Large Canvas Indoor Playhouse for Older Kids

What we like: Creating a private space within your home

What we don’t like: Uncovered PVC pipe structure

Perfect for: Adding fairy or market lights throughout

Not so great for: Outdoor use

At 52” by 35” and 60” high, this large tent is perfect for a playhouse for a teenager. It only takes a few minutes to assemble the pipe structure and drape the off-white canvas roof and walls. Two gauze curtains can be tied back or left closed. Fill the floor with a soft mattress pad, and then load on plenty of cushions and throws. The PVC pipes are a perfect support for stringing up fairy lights.

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8
Cottage Playhouse With Skylight for Older Kids
Laurens 9' x 9' Outdoor Luxury Playhouse
Laurens 9' x 9' Outdoor Luxury Playhouse
Laurens 9' x 9' Outdoor Luxury Playhouse

Cottage Playhouse With Skylight for Older Kids

Outdoor Living Today

What we like: Four functional windows

What we don’t like: Requires full assembly

Perfect for: Adding electrical and plumbing for year round use

Not so great for: More than a couple of kids

This nine-foot square cottage playhouse has an open plan interior with a small loft area accessed by a wood ladder. It’s made from solid cedar wood and is pitch and resin-free. This lets you choose any stain or paint color to suit your backyard and provides a great space for older kids. 

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Playhouse For Older Kids

Buying Guide

A playhouse is often a place for a youngster to retreat and have a little time away from the world of grownups. It is easy to find a playhouse for a young child. Companies such as Lil Tikes make all sorts of molded plastic houses that can amuse the preschool set. But locating a retreat for an older child, age six to ten or older can be more of a challenge.

The most exciting designs of playhouses include:

The Cardboard House

Back in the days of refrigerator boxes, creating a cardboard playhouse was easy. But as packaging has become an environmental issue, such items are less available. Manufacturers and distributors have stepped into the gap by creating the coloring playhouse. The box is already in playhouse configuration, but the child or other interested parties can provide the decorations. Some of the houses come with outlines drawn on the house, while others are simply blank and waiting for a creative hand.

The Tent

From bed-tents to actual camping gear, there are few children who wouldn’t love to have some fabric walls into which to retreat when siblings or parents become just Too Much. A tent is easy to erect and can be folded up for storage when not in use. Theme tents, such as a log cabin or princess pavilion can create a place for games of pretend.

The Jungle Gym

Many backyard playsets incorporate a small “house” as part of their swing, slide, and exercise set up. Such places provide a place for school-age children to enact their games of pretend while stretching their muscles. The set might have a theme, but youngsters will often incorporate their own interpretations, so the structure might become a pirate ship, a fort or even a space-going craft.

The Small House

Youngsters who are approaching their teens, or even a few teenagers, appreciate a rain-proof building where they can retreat. When fitted out with appropriately sized furnishings, this can be a place to keep a diary, a few favorite toys, or even a craft project or two. It is the safe escape from parental supervision (at least nominally) where elaborate fantasies can be created and dreams dreamed.

The house itself can be a log cabin, a cute cottage, or even a converted storage building. Fitted out with a folding foam couch, a table and a chair along with some shelves for favorite items, and you might find your youngster taking refuge there quite often.

The Tree House

Somewhat like the small house, a tree house is a place to retreat. It can also be a place to play at being pirates or piloting a spaceship, or any number of other alternate realities that can be enacted in an afternoon. The beauty of a tree house is getting up above it all, being out of reach of non-climbing younger siblings or just simply out of parental sight, and therefore hopefully out of mind. (The savvy parent knows this, and allows the illusion of independence to thus flourish.)

Apart from checking that the playhouse conforms to national product safety standards, make sure the structure does not have sharp corners or any protruding objects, especially at head level. Check for any gaps that your children might fall through or stick their heads through. If there are swings or climbing walls, inspect them regularly for safety hazards.

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Best Ideas

Environment Friendly Playhouse For Kids

Environment Friendly Playhouse For Kids

Looking for a way to entertain your kids during the summer time, but have no idea how to keep them healthy at the same time? Take a look at this outdoor playhouse, made out entirely of environmentally friendly, renewable materials. The main structure of the playhouse is made out of solid western red cedar wood, which both ensures the stability and toughness of the house and gives it a nice, well-made look.

Red Cedar Playhouse Cabin With Functional Windows

Red Cedar Playhouse Cabin With Functional Windows

A rustic and vintage outdoor playhouse which resembles an old-fashioned cabin, great for finishing your yard with a piece that is both a stylish decoration and provides a lot of entertainment for your children. The construction of the playhouse is made out of a combination of solid wood and manufactured wood, and the solid wood used is crafted out of western red cedar wood, which gives the house its retro tint.

Playhouse traditional kids providence

Playhouse traditional kids providence

A fantastic playhouse for older kids, that looks like a genuine house. It's as gorgeous outside as it is inside, with a high-pitched roof, stylish glass windows, a white-fenced porch, and a small tower with a cozy room.

Swiss Style Cottage Playhouse With Windows

Swiss Style Cottage Playhouse With Windows

This Swiss-style playhouse made in a cottage fashion is the perfect addition to a backyard garden, providing a spot for your kids to hang out and play with their friends outside instead of sitting in front of the computer screen or a TV. The playhouse is made out of Norway spruce wood, which has a distinctive shade and makes the structure of the house durable. It is recommended to place the playhouse on a cement pad base, but it has its own wooden support which can hold it without any problems.

All Cedar Swing Set With Curved Slide

All Cedar Swing Set With Curved Slide

If your kids are bored with their plain, old and small playhouse, why not get them this elevated beauty with a couple of floors with a raised clubhouse, a spacious porch and even a crow’s nest on the top, which comes with a fully-operational telescope. This playhouse not only has a handful of compartments, which create a castle-like fortress for your kids, but it also has a couple of different swings on each side of the structure.

Little Alexandra Cottage 6.17' x 6.17' Playhouse

Little Alexandra Cottage 6.17' x 6.17' Playhouse

Your children will love playtime with this weather-resistant playhouse. Lifelike details are incorporated into this indoor and outdoor-friendly structure, complete with flower boxes, a front porch, cedar shutters, and rooftop shingles. This compact 74” x 74” x 72” playhouse is perfect for children aged three and over.

Playhouse for older kids

A fantastic playhouse for outdoors, assembled of sturdy wood planks and several fun embellishments. It comes with a high-pitched roof, glass windows, a fenced deck, a rope ladder, a traditional ladder, a slide, a slide pole and a pretty swing.

Swing N Slide Fir Wood Swing Set With Three Decks

Swing N Slide Fir Wood Swing Set With Three Decks

Why overpay for an outdoor play set for children, when you can get a perfectly fine one at a reasonable price? This swing-n-slide playhouse is constructed entirely out of fir wood with a pre-stained finish, which prevents both insects and rotting and ensures longevity. The playhouse includes three large decks and a couple of swings on the side, with a three-position swing beam and an additional wind rider glider. The playhouse can be accessed in two ways, one is a simple ladder on the side and the other a climbing wall on the front.

Backyard playhouse for kids

backyard-playhouse-for-kids

Playhouse for older kids 1

The lovely and exceptionally impressive playhouse for older children is a great way to inspire many great games. A Beautiful design reminiscent of every detail the real home delights, giving children a great place to play.

Outdoor playhouse for older kids

DIY outdoor playground with wooden playhouse and a rock wall for climbing - fitting for younger kids. Even four years old can climb here. Colorful paint applied to the rocks make the whole visually attractive.

Oversized Cedar Playhouse With Swing Set

Oversized Cedar Playhouse With Swing Set

Just take a look at this colossal outdoor playhouse for children! Not only does it have a couple of tiers to it, it actually has a pair of separate towers which are connected with a bridge between them. One of the towers has a balcony with an additional deck and two slides, one longer and one slightly shorter. The other tower has two slides on the front, with an additional curved one on the top level. To finish it all off, there is a swing set behind the two towers with four swings for your kids to have fun with.

Big playhouses for kids

Even older kids need there time alone or just place to have fun with friends, without parents. In this case, playhouse for older kids made of wood, which is a copy of normal family house would be perfect, with wooden graphite, and whiteboards.

Small outdoor playhouse

Thi is such an amiazing little house for fairies and gnomes, but this super sized fairy house has been scaled up and is ready for play! Great for kids as cottage playhouse in the backyard. Made from thick wood, decorated with small stairs.

Playhouse for backyard

It is important that the child has his space outside the home. May have his asylum in the form of a wooden playhouse for backyard,built with the hands of his father, or bought in this form-with:red hues,white windows,raw wood at the base and play equipment.

Playhouse for older kids 2

The playhouses are not only for children, it could be a perfect space to have fun in adults world. If you have a strong tree, there is no contraindications to build the bigger tree house and invite your adult guests there.

Victorian Playhouse Kit with No Floor

Victorian Playhouse Kit with No Floor

Charming large outdoor playhouse for kids. It is made of pinewood with a weatherproof painted grey, white and brown finish. It has 2 doors, plexi-glass windows with shutters, inside stairs and a double-sloped roof with a loft and a chimney.

Playhouses for older kids

Beautiful and very solidly made tree house is a great combination of attractive design and space to have fun. The captivating colors of white and blue delight and make the whole look beautiful in the garden.

Sunflower Playhouse with 3 Functional Window and Cedar Deck Porch

The playhouse for older kids, in your own garden, made of natural wood is a dream for both children and their parents. Made in the Dutch style, with a porch and the possibility of adding a slide. Made of cedar wood, with a reddish variety.

Select the best playhouse models for kids

Select the best playhouse models for kids

Playhouse for backyard 6

Vintage elegant playhouse intended to insert in the backyard or in the garden. It is made of wood with metal element and covered of colorful paint. It looks like real (but miniature) house. It will be perfect for younger children.

Backyard play structures playhouse for older kids best modern furniture

backyard play structures - Playhouse For Older Kids | Best Modern Furniture Design Directory Blog

Childrens tree houses for sale

Adventure in this wooden playhouse for older kids - it is also a unique cruise on the sea of imagination. Made by Amish, solid cedar and pine wood has a light shade. It forms a boat with railings, shutters and a safe swing and a green slide.

My little cottage playhouse

This charming project constitutes a playhouse for the backyard. Your kiddies will love and so will everyone that will see it. Well integrated into the landscape, backed to a fence offers a border for kids and a convenient way to shield a back facade.