Parents often say that their children grow up very fast. All of a sudden they've moved away from home and started raising their own families, with their parents left wondering how it happened. Meanwhile, the parents feel that they've hardly aged in the twenty years that have passed.

That's why you might be asking yourself if a playhouse for your children is really worth buying. It might be a fun place for play and imagination, but by the time you've put it up and the paint has dried, will it just stand there as a monument to your children who have moved on?

Well, it's not quite that bad. It might be smart to consider this when you buying a playhouse, but remember that if you have more children, they might also want to play in it, so you'll get two or three times more use of the playhouse. Another option is to buy a playhouse that can be used for other things during its lifetime. Even if a playhouse is designed for children's play, it can also work well as a tool shed, storing cushions for your outdoor furniture, pots and plants in the winter, your barbecue and utensils or something completely different. If it's tall enough for rakes and shovels, you can store them there even if the entrance is narrow.

If you're thinking of a larger model, then the playhouse can be used as a guest house, at least in the summer. By thinking in this way, and not just seeing the playhouse as only a playhouse, you can get more use out of the playhouse throughout the year and for many years after your children have moved out.

If you want to make sure you'll use it for longer, you can buy a garden room to use as a playhouse. It's a bit bigger and more expensive, but it might be worth the investment because a garden room can easily be converted to a completely different type of space later on - such as a guest room, workshop or hobby room. It might even become a full-time child's room when your child has become a teenager and needs more time and space for themselves.

Alternatively, you can buy a small garden house, which can quite easily be sold or donated and moved to another family with children when your own children are too big to use it. 

So there are really several options when buying a playhouse. Take your time and think it over before you take the step of purchasing one for your children (or for the whole family).