Eight lovely houses that your children will want you to buy

It can be difficult to persuade your kids that it's a good idea to move house. Children are keen on continuity and like the familiar; you may even be taking them away from their friends.

But there are ways of getting them on side - especially if you can offer them an incentive such as a playhouse, a pool or even an indoor slide.

We look at eight houses on the market right now that will have them begging to move in right away.

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Strathpeffer, Scottish Highlands

Follow the yellow brick road to the wonderful playhouse, set in its own little garden in the grounds of this three-bedroom bungalow near Inverness. And when the kids grow too big, there's a games room in the attic space with room for a snooker table, lawn bowling, table tennis and darts, accessed by a drop-down ladder. The rest of the house holds three bedrooms and three bathrooms, two receptions, a conservatory and good-sized kitchen, and the place has lovely views. It's on the market through Your Move for £425,000.

Alyth, Perthshire

From the outside, this is a traditional stone-built period house, and inside it still has plenty of original features. Decidedly new, though, is the slide that snakes down from one bedroom to the breakfast room adjoining the kitchen - as agents McEwan Fraser Legal point out, your child will never be late for meals again. Altogether, the house has nine bedrooms, seven receptions and five bathrooms, currently split up with part forming a granny annexe. Outside, there's nearly an acre of land and several outbuildings for creating dens. The agents are looking for offers over £695,000.

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Chesley Hill, Bristol

This adorable little garden is just for the kids - there's another, huge, lawn off to the side with a decked area and a hot tub. The area houses a playhouse with slide, a swing and a trampoline that's been sunk into the ground for safety. The seven-bedroomed stone house itself is lovely, and boasts a cinema/games room for older kids. It costs £1,100,000 through agents Pritchards.


Chorley, Lancashire

This gigantic house has not one but two games rooms. There's an enormous one on the ground floor that currently houses both a pool table and a full-sized snooker table, with another, cosier playroom above housing a projection cinema system. There are several more reception rooms and half a dozen bedrooms; outside, there's a very unusual garden with lots of pools and fountains - even a waterfall. The house costs £825,000 through agents Arnold and Phillips.

Goole, East Yorkshire

Plenty of public parks are less well-equipped than the garden of this charming village farmhouse. There's a huge play area with an elaborate set of forts, bridges and slides, as well as a swimming pool. Inside, the adults get a gym and a bar, as well as four bedrooms, huge lounge and a gorgeous stone-flagged and beamed kitchen. It's had a couple of big price cuts since it first went on the market; agents William H Brown are now looking for £425,000.

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The Moorings, Liverpool

One of the five bedrooms in this detached modern home contains a one-off mural of superheroes in New York - perfect for any child. And outside, there's another attraction in the form of a play tower with slide and swings, although this may not be included in the sale. There are also two big reception rooms and a kitchen/diner; outside, there's a good-sized garden with views over fields and a canal. The house costs £330,000 through agents Urban Residential.

Charlwood, West Sussex

You'd have to be very rich or completely insane to rent this house just for the kids - it's £9,500 a month. But there really is so much that they'd love. Quite apart from the play set on the lawn by the swimming pool, there's a children's fort on the island in the middle of one of the large ponds, accessible via a wooden bridge. The manor house itself is enormous and stunning, with six bedrooms and half a dozen receptions; there are historic features galore. It's available through Mapp & Weston.

Mapperley Park, Nottingham

The outside of this house is perfectly grown up, but step through the door and it's like Tracey Island in there. Next to the living room is an extraordinary lagoon-style swimming pool with rock-effect walls, jungly greenery and a central island accessed by a glass bridge. Adults in the family will appreciate the large kitchen and five bedrooms, four of which are en suite. The house costs £1,250,000 through agent William H Brown.