As a mother of seven (teens to tots), I planned the layout carefully to include plenty of play areas, grassy paths to explore, a pergola covered deck, and generous sized front and back porches for enjoying our outdoor spaces. I honestly believe that my children gain more entertainment from exploring a diversely planted backyard with lots of wildlife to observe and fresh food for snacking, than they would from an expansive lawn. On those few occasions that we want to play a game that requires an expanse of lawn, we walk down the road to the park.
In the sketch from my garden journal, the green is lawn pathways/play areas; blue rectangles are raised vegetable beds; red dots are fruit trees, shrubs and vines; uncolored areas are my ornamental garden; the lines and numbers are our irrigation plan (and I simply didn't want to make a fresh sketch :))

My goals for my edible garden are:

-to feed my family a main course or two-three side dishes a day from the garden

-select crops so that something is always ready to harvest

-grow a wide diversity of crops, so that one crop failure does not significantly damage my overall yield

-harvest from my garden as close to year-round as possible

-collect seeds from my own plants when possible to perpetuate my own seed supply, plus enough to share

-grow the majority of my own herbs for flavoring and health

-to teach my children where their food comes from and help them to enjoy the harvest 

-to eat delicious homegrown food!!

What are your goals for your edible garden? Whether great or small, setting a goal will always help you have a direction to get started in.