Do you have a playpen for your baby ?

[Stillmonday]

I've never liked the idea as it seems like a cafe but now my 8 month old has started to crawl he's into everything he shouldn't! I don't leave him alone unless it looks like he's engrossed in a toy (which doesn't happen often) but I might quickly nip to the loo or something and by the time I've popped back he's banged his head on a door or something else.

He has a jumperoo but doesn't like it anymore :(

Yes I do, for the reasons you describe.

She has half the kitchen sitting area fenced off. There is a play pen within it. It's full of balls and soft toys. When I'm with her, 99 percent of the time the gate is open and she crawls in and out.

If I'm popping to loo or something I can put her in and close gate.

I had one and he hated it so much I never really used it. He just used to come with me to the loo and I had a gate into the kitchen so he could stand furiously rattling it while I cooked dinner. I know they worked for other people!

My baby is due in 2 weeks and I've bought one that I will use from day 1. I have 2 dogs and as
Much as they have lovely natured and always been great with children I would never put them in the position where something "could" happen.
So for moments like popping to the kitchen or toilet/ answering the door the playpen will be used

It arrived yesterday and it's so much nicer than expected! Very pleased with it

I used a playpen for the same reasons with my eldest, and I'm about to dust it off for my five month old who is nearly mobile. You can't take your eye off them at that age.

Yes, had one. It was brilliant, andi think helped dc to entertain themselves.

@RiddleyW my ds does this at the stairgate so fully expect the same with a playpen!

We don't have space for one and I don't think mine would tolerate it - I don't fancy spending £80 or whatever to find out! I pop him in jumperoo or cot if I need to know he's contained for a few minutes (but don't use them other than that, so he doesn't feel he's being constantly hemmed in). Other than that we tend to just use big cushions and pillows to cover up any particularly hard or dangerous areas and keep a fairly watchful eye.

I did. I live in a house with lots of stairs so sometimes I needed to leave her somewhere safe for two minutes while I fetched something. Didn't use it for extended periods of time though.

We had a travel cot which doubled as a playpen for DD1. Put her in there with toys if I needed to wash dishes or cook.

When dd was a baby there was a playpen on special offer in Aldi for about £20 so I bought it just because, but tbh rarely used it.

No. We have done a reasonable job of baby proofing and I just let him crawl around. He could hit his head falling over when I am in the room.

I think they are a great idea, especially if there are older children around. It means that you know you have a safe space to put them where they can't hurt themselves or be hurt by other siblings and where there are no unsafe toys like lego. It's also like a bit of a chill out zone, a baby playroom within the lounge or kitchen. I very rarely lock them in, usually they can crawl in and out as they like but it's a life saver for going to the loo etc.

No. We had a travel cot but he hated being left in it. I just baby proofed our living area and made peace with him falling over a lot. But he didn’t crawl really, went straight to cruising and walking.

Best thing I ever bought for my DC! I got a wooden extendable one which took up most of the living room if all the panels were used - no idea of the brand as it was years ago from eBay. I made it all cosy and they loved chilling out with all their toys in there. It was the only way to get anything done and keep them safe sometimes. I certainly don't feel bad about it and it hasn't done them any harm (unlike me, I broke a toe on it once!).

Just bought one for my 8 month old!

It's one of the best things we have! My 8 month old daughter absolutely loves it, probably because it's the equivalent of 5 stair gates and she can easily pull herself up to standing. If I'm in the room I have the door open but she often chooses to play in there instead of the rest of the room

Interested - can anyone recommend type/brand?

I had a Babydan hexagon one. It was superb.

The babydan hexagon. I also agree.
Provides a safe place for the baby and also helps them to learn how to entertain themself in a safe zone even if you are still in the room they seem to perceive it as separate. It's a valuable part of helping development and play skills as well as safety.

We didn't have much room so had a travel cot which DD used for naps but was also useful for sticking DD in with some toys if I needed to pop upstairs / answer the door or if she just needed some quiet time.

We've got the babydan hexagon too.