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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to wonder why playpens seem so unpopular

276 replies

Housewife2010 · 22/11/2010 14:38

Why do playpens seem so unfashionable? We have one & I wouldn't be without it. I have somewhere completely safe in which to put my 18 month old while I answer the door or do a few jobs. He's never left in there for long. I seem to be in a minority though as so few of the other parents I know use them. How do you manage without one?

OP posts:
nickeldonkeyonadustyroad · 22/11/2010 16:07

I think playpens are a brilliant idea.

You can go to the toilet, hang washing out, wash the pots, clean (with bleach and stuff) without having to worry that you've left your child on its own while you do it.

earwicga · 22/11/2010 16:10

NormalityBites - I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't want to use one so guess we are equal in our bemusement :)

NormalityBites · 22/11/2010 16:11

I would just keep the baby with me whilst going to the loo and doing necessary jobs. Always have. Still keep her with me now, if she wants to come. And that is why I don't understand.

NormalityBites · 22/11/2010 16:12

Fair enough earwicga.

scaredoflove · 22/11/2010 16:14

Actually, I think it is recommended to use a crate/cage for a dog - why not with children?

A place where they can be left for small amounts of time with little scope for harm, perfect

I loved my playpen - 4 kids in 5 years, I could put one in, feed/settle another and not worry

Also loved reins

Catilla · 22/11/2010 16:16

My DD (3.5) can't stop trying to climb INTO the playpen at the local swimming pool!!

Seriously though - I used to wonder about the cage-connotations, but found especially with the second child, that it was a very worthwhile investment.

Mine has been lent to a friend with twins, who has joined two sets of Babydan Babydens together to make a Play Palace where they can have a wonderful time in completely safety.

Emjxxx · 22/11/2010 16:16

Wouldn't be without my travel cot/playpen I've got a 19 month old and I wouldn't be able to prepare dinner or do the housework if I didn't.

Love reins too Grin

nigglewiggle · 22/11/2010 16:17

But you don't have to leave your child on their own. For babies you can use a sling, bouncy chair etc. For toddlers, as long as you have taken reasonable precautions, I don't see why you can't leave them in a room for a few minutes or get them to help you with your jobs.

You will have to leave them at some point unless you intend to continue to put them in a cage playpen until they start school. A 4 year old is still capable of getting up to mischief when your back is turned, but presumably you don't put them into these things?

thereisalightanditnevergoesout · 22/11/2010 16:18

"blatantly people still are using them (though I've never ever seen one in someone's home)"

Probably most people take them down for fear of being judged by visitors

"They are different from a cot in that a baby is placed in a cot when asleep, lifted out when they wake and the function of the bars there is to prevent them from falling out, not to prevent them from exploring/playing/ being with you.

I would not agree with a wakeful baby being placed in a cot either."

I disagree - putting a sleeping baby in a cot caused me all sorts of problems with DD1 who never managed to get to sleep on her own (and is still a poor sleeper at times) while DD2 and DS who I put into a cot awake managed to settle and get to sleep by themselves and are brilliant sleepers.

PrematureEjoculation · 22/11/2010 16:24

Playpens rock.

DD2 is asleep in hers under a babygym - she can see us but is safe from the other toddlers and being trodden on.

DD1 loved it so much she'd happily stay in and amuse herelf for hours.

DS it was great for to protect him from DD1!

much better than constantly telling off a toddler for pulling wires/ climbing on you/ attacking the baby.

narkypuffin · 22/11/2010 16:25

I think the modern idea is that everything should revolve around the child- they should never be left alone in case they explode and putting them on reins or in playpens stifles them.

I lean towards benevolent neglect. If you're out of the room for five minutes they can cope perfectly well. And they can get on with playing rather than being dragged away from their toys to watch their mums wee. They're also handy for stopping sharing when the dogs are eating.

Emjxxx · 22/11/2010 16:29

Never seen one in shops etc!

Have you never been in mothercare?

Have you never looked in the Argos at the nursery section?

Have you never been to baby department at John Lewis?

Mamas and papas?

Where do you shop for baby things? Grin

and as for putting them down for fear of being judged! Well mines up 24/7 but that's mainly because when LO isn't in it and is running free around the house it's very good for keeping all his toys in!

naturalbaby · 22/11/2010 16:30

if i'm upstairs then ds2 gets put in his cot with a few toys to stop ds1 suffocating/strangling him while i have a shower, or to stop ds2 falling and getting stuck between the toilet and bath while i wash myself faster than the speed of light. i'd rather have him in his cot with toys then wedged down the side of our toilet. i think beds/cots should only be used for sleeping but at certain times on certain days i have no option, other than loosing my rag with the boys tring to kill eachother and ending up in the loony bin.

downstairs we have the playpen that opens out so most of the lounge is sectioned off for them. i can't watch both of them every minute of every day - i'm a 6month pregnant sahm with 2 v.young kids and it really is every single minute of every single day. in a 3 storey open plan town house with loads of stairs (with tons of stairgates) it's a lifesaver.

oh the days when it was just me and a baby who hadn't learnt to roll/crawl/walk yet!

scotsgirl23 · 22/11/2010 16:31

Niggle, I have 3 lots of stairs in this house, and not one of them is possible to block off. If I took her in to the kitchen with me, she would literally be sitting at the top of a small flight of stairs. My kitchen is small, and on a mezzanine level above the lounge. So, no way whatsoever to "contain" her in it. The lounge, aside from having the upwards flight in to the kitchen, has an archway to the hall and then a long flight of stone steps. It's a small room and I've seen the speed crawlers move - in the time it took me to walk in to the kitchen and pour a glass of water, baby could be down the stairs.

It's not about stopping mischief - for me it's about keeping her safe.

supersunnyday · 22/11/2010 16:37

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Fourleaf · 22/11/2010 16:41

The above post (scotsgirl) is a very good example of why people shouldn't judge each others choices (within reason): you never know why someone is using something and you may even do the same thing in the same situation!

BonniePrinceBilly · 22/11/2010 16:42

Don't you just hate when people can't look at things from anothers perspective....a la NormalityBites?

2shoes · 22/11/2010 16:47

I blame rugrats

APixieInMyTea · 22/11/2010 16:49

Never seen the need for them.

I have a 19month old and a 9week old and still don't see the need for them. Just can't imagine confining my kids to such a small place like that.

Whatever works for other people though.

However, someone mentioned reigns earlier and I wouldn't be without them with my toddler.

narkypuffin · 22/11/2010 16:50

Grin at Rugrats

AppleAndBlackberry · 22/11/2010 16:50

I have a fireguard and a stairgate and a DD who isn't too much into climbing or getting behind/under things so we manage ok. To be honest the cost put me off more than anything else, I couldn't really justify the money on top of all the other baby equipment.

2shoes · 22/11/2010 16:51

we had one for ds, it was massive and he could have fitted five todlers in there with him.
didn't use it for dd as she was never mobile. but he was quite happy

scotsgirl23 · 22/11/2010 16:53

apixie, this is the sort of thing we're considering (admittedly we won't always be able to have all of it up...)

link

hardly a tiny space IMHO

seimum · 22/11/2010 17:00

Ours was really useful at Christmas - we put the Christmas tree up in it when DCs were small.

dockate · 22/11/2010 17:01

Bought a travel cot/ playpen combo for DS who hated the thing and was really bored in it; basically wanted to be with me 'helping' with anything I did, and found the playpen environment not stimulating enough. So I became adept at cooking one-handed, bathroom visits with an audience and hanging out washing with him hopping in and out of the laundy basket etc. It takes some working out but was better for us.

In the end, as we rarely used the thing (except for the odd few minutes eg a safe place to plop naked baby while carrying poo-soaked everything to the bin...), we passed it on. Never used one for DD (now nearly 3), as by then I was so used to doing everything with a baby in tow.

Each to their own, I suppose; certainly its a great safe place for very short periods and could be very useful to many mums.