I thought I was normal but apparently I'm cruel...
DS is 10 months old. He is crawling and covers a lot of ground. Our house hasn't been childproofed (for example, we've not put cupboard door safety things put on, moved everything out of reach, or cushioned corners) - our attitude as much as possible is to try to teach about risks and what can/can't be touched rather than create a baby-friendly zone where everything is at least two feet off the ground.
When me or DP are free to play with DS he can roam all over the house under our supervision but there are times when we need to do something (cook, take washing upstairs, have a wee) so we bought a playpen to contain DS and keep him safe when we can't be standing over him. Sometimes he's only in there 5 minutes (wee), never more than 30 mins (preparing dinner). Some days he doesn't go in at all. He clearly prefers having more space to roll around on the floor but doesn't mind going in the playpen, never gets upset and is soon absorbed with whatever toys are in with him.
However, both sets of grandparents are horrified that we're 'caging' our baby and it's got to the point where I'm starting to doubt myself and wonder if we are doing something odd. I have asked them what I'm supposed to do, and they all claim that in 'their day' they just managed with a baby rolling under their feet. Do other people use playpens for this purpose? If IABU, can anyone suggest how to keep an active baby/toddler out of the way when you're doing things like carrying pans of boiling water around the kitchen?!