AIBU to have a playpen

[serenadippity]

I have a travel cot set up in the corner behind the sofa. It looks ok - it's the one that converts to a tepee. I'm keeping it there mainly for when my niece calls around with her baby and little boy as it's handy to put the baby in every now and then. But SIL (not DN's mother) is horrified and says that babies should be held and it's a "baby cage". I really don't care what she thinks but would be interested to know the general view from mumsnet.

I think it’s absolutely fine and surely no different to a baby walker or swing.

Playpens are sensible things to have, it’s safe and allows you a nice cup of tea

I think it's fine but DD1 didn't and wouldn't have one for her DS. It's not a 'cage' it's a safe place to play. I'm just an old fogey now so what do I know :-(

We actually called ours baby jail. We used it when we had to do something where we couldn't hold the baby, like fix dinner. It was a safety measure. As long as your not sticking the baby in there too avoid interacting with it, and it's just a few minutes here and there, I don't see the harm.

My nephew used to retreat into his and close the gate behind him when he was a toddler and fed up with the bigger more boisterous kids :)

You're. 🙄

I call mine baby jail it definitely comes in handy

Be warned, for some children they are pretty pointless.

I don't see the outrage if the baby/toddler is happy in it. Of course you can't hold a baby constantly...you need a safe place to put them whilst you prepare food/bottles, go to the loo etc

A baby cage ! Oh for goodness sake.

It’s a good way to keep crawling babies safe while you are busy or having a 5 minute break. Make sure it has toys and that baby can see his/her time mum.

Preferable to baby getting jammed in the cat flap.

We used our travel cot as a play pen when they were in that awkward stage of not walking but not wanting to sit still. I didn't use it very often but handy for when I needed to pop to the kitchen etc. Used for safety not for entertainment and they would also occasionally nap in there. No harm at all

we had one. Various within the family refer to it as "baby jail" - including a DBIL who uses 1 himself for his own DC. So it's a very joking reference in the family.

It's a safe place to play. There are toys in there to play with. There is space to roam around at various times when the DC can't be loose on the floor or up in the arms of an adult. Sometimes, if you are lucky, it's a safe place to put DC for a nap (DD would never nap there for us, but DN does on occasion).

Within our family, there is also plenty of free time playing on the floor, playing in high chair, in the arms of adults, and having plenty of attention showered on them. But learning how to play independently, and having some time to figure out things for themselves (like "this is my foot, my toes wiggle, I can pinch my toes...." where you can almost see the conversations in their head happening on their faces) are vital for the development of DCs. Just as much as interacting with others.

Good it's not just me then. When my own DC were small I used a travel cot as a playpen, but I have always liked to laze about with a cup of tea every now and then.

I had one and we jokingly called it the baby cage

It didn't get used for long but it was great for somewhere to put DS if I needed to take the pushchair down the steps or put something in the hob/oven.

I had twins and needed a cage The best gift I was ever given was a BabyDan playpen. Sold it on for the original price too, so they hold their value.

Is she alright lol, I'd like to know if she has kids yet? Playpens are great for when you need to get things done safely like mopping, going in the oven, or needing to pace for 5 mins!

Not a problem at all.

I had travel cot in kitchen and the sitting room. Meant I could put baby in the kitchen, stick toddler in one in sittingroom then run upstairs to the toilet

Yanbu. I had one.
It was great until toddler ds learnt how to break crawling and pesky baby dd out of it .

Of course it's fine - what does she think of cots??

I’d quite like a grown up sized one to be honest

jellyjelly she doesn't like cots either. She believes in co-sleeping. She's very nice really but can act a bit superior.

I used one when crawling DS got too much for me. When he'd calmed down, I climbed out again....

All joking aside, it's far safer to put them in a playpen/travel cot/baby jail while you're preparing bottles or having a cup of tea than to try and hold them whilst doing so. DS used to voluntarily crawl into his, it's where all the best toys were kept!

I had a big one. The Circle of Neglect. It was amazing when I needed to cook dinner or have a shower. No doubt I'll get another one to save my sanity when the time comes.

We will be getting my old one from mum's loft when the time comes, and yes we already call it baby jail!

Ooo, and when she's at the liable to bolt stage, she'll be having REINS, that's right - in jail and on a lead, evil parents that we are