To get a play pen

[Myusername101z]

Can I ask your advice on play pens if you got one would you recommend them ? Baby just started crawling and like all babies is constantly going after the things she shouldn’t, I am unsure how she would take to it and if it’s actually necessary ? Dh wants us to get one for her and fil has offered to pay for it kindly. We do have a large living room so there is room , opinions please

@sittingonacornflake children are all too different to say an age. You will naturally come to realise how much baby/toddler proofing your child requires I think.

We had one - but for big sister. She loved it- she could have all her little bits and pieces toys in there with her, safe from maurauding baby brother! Not the usual way round, I agree. But it worked for us!

We got the Summer Infant Popup playpen. Best thing ever! Keeps him contained for a little bit when I need to do something housework related or go the loo/get a shower. Our apartment is mostly open plan so no way I can ever leave him to roam on his own for even 30 seconds.

Also who cares if it looks like a cage 🙄 a cot looks like a cage too. You all sound hysterical tbh and en parr with crazy women in the USA who think baby reins are like dog leashes

We have one with panels and soft foam batting - she normally plays in her nursery upstairs if I'm upstairs because it's carpeted but downstairs is a hard floor and an open plan area so not suitable for crawling or rolling on

We also have a dog and although he is well behaved he can get bouncy and I can't take the risk of him accidentally knocking her over

She goes there, her Jumperoo or high chair while I cook, clean etc downstairs

Had twins and cat (think litter tray/food bowl) in upstairs one bed flat for a year and bought biggest wooden playpen at around 8 months old when they started to crawl faster than I could move and found the cat shit particularly interesting.. Best buy ever; 6ft square, foamy alphabet mat things on floor and filled with toys and sometimes a parent - kept it for years until they chose to climb in and out. Also used reins, much better for a child's safety around roads obviously, but also better for them to develop their own balance as holding one of their hands when tiny unsteadies them. At age 10, (when we let them out) mine appear to be psychologically unscathed from the experience and remember the cage quite fondly..

Hah, since our living room was tiny, we used the pen to block off the little bits DS shouldn't have access to so we were both penned in!

@kaytee87 Not to put the toddler in, to protect the baby from the toddler. 

“Not saying this to be unkind, or a troll or with any kind of malice but to me the phrase play pen is a euphemism for “cage”.”

For me, it means a place where you can leave a baby/small toddler safely while you nip to the loo, cook or do some other activity where having a small child under your feet might be unsafe

I had a playpen for DD and it was a massive help. I used to take it outside and pop her in it if I wanted to mow the lawn as our garden wasn’t enclosed and she could have got herself into all sorts of trouble. I did start putting DD in it from about 6 months though so it was a normal play area for her rather than a “cage”

@peachgreen that makes perfect sense!!

We also have just baby proofed our living room/kitchen/conservatory. The kitchen/living room is open plan, but we bought a fabric sideways gate thing that’s super flexible to close the kitchen off.

The shelves are fixed to the wall, and any small objects are removed (have a 4 year old too)

This way baby has full reign of the ground floor (stairs are enclosed)

Top floor same deal, the whole thing is baby proofed which was done quickly abs cheaply.

Is yours impossible to do so?

I don’t see why a play pen should make you feel guilty though. But baby proofing the place will probably make you less stressed in the long run.

I have four sons (now adults) i don't think they would have survived into adulthood if they had not had a playpen or if had not used reins when out.
They were all very physically active ds2 used to climb up the furniture, it terrified me, he was so quick.
We literally "caged" the DT's and had a coded lock on the front door!
I think when you have older sblings and pets wandering the house they are a godsend.
As for as the OP is concerned if her dc is her first and she is returning to work I think a travel cot to use as an occasional playpen might be a a better bet. I would not shell out on a new playpen anyway just in case your DC screams blue murder in it pick up a second hand one if poss.

It will be great for putting the Christmas tree in!
My parents tried putting my sister in a playpen. She piled all her toys in one corner and climbed on them and climbed out.
Seriously, I think if it works for you and you are not abandoning your child in one for hours, it isn't a problem.

Silly to dismiss it as a jail, that could refer to anything with a harness. Use anything you want to keep your baby safe OP it doesnt matter what anyone else says or thinks.
I tell my step daughters and daughters in law, your baby your choice.
I used a combination of high chair, pram, bouncer, etc to keep my safe when I needed the toilet etc. Now when Im looking after baby grandchildren im even more vigilant! I take no risks whatsoever.

Baby jail????

FFS. They are totally brilliant. Put it up in the vicinity of the kitchen when you are preparing food so you can talk and sing along with your child while cooking. They can see you and you can interact with them, but can crack on with jobs.

I have only ever heard it being referred to as a baby jail in a lighthearted way. I will definitely be getting one when DC2 arrives in the spring to protect them from DC1 who will be 20 months old and is lovely but extremely inquisitive and doesn't know his own strength!

I used one to separate my two in the lounge while I cooked in the kitchen/cleaned bathroom etc, as the toddler would get a bit boisterous with the baby. They’re very handy, you can pop baby in until you’re sure all of an older sibling’s choking hazard toys have been picked up, some can be used to fence off a fan or electric heater etc.

I got a travel one that is folding and portable (a bit like a camping chair) to keep baby safe from older DD. Useful now and then. Baby not a big fan. Wish we’d started it earlier and perhaps he wouldn’t have been so resistant.

We love ours, and call it a baby jail! Doesn't have to be used to put baby in though. We're using ours to separate half the living room so my 4 year old DS has his own space and my 9 month old DD doesn't get hold of his Lego or other little toys.

I always find on these threads and threads about baby reins that the posters who don't approve of them have unnaturally biddable and well behaved toddlers.

I would say that most NT toddlers are naturally curious about their surroundings and have no sense of danger, which is why we have to protect them by using reins and playpens from time to time.

I had one as I had severe SPD when I was expecting DC2. DC1 loved it and had lots of toys etc in it. It was great when I had the two of them; DC2 would fall asleep in his pram after playgroup, and I’d put DC1 in the playpen and he’d fall asleep.
Then I’d fall asleep on the couch

We never got one, but we did get a delivery of something in a v large cardboard box. My DD loved it and it became an informal playpen for a time. We used to put her in it with crayons and she coloured in the 'walls'. It would keep her happy for 10 mins a couple of times a day. Then one day she worked out that if she pushed the walls hard enough she could make the whole thing tip over! So that was the end of it's life as a playpen but it was a makeshift play house (on its side) for a few months after that.

Wow! I didn’t realise baby prisons were so controversial! I use the term as a joke

We have one, it’s pretty big and baby can have a good crawl around in it. I don’t understand how people really get on without them. There’s lots of edges in my sitting room and it would be really hard to baby proof. We are intending to redecorate and totally re do the sitting room soon so we’ll probably baby proof then.

Anyhow, baby spends a total of three hours a day in it, plays happily away with his toys at 9 months and it’s great and safe for cruising which he’s just starting to try to do.

I’m not sure how it’s different off from sectioning off bits in a living room as the size he can play in if an average sitting room was baby proofed would be similar. It’s just another (easier) way of baby proofing in my eyes.

If he’s not happy and cries I go to him. I also spend time in there playing with him and his toys. He usually has a bit of free crawling time and also clambers on during the day.

He also spends time in his chair in the kitchen- during, before and after meals and also in the garden.

Should my child be roaming free all the time when I can’t be with him every hour of the day?

I have a large one which is used to divide our playroom -the older children know their toys cannot go in the baby area. Never needed one for first child but it has been useful for the safety of DC2 and 3.

I did read about a famous author who used her playpen for her -she sat in it to type and keep her notes in order, which baby and children could play around her in the larger space!

We're going to get one of the play pens that can be used as a room divider too. Our flat has almost no storage so things are kind of everywhere, it just can't be baby proofed.