playpens - what do people think?

[dolster]

I'm considering getting one for my 7 mo DD - she's not crawling yet but she's getting there. Have others used them and found them useful or would I be wasting my time?

I would have bought one had they been available. We lived in Oman and stuff was relatively hard to come by. Our DD used to sit in her travel cot if I needed her to be safe while I did something. I'd say they are useful, but a lot of people seem to (irrationally IMO) dislike them.

Depends on your house really.
I didn't need one but if I lived in an open plan house or had a fireplace I would have had one.

Some people do dislike them for some reason. I have 6 DC and the youngest is 13, but I did use one when they were small, and none of them seem to have suffered any ill effects!
I used to let my toddlers sleep in them during the day......no different to a travel cot. I also used them so I didn't have a little one under my feet whilst cooking. I used to pull the playpen into the doorway so that I could still chat and tell DC what I was doing.

They do take up space. I have a large house with bigger than average rooms so I could never cordon off an area of a room like some can.

I used to take it out into the garden in the summer too. If the doorbell or phone rang I used to put them in it for a moment while I delt with it.

I have one - I'm looking to get rid of it as youngest DD is now 2. PM me if you want, to see if you're close enough to collect it (it's free, BTW!).

We used a judiciously placed stairgate to restrict DS from roaming over the entire house, and have found that sufficient with just the one DC. I think people who have more than one DC find them helpful to enable the older children to play with toys that the little one shouldn't have.

They do look a bit like baby prisons imho.

I do remember times when my pre schooler would climb in to sit and look at a book out of reach of the babies on the outside.

I think if you have just 1 DC you might not need one. But with a toddler and a baby they can be very useful.

I have one and couldn't live without it. My son is 17.5 months and into everything, which is fine when I can keep an eye, but not fine when I need the loo/to cook/what have you.

Sometimes he likes it, sometimes he hates it, but he's not given a choice. If I need him in there, in he goes.

Tee - I know what you mean, but won't it be a long time before they're not into everything? 20mo DS comes to the loo with me and plays in the kitchen with me when I'm cooking (not always with great success, has to be said ).

Maybe I have been lucky with DS so far, in that he tends to persistently play with something annoying for about a week, then forget about it. This week's favourite is getting a plastic bottle of milk out of the fridge, opening it and taking it from there...argh!

I suspect it might depend how much you're prepared to put up with being broken/spilt...

I used the travel cot for a while with both DCs. Couldn't have gone to the toilet otherwise! They were probably in it 20 minutes tops a day, but I needed those 20 minutes!

Of course it will IsItMeOr but hopefully they'll start listening better!

My son had his hearing tested last week because there was some concern but he's fine. So now we say 'I know you can hear me! So listen to me!'

we have one and use it very occasionally now (DD is 22 months) when something really has to be done and she is nosing about getting in the way (or tormenting the cat). It has lots of toys in it (doubles as storage ) and she sometimes even asks to go in...as does her slightly older cousin

yes yes and yes again. We had/have baby prisons for both of ours. Have a BabyDan one in the kitchen and the playroom. Without them it would be a nightmare. DS2 is only 9 months but has been crawling since 6 months. He will be walking soon. Don't feel guilty for an instant, just put loads of toys in and they are as happy as larry!