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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

Playpens - a necessary evil?

146 replies

AnnaVR · 10/05/2008 18:24

Hi, they do look a bit like cages, but my DS is just starting to roll and will soon be crawling, so if i don't get a playpen will i ever get anything done? And are there any nice ones that people that have found that are less cage-like? Thanks.....

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tassisssss · 10/05/2008 19:21

and the bars mean they can see out...

Fillyjonk · 10/05/2008 19:22

why not a playpen with a mat on the floor?

jingleyjen · 10/05/2008 19:25

we haven't neded to use one with either of the boys.

MabelMay · 10/05/2008 19:29

I think they're fab. Why are they like cages? They're safe places for babies to play whilst you get on with chores etc without worrying about them harming themselves.

I don't understand some of the postings on here with holier-than-thou preaching about not using one. What damage, exactly, do people think it does to the baby? Obviously if baby is screaming and not enjoying being in the pen, take him/her out. But otherwise what's the problem?

My DS1 loved his - and would actually crawl into it all the time to play (it was a BabyDan make with a door). To him it was his own little zone. Am definitely going to use it with DS2.

Elasticwoman · 10/05/2008 19:30

I suggest you borrow one until you decide whether it's any use for you. They take up a lot of room and for us, anyway, it was not a lot of use because dd just howled in it and I was always putting toys in or taking them out so it was time consuming. I'm sure they work for some people.

MabelMay · 10/05/2008 19:31

PS. sorry. just re-read my post and it sounds a bit defensive and uppity. didn't mean it to come out quite like that.

Emmahugs · 10/05/2008 19:35

Well does a cot look like a cage then?! My baby didn't like the spongy walls as she likes to pull herself up and stand and watch what's going on around.

ChirpyGirl · 10/05/2008 19:37

I have a compact travel cot in my sitting room, it doubles as nap space for DD" and also is somewhere for her to be 'alone' when DD1 gets too much for her. I had one for DD1 for naps as well and it was great, sometimes you need to do something and need to know they are safe, nothing wrong with that.

itsahardknocklife · 10/05/2008 19:43

We bought a very expensive playpen and never used it. It is currently in use as a rabbit run!
We found it better to put a stairgate at the door to the lounge and baby proof the room (no more grown up belongings!)

LittleMissTwins · 10/05/2008 19:48

Mine was a godsend - though I do have twins. It was one of their fave places to play. Also great when they started to stand as they could pull themselves up on the bars. I put all the things inside that I didn't want anywhere else in the house (colouring pens and sticky things). I had mine in the kitchen until they could walk, I couldn't have survived without it.

I had a Babydan one which I sold on eBay - it held it's value really well (I bought new for £70 and sold a year later for £52). Worth thinking about - at least you can flog it if it doesn't suit.

DarthVader · 10/05/2008 19:51

I had no idea anyone still used playpens...do they?

itsahardknocklife · 10/05/2008 19:51

(or use it as a rabbit run! )

KerryMum · 10/05/2008 20:07

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

wabbit · 10/05/2008 20:11

I was given a 'babydan'?? playpen... sort of hexagonal and all hinged together, you could add extras to this to make it into a play tent which looked quite fun for older dc's. A playmat came with it (though a drab grey colour) - ds never really used it (or I never used it) but I passed it on to a friend with two babies close in age. It was perfect for her to keep ds away from dd's inquisitive toddler fingers!

wabbit · 10/05/2008 20:12

lol @ wabbit run!!

tab1 · 10/05/2008 20:16

The travel cots are not so cage like as they are soft mesh and the base is soft for when they pull up and then fall. My dd learned to pull up much better in hers and I use it for short times to get jobs done as dd won't stop crawling/climbing.

Othersideofthechannel · 10/05/2008 20:17

My DCs liked being in the playpen. DD still wants to get in and play when she sees one (she is 3.5 now).

Sometimes they weren't in the mood for it, but they know how to let you know this.

The bars are good for pulling up on when they are learning to stand.

MsHighwater · 10/05/2008 20:21

I had a Babydan and found it invaluable. Never thought of it as a baby "cage" and would much much rather have used one of those than one of those babywalker abominations.

I once took part in a discussion on another board in which baby walkers and playpens were being compared. One mum said that she would never use a playpen because it was cage-like so she used to put her dc in his/her highchair when she needed him/her to stay put!

AitchTwoCiao · 10/05/2008 20:23

i loved ours, i got it on ebay second-hand but it was from Mothercare, a neat wooden one. we kept some of dd's toys in it and i think she regarded it as 'her' zone and liked the fact that we couldn't come into it. she'd turn her back on the rest of the room and get playing, while i zoomed round the kitchen tidying or whatever, and then ten mins later she'd pull herself up and ask to get out. it was brilliant. although we only used it for a few months, as i recall, so second-hand is the way to go imo.

moondog · 10/05/2008 20:24

Wouldn't have been without one.I've just sold it actually. Kept me sane.

blithedance · 10/05/2008 20:36

They have their place especially for a second child. Our travel cot is a "Pack n Play"- following Bree's link I discover they are now called a Playard. Really.

As others have said, very useful to protect baby from toddler, toddler from baby, house from baby and baby from house while mum makes a phone call/goes to loo/has cuppa. Necessary but not necessarily evil.

Stopped using it when he stopped contentedly playing with toys, threw them all out and started trying to barge his head out through the mesh, think he was trying to tell me something there.

LaComtesse · 10/05/2008 20:37

I had a playpen which doubled as a travel cot - very useful when I needed to nip to the loo or answer the door or cook.

As long as you don't leave them in there all day, they're not evil at all.

My aunt had one but she used to store her daughter's toys in there which sort of defeated the point of it for me .

4under4 · 10/05/2008 20:37

I totally agree with Fillyjonk! They are great if you use them sensibly. I used to put DD2 in it in her moses basket to protect her from DD1!!! Expecting twins in sep and will def be getting it back out then!

Hecate · 10/05/2008 20:40

I had a playpen for mine. It saved my life (actually, it saved their lives! ) Many uses. Safe and sound if the doorbell goes, great for when they've done something and you need to discipline them. Wonderful in the kitchen and you're cooking so you don't want to have them touching stuff and maybe getting burned or tipping a pan of something boiling over themselves but you need to watch them. You can cook and chatter to them. Great when you're cleaning up and you need them out from under your feet for a bit , and finally - when you are about ready to go screaming mad and drop them into the inviting jaws of an alligator, a playpen is a great place to put them for a few minutes so you can go into another room with a cup of tea, take some deep breaths and calm down.

itsahardknocklife · 10/05/2008 21:40

Nothing wrong with them at all if they keep baby/toddler safe and help mum/parent/carer keep sane!

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