thoughts on playpens?

[mollymalloo]

have been thinking about getting one of those hexagonal playpens that can also section of bits of a room and become a den later on. BUT just not sure if it will be too inhibiting for my 9 month old crawling DS. we have made our home as safe as we can (without going too mad) though feel like i am constantly moving him away from things that are unsafe that we cant do anything about. i wouldnt want him to be in it for long chunks of time, just 15 mins here and there when i need to get washing off line etc. its got a door so can leave open when im in the room. can see the pros but would be interested in anyones opinion who is against using them and why to help me make an ionformed decision. thanks x

I think they could be very useful - especially when you need to go in the kitchen or the garden for a second as least you know there safe - then as get old you can get one of them tent covers to make it more fun.

Could be a bit late to start one, now he's experienced freedom! I believe they are best started when they are still at the sitting stage. You may get away with it if you fill it full of toys/saucepans/ safe kitchen utensils etc. and treat it as a fun place to be!

I think they are great.
Especially when you just need to pop and do something. You know they are safe.
We have had our travel cot in our lounge for some time now, for exactly this reason.

But one of those hexagonal ones would be even better and much more luxurious.

never used one! dont think I have room now either. Never felt the need for one. But lots of people use them.

do you have a travel cot? Why not try that first before forking out?

i think they are perfect for doing as you say... 10 mins while you get the washing in from the garden, stirring some cooking etc!

and great so the door can be open and he can go in and play with all his toys if he likes!

Safety is the most important thing and you do HAVE to do things like getting washing in, so it must be worth it just to know hes safe!

another vote for travel cot - multi purpose too

we used a travel cot/playpen - well worth it for going to the loo in peace, if for no other reason

its really iuseful to hear all your views. we do have a travel cot but it mainly lives in the back of the car (have encouraged him to be able to sleep at other peoples houses if we are out in the evening or for naps) or at my mums where he spends the odd night. like the idea of making it a fun place to be and can just leave the door open when im about. also, very anxious about safety grandma has offered to contribute as an early bday present so i guess i'd by mad to say no! thanks all, im off to hunt down a bargain on the net x

Baby Dan play pens (or whatever they're called!) do have a great re-sale value on eBay, so it's not money you'll never see again, necessarily!

We have a BabyDan one, but have never used it as a playpen - we moved into a DIY hellhole when I was 15 weeks pg with DS and have been slowly putting it right - it sections off the bit of the room he can't go in because it's just too dangerous for him, but he has free reign in the rest of the house (except stairs, I'm not mad!). I love this playpen - though it would take up a heck of a lot of room if I used it as a playpen, but then so would a travel cot or similar downstairs.

tbh i don't like the idea of a playpen, it feels too cagey for me and I think it was important for dd to learn what she couldn't touch, (I spent a lot of time saying No and pulling her away from things when she first started crawling) and also to be completely at home in the whole flat.
BUT - I have a very good, careful dd, not a boisterous, hands-into-everything dd, so it's easy for me to say that! I might have thought differently otherwise! And, a very safe flat too, no stairs, no need to go very far... I found that all the baby proofing equipment I bought were completely unnecessary in the end.

But, mollymaloo, for the purposes you're talking about it sounds like a good idea.

Lizita I am so glad you said that, you found childproofing to be useless.
We are finding that at the mo.
My ds, 18 mths, is into everything.
If I sit on mumsnet for a few mintes, I find the whole house in chaos - pulled everything out of everywhere.
Even though we have some cupboard locks, in a matter of minutes he can ....
be helping himself to food,
have pulled all his clothes out of his drawers,
pulled all towels of radiators & airing-cupboard

the list goes on
I don't know what to do !!

lol I meant useless because I never had to get them out of the packet!!
Feel for you Rach, but no advice of what to do as my dd always responded well to a firm No! (Actually, make that "usually" rather than "always"!) She's just too timid! I have no idea how I would have coped with a more adventurous dd!

I just kept movung stuff to higher and higher shelves/cupboards

I had one with ds2 and now ds3. Ds1 won't have stairgates up (he headbutts them) so essential. But also a handy place to ensure that ds3 is away from all of ds2's choke hazards. I preferred it tbh than the rigmarole of stairgates that we had with ds1.

Jane - we have done that as much as poss, but some of our furniture is wood and dh didn't want to put fittings on dinning room cupboard. Same with clothes in ds'd room.

We started using babydan when dd was 10 mths just after she started crawling. I was totally against playpen idea but we live in open-plan place that would need gates across windows and also at least 4 stairgates in living room which is upstairs...we also have open staircase..basically this place is baby death trap and Dh is still in denial.

We also have traditional travel cot/playpen but htey are small compared to babydan.

I think you should get a babydan den as it is flexible and unlike the travel cot she could actually pull herself up and walk around holding on..oh! and also I could leave her and go to the front door and toilet without worrying too mush

Rachd what is it with men and furniture We also have wood furniture and my dh won't put locks on he doesn't want to damage them at the moment brown tape is working..at least I can hear it when she tries to open drawers

I don't know chickyboo.
To be fair to dh we spent over £30 on a number of different kinds of locks. None of them fitted. Dh said 'that's it, enough'.
Yet he is the one that goes mad when ds causes havoc, in the space of a few minutes.
And I keep saying " I can't always watch him every second".
But dh still won't find a way to childproof more of the cupboards.
I think that dh thinks that if you say no, to ds, then that is the end of it.
But, ds at 18 mths , this is NOT working.
Don't know what else to try.

We used one with dd from when she was tiny and she loved it, it meant i could do the ironing, put wasjhing out/fetch it in and go to the loo in peace. I fully intend to use one with baba when it arrives so that dd and baba can play with their own toys in peace with no arguments. DD is 3 now and enjoys helping hang out the washing etc so it will be nice to be able to,leave stairgates open for her to be more independant with baba safe in playpen.