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Original poster

Playpen"baby jail" is it a necessity? (typo amended by MNHQ)

28 replies

Sparrowlegs248 · 22/12/2015 07:54

Ds rolled over and has started scooting about pushed by his legs (still laying) several people have said 'of you'll need a baby jail now' honestly hadn't given it a thought!

Did you have one? Do i need one?

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Original poster

Sparrowlegs248 · 22/12/2015 07:55

Wtf autocorrect ? Play pen / baby jail!!

OP posts:

AndAPartridgeInAPearwood · 22/12/2015 07:59

They can be useful - we had one and used for short periods. A travel cot can serve the same purpose though.

Haggisfish · 22/12/2015 07:59

I could not have done without one for times when I needed to know dc were safe at the times they were mobile but utterly no sense of danger. Used them when I had shower, making dinner and any other times when it was needed.

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TheBestChocolateIsFree · 22/12/2015 07:59

Depends on lifestyle, pets, house layout. If you sometimes find yourself thinking "Oh shit I really need to do X but I can't do it and keep DC safe at the same time!" then the answer is a playpen. If you don't then you don't need one.

FishWithABicycle · 22/12/2015 08:00

You make the decision for yourself. Whatever works is fine. Things to consider - do you watch your child at all times and how baby safe is the room. A mobile baby can be across the room and chewing matches in the time it takes to pour a cup of tea.

When mine was at this age, we made a small babysafe area by propping a disused car parcel shelf between a book case and sofa. It was a good 6 months before his strength and agility overcame that.

nooka · 22/12/2015 08:01

That's really a very intriguing thread title!

We didn't have a playpen, although ds was an early commando crawler and managed to cover significant amounts of ground before we really noticed (veyr keen on reaching and eating some no doubt bad for babies to eat plant!). We just kept a close eye on him. I think it's totally up to you really, depends on how safe your house is and whether you have the room/money for a playpen.

rudolphistheboss · 22/12/2015 08:01

I have never used one (have dd3 and ds1). I just popped them in their cot in the bedroom if I needed a quick shower or something. I have a baby gate between the loving room (babyproofed) and the kitchen. It depends on your house layout, pets, older children etc

AndAPartridgeInAPearwood · 22/12/2015 08:05

An abyss jail in the loving room?

TeaPleaseLouise · 22/12/2015 08:07

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

LineyReborn · 22/12/2015 08:08

Great autocorrect in thread title!

I had a travel cot downstairs and it was very useful for when I needed to keep baby DC in a safe place for a short time.

vvviola · 22/12/2015 08:09

I never used one (House 1 too small - a playpen would have taken up almost all the sitting room; House 2, we rigged a baby gate in a certain area that made it safe to leave baby to do washing up etc). If I needed to have a shower etc, baby went into her cot.

I would have happily bought one if needed though. I hate when they are called "baby jails" though. In my experience the people who called them that IRL were the people who were simultaneously judging me/my friends for not doing XYZ, so the phrase gets my back up a bit.

needtothinkaboutseniorschools · 22/12/2015 08:13

We had a babydan playpen which was very useful. Dc3 could escape from a cot in seconds at the age of 15m but she never managed to escape from the babycage.

However, even if you have a playpen there's nothing to stop the little blighters stripping off all their clothes and nappy and weeing on the floor. I guess that some babies figure out that their parents like a challenge

AuntieStella · 22/12/2015 08:17

I thought it was go into be done sort of teenager gaming problem!

Yes, I had a cage for my mobile toddlers. It was so I could pop them somewhere safe when I needed to, and sometimes when I didn't (because the trick to happy use is making it the enticing play place).

ChessieFL · 22/12/2015 08:23

We had one because we had an open plan house with the stairs in the living/dining room, so we needed somewhere DD couldn't escape from!

Original poster

Sparrowlegs248 · 22/12/2015 08:33

Yes i hate them being called baby jail too which is probably what it putting me off the idea! We have a cotbed so that is good for upstairs. Also bathroom is very baby safe so good for when i have a bath (no shower... :-( )

Downstairs, not so sure. Not currently baby proofed. Terrace with large rooms so front/middle/kitchen. Hallway at front too. Maybe the hallway could be a player actually, with a couple of baby gates. Open fire in from room and wood burner in middle. I use the bouncy chair atm for washing up etc. Could move onto jumperoo.

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eurochick · 22/12/2015 08:51

We used a travel cot. And called it baby jail. In fact I used to sing my own song, "doing time in baby jail" to her while she was in it! I also use reins (waits for MN to take a sharp intake of breath) and call them her lead. I don't disapprove of either and couldn't give a shit if anyone judges me!

jessplussomeonenew · 22/12/2015 11:12

We tried to make the downstairs area as babyproofed as possible so that DS could have free range all the time. We found that having stuff in his reach that we had to be vigilant about stop him getting was hard work for us and frustrating to him, so it was easier all round to use gates, a fireguard, cupboard locks etc to create a safe space. We've not put everything out of reach, so he can still make a mess, e.g. his bowls and plates live on a low shelf and he loves to pull them off and play with them, but he's not going to endanger himself. He's on the brink of learning to climb onto the sofa and coffee table so we'll need to move stuff again, but so far (16mo) it's been effective.

NotCitrus · 22/12/2015 11:31

Depends on your child and house. Various friends have put their computer and TV in the playpen and the rest of the living room is fairly baby safe. With dd, a playpen wouldn't contain her so made the bathroom safe for her. Best was making one low cupboard in the kitchen full of unbreakable stuff and teaching her that was her cupboard, which reduced the pulling stuff out of all other drawers and cupboards. I figured if she was playing drums with metal pans, I knew where she was and she wasn't in danger...

jessplussomeonenew · 22/12/2015 11:43

NotCitrus - ah yes, I also do the "I can hear them bashing, sure they're fine!"

skankingpiglet · 22/12/2015 14:12

I'm another one with the 'if I can hear her, she's fine' attitude DD hated her playpen/travel cot in fact being put down or left anywhere so we only used it a couple of times. However DD is now a toddler and we have DC2 on the way, so I think it will have to come out again, and for their own safety the new arrival will have to learn to like it.

LillyBugg · 22/12/2015 14:15

Massively depends on your house. We opted to baby proof as much as possible so he had more freedom to roam. We did this by literally scrapping all our furniture and starting again and redecorating to. It needed to be done anyway. I do get why play pens are used though.

OverScentedFanjo · 22/12/2015 14:19

I had a massive one. V useful at my parents house as they have big dog who wanted to lick baby. I wasn't keen on dog lick on baby, so baby was safe in playpen. Also my one was huge so I chucked all toys inside and baby was safe and happy.

At home it was very useful when I needed to do something like cooking and crawling baby wasn't safe. Hot, boiling pans to take to the sink etc.

My DC loved the play pen. I put a playmat inside, hung toys from the rails and put toys inside. It was fun. Only a short window where you can use it. But it was valuable for me.

Naoko · 22/12/2015 14:23

My mum tells me I loved my play pen so much that even when I grew up and they took one of the sides off so it could just be a den instead of a playpen, I'd take myself off to go and sit in there. I think it's because I felt safe. Still like small spaces.

knittingbee · 22/12/2015 20:18

I'd agree with the pp who said it depends on child/house. DC1 would happily play in the pen while I did something in the kitchen, and he's a total klutz so I couldn't take my eyes off him usually. DC2 would howl if I left the room and is a climber, I fear she would have done more damage to herself trying to escape. She will sit on the kitchen worktop and watch me nicely hasn't inherited my shocking sense of balance, clearly

HirplesWithHaggis · 22/12/2015 20:29

Baby jails have a useful second purpose at this time of year. You can put your Xmas tree in it and small dc attracted to sparkles, glitter and baubles can't reach them to eat/knock over tree.

They're also quite useful for casual toy storage at the end of the day.

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