Play pens - yes or no?

[liz1222]

Hi guys :)

My baby is 8 months old, he's very active, very boisterous and happy but at the minute going through a very clingy stage. He's not being himself and he just wants to find me wherever I am I the house and cling on to my leg. I've had a few people suggest play pens as they're safe and he might be happy in there, but I'm just not sure yet.

If you had one, did it work for you? Any advice will be great :) thanks xx

Using a playpen was invaluable for me as we have a dog.

I didn't use one because I think my boys would have either cried or tried to climb out and hurt themselves. I just baby proofed the house. Eg cupboard locks, bumper rails and stair gates.
I did briefly use a travel cot as a playpen for ds2 but he wasn't keen.

I can't say I like them because babies need to explore their environment and they are too restrictive. But if they are used for a short time only while you pop to the loo, out of the room for safety reasons then I guess they are OK.
A friend of mine used to use one for her older child so he could have sone peace to do lego, draw etc away from the baby who kept bothering him. I though that was a good idea.

I have one and use it while I nip to the loo, mop the floor, open and close the oven and use the grill (baby tries to climb up cooker). He’s not in there very long, but have found it really useful as baby is a danger mouse and into everything.

I've got a travel cot / playpen for when I have to answer the door (downstairs as we're in a flat) or other similar needs. Father Christmas bought 800 balls though so my now 11 month old spends considerably more time in there throwing himself about! It's good for keeping him safe as he refuses to go in his actual cot.

We have one in the kitchen. It means DD is safe and contained while I cook or tidy or whatever.

We also have one in the living room, but this one is set up so an adult can use a laptop without being touched. The rest of the room is baby proofed, if you need to do something without small assistance, you set yourself up inside Baby Jail. It also housed the Christmas tree.

I used a play pen for my son and it was a life saver.
I could put him in there if I had to do washing or cleaning or just needed 5 mins to myself, I suffered with postnatal depression and could get very overwhelmed quickly but my health visitor advised the play pen

I used to have one for when I cooked. Of course if dd started to get upset I would take her out, but it was great at giving me 15 mins to cook without worrying about DD.

I used a travel cot not a playpen, so it had a double function.

It totally depends on how you live and what your space is. Plus what kind of baby you have.
We have a townhouse and so need a safe space on each floor for our 9m old. On the top floor this is the landing with doors shut and a stairgate. In the middle floor we have a playpen in the living room and a babygate on the living room door. And on the ground floor we have a room divider to keep him out of the kitchen area.
Our playpen usually has the door open and both kids use it as a play space.

They're not much use apart from to put them in it while you go for a shower or to the toilet or something. Washing the dishes even. They're safe in there. But they don't enjoy it.

I found people tend to have them when you have 2+ children and baby can trash older sibling's lego whilst you're at the door / on the loo, whereas it's easier to take one with you. It also keeps baby safe from a curious toddler. If you get one, make sure it has an integrated base. It's it's just the sides the baby tends to pick a side up and drag it round the room with them,

We had something similar to this (but cheaper!)

Baby Playpen Kids Activity Centre Safety Play Yard Baby Fence Play Area Baby Gate Home Indoor Outdoor New Pen (Multicolour, Classic Set 14 Panel) (Love 14panels) www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06WWLLH2M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_aqlfEb1A0YYAP?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

It was brilliant. We took the sides or panels off it most of the time so babies were free to roam but could close it when needed (eg to get lunch ready or pop to loo). They also both found it great for learning to pull themselves up to standing and would gleefully cruise around inside it. It was quite big too - I found travel cots too small and restrictive for DS1 who crawled early and never wanted to sit still. He'd crawl around inside this space happily.

Many dc. Had a play pen once.
Put my Xmas tree in it!!
Usually just became a toy storage /dumping ground tbh.. And took up too much space!

I found it invaluable. I have a playpen in the doorway looking into the kitchen so I can put him somewhere safe when I'm there, and half the living room is gated off to make a safe playroom where I can put him when I'm doing stuff around the house out of sight like hanging up the washing or taking a shower.

I used a collapsible one which was absolutely worth every penny. DS was the type who wanted to empty every drawer, climb on everything etc so to be able to have him in one place while i hung the washing out, or cooked dinner, or went to the toilet was a great relief. I'm afraid I'm not the sort of mum who wants my son to be involved in every single mundane thing I do, making it last three times as long!

I used one with DT’s - was brilliant. Couldn’t have managed without it. My parents used one for DSis and I.

I used the travel cot for my nephew because he likes to climb! I'd put him in 'baby jail' if I needed to leave the room. He was quite happy and I sometimes came back to find he'd settled doe for a nap.

We had a pop up one. Our house is open plan and it was really difficult to find ways to block off areas (without costing a fortune). It was useful for moments when I couldn't watch him constantly!

I want to add that my DS never minded it either. Never whinged when i put him in it.

Mine would have hated them.

I didn't for my first just baby proofed the house however I've got a travel cot set up in the front room DD whose 3 months. It'll be a playpen for her when she's sitting up etc so she doesn't get bashed by DS whose a tad heavy handed, he also has loads of playmobile with tiny pieces

Always said no but in the end it was invaluable and wouldn't think twice about it again.

I bought one but never used it (except to store toys in!) because my DC didn't like it.

We had one - it was great for having somewhere to pop DS if I needed the toilet or to answer the door. He'd have any drawer emptied in about 30 seconds so you couldn't leave him ever.