Do people use playpens in the UK?

[JonnyPocketRocket]

Just that really.
DS is 5.5 months and starting to think about crawling. PILs are from America (but live here now) and keep reminding me to get a playpen as apparently I need to start putting him in it before he becomes mobile so he gets used to it. But I don't think any of my friends or family in the UK has used one of these, they've all just babyproofed as much as possible and kept an eye on what the baby's up to. And the more I look at them, the more they look like little cages.
Is this a cultural/generational thing, and people here don't tend to use them, or am I being precious/naive?

Depends on the child and how adventurous it is and the layout of your house, and your appetite for risk. I had one as I was quite anxious, couldn’t close off bits if house and wanted a cast iron way if knowing safe when I needed the loo or to pop out for the bin or sth.

It’s the sort if thing you can pick up v cheaply usually locally second hand on gumtree etc . I had an iron baby dan one, an octagon/hexagon, resold for almost same amount.

Dc1 loved
Dc2 hated, cried whole time in it, but was better than him roaming round

We had one - open plan house but you can't see the living room from the kitchen and DS was obsessed with plugs so couldn't be left for a minute. We did BLW so it was useful to have somewhere to put him while I cleaned up instead of him crawling in leftover spag bol.

I had a travel cot in the living room. It was used as toy storage a lot of the time, but I did put DS in for short stints e.g. when the supermarket delivery arrived, just so that he was contained. Also used it for day naps.

I think it really depends on the layout of your home, whether you have dogs, and whether it's safe to leave your DC roaming around while you're cooking or going to the loo. We had a playpen, because the layout of our property wasn't really safe to leave a toddler unattended, even for a minute. We had one at my DM's house too, because she refused to child-proof and went bananas if my DC messed with her things. We got one in France actually that was great - it was a traditional wooden one and was big enough to accommodate an adult, a child and a pile of toys.

A lot of Americans use travel cots, but they call them Pack'n'plays.

I used a travel cot as a safe space when needed.

We had one. Ds screamed the place down and hated it. Waste of money. Kidproof your rooms

It's somewhere safe to plonk the baby. You don't realise how tying a baby is until you are soley responsible for one - and like PP getting the chance to pee in private is one reason. Answering the door, needing to keep baby safe from dog when you are otherwise distracted (phone call perhaps). Lots of reasons to use a playpen, but essentially they are a luxury rather than a neccessity. I didn't use our's alot, and eventually it became a storage area for ballpit balls, and toddler toys. But for a few months, it was so handy.

For the PP who said she couldn't use one because her baby always cried when she left the room - this is a perfect reason to get one - because you then have a SAFE place to put baby while you practice brief separations from them, and they get used to you going away and re-appearing. (i'm not adovating leaving them howling for hours, but if you WANT to try to help baby learn to be okay about brief separations from you - it is a useful tool).

I used a travel cot to put him in while I was cooking, but that was years and years ago.

I remember to be very surprised that instead of nicely playing with his toys he just stood on the side and happily chattered away while I was working

Someone lent us one when our dts started crawling. It could open out as a room divider and we did use it like that so that dd1 could have space to play with her toys without 2 crawlers wrecking her puzzles etc. We only used it as a playpen to put the xmas tree in when it became obvious 2 toddlers would trash it! The friend who lent it to us used to stand inside it ironing while her baby crawled safely around the room. Her cat also liked to sleep in there to avoid the baby so she put his bed inside!

I second the jumperoo! My DD would happily go in here for up to an hour! In fact I’d often get her out thinking she needed a rest & she’s crawl back over and cry until I put her back in!

I bought a cheap second hand pop up playpen, only ever used it in the garden.. was handy out there though as we get the full sun all day long and no real shade, I could pop an umbrella over the playpen, chuck her toys in and she’d play happily while I could sit and have a little sunbathe for 15 mins!

I never had one when my first 2 were babies but I've actually just bought one to put their train tracks in and keep baby out!
She's 11 months and on the move and keeps breaking their tracks up which prompts screaming and tears so this seemed like the best solution!

I do, my dd is 1 and crawling and climbing everywhere. This means I can sit for more than 5 seconds in the garden while we are all out enjoying the weather.

I think in the UK, its more a travel cot type...

Larger homes have larger playpens. We had one we could all get inside.

Yes I have one like this

@JonnyPocketRocket

Look up baby domes (fisher price) it will last until baby can pull themselves out so perhaps not long for you. We have one for our younger baby. Bought for a sun shade but also helps when you need to dash to the toilet or make lunch!

Also I know people with play pens but the big ones, perhaps 6 feet?

We had a massive one but DD hated it and just cried when she was in it with the door closed, so we ditched in and just totally babyproofed the living room so she can be in there unattended for a few minutes if needed.

At 5mo she probably wouldn't have minded being left in it though. She's not a clingy baby generally, she doesn't mind me leaving the room or being left generally, she just hated the playpen, even though it was one of those huge ones. Plus it was a bit of a monstrosity so I wasn't that sad we had to ditch it

Lightbulb moment!

So those parents who weep over Velcro-babies and never having a moment to pee don't have playpens?

For whoever said only tiny or very placid babies tolerate them - nope. Sturdy, rambunctious baby who generally hated being alone for a second was always blissfully absorbed in the (enormous) playpen. Other people were sometimes allowed in ...

Child has grown up to be both hugely gregarious but also very happy in their own company. With annoyingly strong boundaries.

I think it's just personal preference 🤷‍♀️ It was easy for us to babyproof a room and she's happy being left so it ended up being a better choice than a playpen. If our house was a different layout or I didn't have a DH who was handy and managed to hide all the cables and other stuff, then perhaps we would have persevered with it. But as it is she's perfectly happy amusing herself in the living room while I go and do other bits! And our garden is safe and secure so no need for a playpen out there either, she's welcome to roam.

Some kids like them, some don't, they're useful for some people, not so much for others. I don't think it's anything to do with teaching parenting lessons or encouraging development, it's basically just a convenience and safety thing. Some people have Velcro babies because they just do, not because they don't use a playpen. There are plenty of ways of encouraging healthy separation without using them (and some children don't need to be encouraged hugely because they just are happy to be left in general due to temperament. My daughter has been v independent from day 1!).

Our eldest was 3 when our twins were born. So we used a playpen until the twins were walking. Our eldest wasn’t very sensible, so we wanted the twins to have a safe area away from a stompy toddler.

I don’t understand why it would be such a bad thing for a dc to cry for a few mins during a loo or bin visit while in the playpen? It’s hardly child neglect . Sense of proportion needed I think.

The playpen my parents used in Sweden was a good size, but then that is because people usually have good-sized rooms there (houses and apartments are sold by metre square rather than no of rooms so there is no incentive for builders to pack as many rooms in as possible).

When I tried to get one in the UK, the only ones on offer were tiny so much less useful- it did feel more like a cage. We ended up just baby-proofing one room and putting a stairgate on that. There may well be times when you want something: trying to supervise an active climber while squatting on the loo with a bad dose of the shits is nobody's idea of fun.

If you can get and fit in a big one, I would. And if not, I would look into having one childproof space that can be gated off.