Once your baby learns to crawl, a whole new era of assessing home safety arrives! It's usually around this time that parents who have got used to quiet, sleeping babies realise the value of safety barriers, gates and other equipment!
NOTE: Do not use playpens with toys and blankets in them until your baby can sit or stand, to avoid the danger of suffocation. Do not leave children unattended even when they are in a playpen.
Buying a playpen?
Buying a playpen and other safety barriers completely depends on the layout of your home. If you are not concerned about steps and can ensure that your baby or toddler can't stray unsupervised into rooms like your bathroom or kitchen then you may well be fine. If you are unsure, ask your health visitor at your local baby clinic.
For tips about what you might need to buy, check out the Thinkbaby Buyer's Guide to Safety Guards, Barriers and Bumpers.
Playpens come in different shapes and sizes. Look at our Products page for some ideas of what's on the market.
If you have a large travel cot (especially if it comes with playtime accessories, as the Hauck Sleep N Play model does) this can form a useful playpen. Other people buy large safety barriers which can be pulled round to create a large area of your floor which is safely fenced off.
Do I need to buy a playpen?
Like most things, playpens are worth using in moderation.
If you have a home where you worry that a crawling, cruising or toddling child could fall or touch anything dangerous, then you might want to think about something like a playpen for those brief times when you need to be out of the room. However, if you have kept all heavy items which might topple or cause damage safely away from your child, you have secured any electrical wiring and covered sockets, and feel confident that your child cannot climb or fall, then you might well never need a playpen.
It is vital to stress the importance of making sure you know where your child is at all times and what he is doing, but it is not reasonable to expect that there won't be times when they will move around when your back is turned. Day to day life carries on when you have a family and you don't want to restrict your child, but being aware and thinking ahead about possible risks will serve you well.
An important exception: a child in the bath should never be left, even just to fetch towels from another room.
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The pros and cons of playpens
In a playpen your child might enjoy the comfort zone of a space that is cosy and not overwhelmingly big. To other children this will seem too confining, and it's up to you to gauge what kind of child you have.
If your child still dislikes being put in a pen after a few attempts, don't persist because this might lead to other problems with your child's confidence.
Playpens can be enjoyable places to play because your child is surrounded by his favourite things, but do not leave your child alone in the room. A playpen is not a child-minder! Sit in the same room with your child and continue to communicate with him. If you want to get on with cooking lunch, take the pen into the kitchen so he can watch you whilst he plays.
Although a playpen with upright bars can afford some support when your child is learning to walk, moving swiftly around (on knees, on his bottom or on wobbly feet) is a fabulous part of the learning process and using a playpen should be restricted to short periods so that your child gets the physical opportunities to explore your whole home during this vital point in his development.
