Description: A play area for babies contained within mesh sides or bars. Usually playpens are a little larger than a cot, some have handy gates to get baby in and out. Playpens have nice soft floorings and once you’ve added a few of her favourite toys, it’s an Aladdin’s cave of fun for the little one.
Pros: Assuming that your child is happy to be penned in, then the playpen is a fantastic invention allowing the caring parent to get on with other things, like the washing up which is still there from breakfast time. You can use the playpen to store lots of toys and when Baby is playing the tall sides keep most of the toys in. Babies who really like playpens can even fall asleep in mid-play and wake up again an hour later and keep on playing
Cons: Most children aren’t happy to be penned up in a confined area, especially once they start crawling. Playpens do seem like a great idea and our parents’ promise us that we were more than happy to spend the first sixteen years of our life in one, but it simply isn’t true, or at least it doesn’t seem to appeal to today’s kids as much as it appealed to our generation. The grass is always greener and babies can get very upset if they’re dumped in the playpen when everyone else is allowed to wander around and do what they want.
What’s it all about? Playpens work for some kids and not for others. Don’t be too disappointed if it doesn’t work out. Remember when choosing a playpen for your home that, even though they fold up, they’re not small.
Bloke’s Rating: Let your baby try out a playpen at someone else’s house before you buy one of these contraptions.
