Playpens for safety! (Playpens in General)

Member Name: xjemloux

Product:	Playpens in General
Date:	14/12/08 (150 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good to keep a child safe in those needy moments

Disadvantages: not good when used purposely to prevent kids from having freedom

Everyone has different opinions on playpens but mine was a true godsend! I really don't think I would of coped without out. Although I don't like the whole idea of babies being in a 'cage' or not being able to do anything it helped me out hell of alot. You can buy playpens in most stores now, including Mothercare, Argos even on Ebay, I bought mine from Argos when my twins were 4months old. It cost me £80, its a Lindam one. It came with a few extra screws etc as it also converted into either a safety gate or a fire guard. But I only wanted it to be used as the playpen so threw the extra fiddly bits out. It also came with a mat which attached to the bottom.

I lived in my mum and dads house with my twin boys up until they were 10months old. Had to do everything around their routines as it wasn't fair for them or my brother to change their lifestyles just because I had kids now, it wasn't my house at the end of the day. I didn't want my dad constantly nagging in my ear "Cordells into the ornaments again" or "Don't leave Jayden here he could pick something up and get hurt". So to save arguments and help me cope I had to buy it, didn't even quibble over the price.

It was easy to put together as all I needed to do was open it out and attach on bit together just by pushing it into the holes provided. I placed the mat at the bottom, tied them around the poles and there we have a baby jail with a little extra comfort. I didn't do any cooking in my mums house really so I wasn't using it so I could cook without having to worry about the little ones. I needed it for bath times etc. I am a single mum to the boys and when they both started to crawl I thought my life was going to fall apart how was I supposed to cope on my own ?! I did though!

The point of my buying the playpen was so I knew one baby was safe whilst I was busy doing something else. Bathing and taking them to bed especially. I had a few toys in there so they were not bored and had something to do. I would bath them both, take them both to the playpen put one of my little men in there so he couldn't move about, choke on anything, hurt himself and I would take the other to bed. Once he was in bed I would go downstairs to fetch my other little man out of the playpen and then take him to bed. If I hadn't had bought the playpen I wouldn't be able to leave one baby downstairs as they would hurt themselves, grab things, break things etc and it wasn't fair on me to ask my Dad, Mum or younger Brother to help as they were not their kids and I had to learn to do things myself.

If I didn't have the playpen I would not have been able to bath them take them to bed without interfering in my family's lives, or without one of my boys getting hurt or ending up in hospital. I knew the playpen was sturdy, they couldn't clim out, open the gate. They were safe and secure in there.

Now I've moved out of my Mum and Dads house as there was just no room for 6 of us living in there and baby stuff all over the place. But I don't use the playpen as an actual pen anymore. My boys started walking at 10months and worked out how to get into my cupboards, grab the naughty things such as bleach and plates. Nightmare I hear you saying! So I opened the playpen out and now it fits right across my kitchen so they have one part of my kitchen, the safe part where just their toys etc are and they can't get into trouble or drink somne bleach. It was definitely £80 well spent for me!

I would definitely reccomend a playpen to anybody with children who needs maybe just five minutes peace not having to chase after your little ones when they are crawling or walking. Or you want to cook, clean etc and need to know they are safe but in your watchful eye. Although I love the playpen idea for safety etc I don't agree with just leaving kids in them for the sake of it etc as they do need to run around and be a little naughty sometimes as tired as we may get. But for them awkward moments when you just NEED to know your childs safe for a few minutes for whatever reason, a playpen is a must! I mean think about the reasons you may need them to be safe without you following them round every 2 seconds. You may need the toilet, the door may knock, the phone may ring, you may be cooking, could of dropped something or smashed glass, tipped a drink etc.

I have read other reviews on playpens etc and don't agree that playpens prevent children from having freedom etc, so long as they are not literally used as a cage they are fantastic for a childs safety and they still have plenty of room to play and move they just can't run wild around the house like they usually do! But also as I said in the beginning of this review I know people have different opinions on playpens and this is mine.

Summary: a handy way to keep a child safe when need be