# Do I really need a playpen?



## Solose (May 10, 2008)

My ds is pretty far away from crawling right now, he just under four months but I am wondering how we will go about it when he does start to crawl.

I have a small apartment and very little money, so I try to stay away from excessive amounts of baby stuff. I did get a used bouncy chair which ds is obsessed with and a playmat since we have very cold hard floors, but i would like to try to stay away from any unnecessary things.

So, lately my Mom has been telling me that I will need to get a playpen soon because once a baby is crawling you can't live without one of them. I do understand how it would be useful but I also feel kind of wrong about putting ds in any kind of "pen." He is a very inquisitive little guy, and we try to have him participate as much as possible in our lives. I take him everywhere and encourage him to explore the "real world" by letting him lie on the grass when we are outside, play with clothespins when he is in the mei tai and I am hanging up laundry, smell the food me and dh are eating, etc. Basically, i just think babies learn best by seeing how the natural world works, not by pulling on a toy that activates music and lights. So i feel like putting ds in a 4x4 sqaure is just kind of mean and will stunt his learning. I mean, how is he supposed to learn how to crawl if he is in one of those things? I _want_ him to touch furniture and other stuff so that he can learn. on the other hand i am worried that I won't be vigilant enough, and one day I will go to the bathroom or something and while i am away he will get hurt.

So I am just wondering what other MDC people would say about this. When your child started crawling did just let them crawl wherever they wanted? Did you never take you eye off them? Did you think a playpen is really neccessary?


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## funkychunkymunky (Mar 26, 2008)

They're not necessary. If I had a fireplace, I'd put a baby gate around it but I don't think I really have anything that could be pulled down or dangerous.


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## luv (Mar 20, 2007)

Do you NEED one? no. Def not. At some point (not now, maybe not soon) you may decide you want one.

We have one. It gets used for about 10 min a day. It sure is nice to be able to unload groceries, grab the mail, use the bathroom, drain boiling water, etc. without worrying that DD is pulling dog tails, climbing stairs or putting her fingers in electrical sockets.

As with everything else in life moderation is the key. In no way is she being 'stunted' by 'reading' her books for a few min in a play pen









-luv


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## Lily Eve (Feb 15, 2008)

They're definitely not necessary. As long as the house is baby-proofed exploring is to be welcomed! In the olden days i.e. when we were kids it was much more normal to have playpens. I just had an older English woman ask me what my objection was to playpens last week as my MIL had proudly told her that we were anti-playpens, and my response was that I wanted DS to have as much intellectual AND physical freedom and stimulation as possible. People didn't have playpens thousands of years ago and life was much more dangerous back then and yet somehow our species survived!


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## gingerbane (Jun 10, 2007)

I don't think it's a necessity.

That's not to say you won't want one.


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## sarahtdubb (Apr 30, 2007)

I don't think its necessary.... we have a wooden playpen that DS uses outside, because our back yard isn't a safe place to crawl around. He actually likes being in it because it was bars he can hold on to and pull himself us. He has a blast! Though I've noticed he only likes it outside... I tried putting him in it once in the house when my husband wasn't home and I had to do something, and he got mad!


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## Romana (Mar 3, 2006)

Every baby is different. My dd only crawled for about a week - she wanted to walk. The moment she figured out how to walk, she was running, climbing, and doing backflips. She was faster than you could believe and we HAD HAD HAD to have a means to contain her for her own safety. If we'd had a bigger house and could have had a room that was just for her, with essentially zero furniture, I don't think the playpen would have been necessary.

We purchased a big plastic play yard and set it up so it took up most of our (smallish) family room. And put safe toys inside. Then she could be as wild as she wanted, physically, without hurting herself or constantly placing herself at risk of imminent death, disfigurement, or dismemberment. We retired it when she figured out how to climb out of it and decided that what would be _really_ fun was trying to leap back in from the sofa 3 feet away, over the edge of the playpen and into a small pile of toys.









So WE needed one. I don't think most people really do, though you have to watch out for normal hazards like stairs, of course. Just go with your instincts. Watch your baby and decide as she gives you the input you need what it is that she needs.

My point is that sometimes, they are necessary to protect your child. Even in the same room with our dd, in a room we had already modified, she was able to do very dangerous things faster than we could stop her. She's a very intense little person and was 95% physical for the first 2 years. She turned every benign thing into a death-defying stunt. I kid you not.

My advice is to wait and see if you feel you need it, based on your child.


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## gardenmommy (Nov 23, 2001)

They make a great containment facility for such items as toys, laundry, and pets, lol!

Seriously though, I have one, and found it very useful for containing the baby when I needed to do something that required me to be hands-free/baby-free for a few minutes (outside for a few minutes, handling boiling water, showering, etc.). I found it worked very well to keep the baby safe during those short periods when I couldn't have my eyes or ears on the baby, esp. when we had a baby and a very young toddler at the same time.


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## Nicole_ac (Mar 25, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *gardenmommy* 

Seriously though, I have one, and found it very useful for containing the baby when I needed to do something that required me to be hands-free/baby-free for a few minutes (outside for a few minutes, handling boiling water, showering, etc.). I found it worked very well to keep the baby safe during those short periods when I couldn't have my eyes or ears on the baby, esp. when we had a baby and a very young toddler at the same time.

same here. you may be able to find one that is not too expensive.


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## cottonwood (Nov 20, 2001)

We had one for a short period with my first. I got annoyed with it very quickly for being ugly and taking up precious space (I'm very persnickity about my living space.) And it never got used, except as a place to hold toys. I guess with our lifestyle I just don't really have a need to keep the baby out of the way at times. We've gone on to have three other babies, and not once have I ever felt the need for one. I can see how it could work in certain situations for safety reasons, but it's not something everyone is going to need or want.


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## MeepyCat (Oct 11, 2006)

We used a Pack n' Play for a while, and it was a handy containment device for those times when I needed the kid out of my hair while I poured tea or went to the bathroom. But my kid is even more mobile now than he was, and we haven't used the playpen for months. Playpens take a lot of floor space, and if that's at a premium, you might rather not have one. It's also possible to come up with improvisational baby containment - a baby gate working in conjunction with a sofa or other furniture - that doesn't require a special additional object.

I think that what you really need, with a crawling baby, is to childproof your apartment from floor level to 3.5 feet off the floor (crawling babies pull up). That way you can let him ramble. He'll be happily unconstrained and you'll be able to turn your back when you need to, and maybe even pee with the bathroom door closed, without worrying what he'll get into.


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## aprildawn (Apr 1, 2004)

We had one which has served various purposes throughout the six years we've had it. Sometimes my girls napped in it when they were tiny. I like a lot of personal space and wanted them off of me whenever I got the chance. They would let sleep in it sometimes when I could transfer them into it already asleep which let me grab a few "touch-free" moments.

It has housed toys. It has been useful to keep kiddos safe while I was unloading groceries or showering, etc. I got it back out a few weeks ago for something, but now it's being used to hold junk I'm in the process of sorting for decluttering purposes.


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## rmzbm (Jul 8, 2005)

I have 5 kids & never had a playpen. Never needed or wanted one.


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## artgoddess (Jun 29, 2004)

I have one. Both my babies hated it and it was a waste of money. So I shower with my kids instead.







It is useful in that it's wedged up against the side of the bed to prevent my little one from rolling out of bed, and it holds toys.


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## Nicole_ac (Mar 25, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rmzbm* 
I have 5 kids & never had a playpen. Never needed or wanted one.

You don't have a *very* affectionate dog, that's why!


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## artgoddess (Jun 29, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Nicole_ac* 
You don't have a *very* affectionate dog, that's why!









Does the dog like the playpen?


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## library lady (Sep 3, 2007)

I have 3 kids. I listened to the elders with my first and bought a pack-n-play. It was a waste of money. I think I took it a couple times with my oldest for when we were out in the yard. After that, it got put away and hasn't been used since. I prefer to let my kids crawl and be inquisitive.


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## kalisis (Jan 10, 2005)

I had one and never used it with DS. With DD, it was helpful to put DS in so he could play uninterrupted from his sister.

Do you "NEED" one? Nope.

I think there are some other good suggestions here of why you might want one, but IMO, they're not necessary.


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## Masel (Apr 14, 2008)

My mom got us one from a garage sale. It mostly got used outside of our home and mostly for naps. We'd take it when we had game night at a friend's house so she could sleep in a safe environment. (Their house wasn't babyproof). My mom and inlaws used it when they babysat. We also used it camping.

In my house we got a gate for the stairs and one for the kitchen door.


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## AutumnNoelle (Sep 23, 2007)

I have a playpen, and it's main use is to store my 3 year old's toys in.


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## lafemmedesfemmes (Nov 16, 2003)

my mom also insisted that i would need a playpen, so over my objections she bought me one (a pack-n-play) when i was pregnant with my first son. i dragged that thing to three different addresses and had one more baby without taking it out of the box before i finally just gave it away to a friend who would actually *use* it.

(silly mom-- she also insisted that i wouldn't last very long with cloth-diapering and *refused* to buy me any cd-ing supplies. now, 3.5 years later, with son #2 wearing the stash that son #1 wore, she's certainly irked that she wasted the $100+ on that pack-n-play!)

so, yeah, in my house, in my family, playpens were not necessary. we just baby-proofed and let the kid go! i would say to just go without one for a while, and if you need it, you can always get it later.

christina


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## DeChRi (Apr 19, 2002)

I agree that you don't Need one. I didn't have one with my first. However, we have one with #2 and I must say, it saved my life some days. She is crawling all over, and is out and about 99% of the time. However, we have a Very high energy and big dog, and there are time I have to hit the bathroom, something like that. She spends about 5 minutes in it, a couple times a day. That being said, she LOVED it. It's the only place she has figured out how to pull herself up in!

I think everyone would agree that it isn't a place to "store" your kiddo for large periods of time. However, depending on the kiddo and situation, they can come in handy every now and then!


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