Pros and Cons of Playpens: Playpen Safety Tips

A playpen is ideal for offering babies their own space in which to play. While using a playpen is not recommended for long periods of time, it can be particularly useful when one has twins, or more than one youngster at home.

Pros and Cons of Playpens - Fabric, Plastic, Wooden Playpens

There are three main types of play pens, including those with fabric sides, made from plastic, and wooden playpens. While wooden playpens may look nice, they do not come cheap and often take up more space. However, the larger floor area associated with wooden playpens may make this type more appealing to babies. If you want to spend less on a playpen, opt for either a plastic or fabric-sided model. The benefit of plastic playpens is that they are very easy to keep clean, although they certainly do not look as nice as a wooden type.

Fabric-sided playpens are simple to store and may also be used as a cot, making this playpen type a sensible option. However, a flip-side to using this style of playpen, is that they do not offer babies bars to pull themselves up.

Playpen Safety Tips

While playpens are a great way to give babies their own secure space, they must be used appropriately and should not be positioned near anything hot. In Baby and Toddler Essentials, Smith highlights key playpen safety tips, to include the following:

- inspect playpen regularly for damage
- never tie anything across the top - may cause strangulation
- do not leave your child unattended in the playpen, unless absolutely necessary
- do not put anything inside the playpen which may be used as a step for climbing out

Benefits of Playpens for Toddlers

There are many benefits of choosing to buy a playpen for your youngster. The main advantage is that it means toddlers have their own place in which to play, away from potential dangers. Key circumstances when playpens are likely to be beneficial, include the following:

- if you have pets who are not keen on being grabbed/pulled
- if other young children are in the home
- keeps toddler toys safe from dogs and vice versa
- if you have twins

As highlighted above, there are many benefits of choosing to purchase a playpen, which primarily helps to keep youngsters safe, offering them a secure place in which to play. While wooden playpens are expensive, the bars provide opportunities to help toddlers pull themselves up. Cheaper types of playpens include plastic or fabric-sided models.