[Cyndi]

Do you have a playpen, what's the pros and cons, any comment? Thanks in advance.

[HKFooey]

I bought a second hand playpen off friends who were leaving HK. I only use it for two functions namely: nappy off time so that my 10 mth old son does not wee all over the floor and when I am in the shower in the mornings as I got trapped in the shower one morning because my son was right up againist the shower door and i could not open the door enough to move him off.

I do not use it other times because my son loves to explore and I like him to do so.

[Niki]

I never had a playpen. But a friend of mine did and when she went to work the helper put the baby in there whenever she wanted slack time. So it is really helpful when you need to take a shower or something but its important to see that it gets used only when it is really necessary. It gets quite restrictive to the baby otherwise.

[Cyndi]

Thank you both for your advice. I think I will probably pass on the idea of getting one in considering of what you have said, plus the fact that it will take up a lot of space in my living room! Cheers

[lynn cheung]

Any ideas on how to make your baby stays longer inside a playpen? My baby (one year old) does not like to be put inside one, and I don't even have time to go to the bathroom when he's awake.

[hkmommy]

Hi! Just wanted to mention that a playpen can be very helpful. We've used the playpen countless times when traveling to visit relatives/friends (as a bed). Also, I incorporated "playpen time" into my son's daily routine at around 3 months old so he could learn to enjoy short spans of time playing alone (started at 5 minutes and he worked himself up to 60 minutes by the time he was 10 months old). I rotate the toys/books daily and play music during this time. He has come to love this time--he actually drags me to his playpen when it's time. I find this great as he has learned to enjoy time alone and I can shower and get things done around the house since I don't have a live in maid. I discreetly check on my son during playpen time. I would caution that its really important not to misuse the playpen by overusing it/neglecting your child. I think the "playpen time" works for my family because my son sees it as a structured part of his daily routine--and he loves routines.

[lynn cheung]

I also don't have a live in maid, and most of the times I'm alone with my baby. Every time I leave him inside his playpen, he'll last only 1 or 2 minutes. I barely have enough time to go to the bathroom, let alone take a shower. When I prepare his tub, he always cries and asks me to pick him up. Sometimes he'll bang his head on the playpen till it's red. So I don't have time to do anything else when he's awake. I'll try your ideas tomorrow. Thanks!

[carmenwong]

I am a work from home mommy and I found the playpen very useful, esp once my baby started rolling over. Now that she is 14 months old and is now walking around exploring her 'world', I don't use it as often as I used to, but then I still find it very useful, esp. when I'm really busy with work or need to use the bathroom. As long as I have enough toys in there to keep her busy, she is happystaying in there.