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View Full Version : S/O: How old was your child when they outgrew/stopped using their playpen?



conniez
08-11-2009, 04:01 PM
I have to purchase a new playpen because one of the slits for the playpen mattress has turned into a big hole & potential safety hazard. This got me wondering about when most people stopped putting their DC in a playpen and curious about what age most kids outgrew theirs. Graco's height limit is 35", and DD2 is not heavy, but she is tall...hopefully I don't purchase a new one & then she's able to climb out of it within the month!

o_mom
08-11-2009, 04:03 PM
As a playpen? About 15 months or so when I didn't need quite so much containment.

As a travel bed? Around age 3, when they moved out of the crib. (ETA: they could climb out well before that, usually shortly after age 2, but we still used it as a bed)

wellyes
08-11-2009, 05:27 PM
As a "I need 10 minutes to go shower" I stopped right before 12 months. She just stopped tolerating it.

DietCokeLover
08-11-2009, 05:29 PM
DD was able to crawl out of hers just before turning 2, so we had to discontinue with her at that point. DS is 21 months and he could still be in his, but we chose to go ahead and sell both of ours and buy Pea Pod Plus for both of them to travel with. DD for necessity, DS because he couldn't stand for her to have one and he didn't.

sste
08-11-2009, 05:38 PM
DS is 21 months and we still use it daily. We were never able to get him to play or hang out in it but we always put him in it when we need to shower or go to the bathroom. I am paranoid, especially as we live on the third floor and I haven't been able to find window guards to fit our windows (which are now shut all the time :(

MontrealMum
08-11-2009, 06:03 PM
As a playpen - 10 mos. As a bed when travelling - still using it.

tylersmama
08-11-2009, 06:30 PM
DS still sleeps in the pack n'play when he's at his father's or when we're travelling. He's definitely past the height limit, but he squishes himself up when he sleeps anyway and he's never complained about it, so I haven't worried too much. He's still in his crib at home, anyway. One of these days, we're gonna have to figure something new out, though! :p

stillplayswithbarbies
08-11-2009, 06:32 PM
we never used it as a playpen, just as a portable crib. I think she was between 2 and 3 when we got the kid aerobed and retired the pack n play.

brittone2
08-11-2009, 06:50 PM
Neither of my kids were wild about it. With DS I used the changing table/bassinet when he was a very new newborn. After that I only used it occasionally as a place to put him down briefly (he preferred the bouncy seat though, and hated the swing). With DD, I didn't bother bringing it down out of the attic for several months. With both kids, it was most useful for us from say 6-9 months...too old to sit reliably and safely in the bouncy seat while I showered, but they still needed a safe place that was contained. I primarily used it so I could get a shower while they were secured.

Neither kid ever used it for sleeping, but we've had a few houseguests use it for their DC.

Melaine
08-11-2009, 07:16 PM
When my kids started climbing out, I guess maybe 28 months? (I can't exactly remember). Up until then we used it for travel only.

conniez
08-11-2009, 07:35 PM
For those of you who stopped using it before your children were toddlers, what are you using now when you need to cook, use the bathroom, clean, etc.? DD2 doesn't love her playpen, but she is ok in it depending on her mood and she will sleep in it. DH doesn't do a great job of watching her, and I wouldn't feel right letting her walk around unsupervised. Is there a better option for an 18 month old than a playpen?

cvanbrunt
08-11-2009, 08:36 PM
For those of you who stopped using it before your children were toddlers, what are you using now when you need to cook, use the bathroom, clean, etc.? DD2 doesn't love her playpen, but she is ok in it depending on her mood and she will sleep in it. DH doesn't do a great job of watching her, and I wouldn't feel right letting her walk around unsupervised. Is there a better option for an 18 month old than a playpen?

I used the pack and play for a playpen only until they could walk. After that, I just let the girls walk around. The house is kid-proofed as well as it can be so I've always just let them wander. Never had a problem.

conniez
08-11-2009, 08:41 PM
I used the pack and play for a playpen only until they could walk. After that, I just let the girls walk around. The house is kid-proofed as well as it can be so I've always just let them wander. Never had a problem.

Our apt is pretty small & although I childproofed what I could, I still don't feel it's a safe place for her to walk around. I hate this...I so wish we could afford a house already =(

o_mom
08-11-2009, 08:41 PM
I used the pack and play for a playpen only until they could walk. After that, I just let the girls walk around. The house is kid-proofed as well as it can be so I've always just let them wander. Never had a problem.

:yeahthat:

For going to the bathroom for more than a minute, I bring them along. Otherwise, we gated off the stairs and babyproofed the place. I actually used it more to keep the older ones away from the younger one than for fear of the baby getting into something dangerous.

MontrealMum
08-11-2009, 08:55 PM
Once DS started walking, he wouldn't stand for being in the pnp. Our house is pretty well-childproofed, so sometimes I just let him wander. Depends on what I'm doing. I also take him into the bathroom with me, and I put him in the highchair while I'm cooking. Often DH is home by that time, though. Also, our kitchen is gated off from the rest of the house, though he knows how to open that gate now :(

KrisM
08-11-2009, 09:14 PM
We have a playpen, not a pack n play. It's bigger - square with sides all like the long side of a pack n play. It's brightly colored with things on teh wall. It's in our kitchen. DS1 still plays in it each day for a bit. It lets the older kids do puzzles on the floor, or us to play a game, or me to get stuff out of the oven. I think he tolerates it well because it's big enough for him to really move around in and have a handful of toys in.

DietCokeLover
08-11-2009, 09:28 PM
though he knows how to open that gate now :(

That was one of my worst days ever when my kids figured out how to open the gate! It has made certain parts of my day incredibly difficult now.

conniez
08-11-2009, 09:34 PM
We have a playpen, not a pack n play. It's bigger - square with sides all like the long side of a pack n play. It's brightly colored with things on teh wall. It's in our kitchen. DS1 still plays in it each day for a bit. It lets the older kids do puzzles on the floor, or us to play a game, or me to get stuff out of the oven. I think he tolerates it well because it's big enough for him to really move around in and have a handful of toys in.

Is it this one: http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/?asin=B000056C86&ref=tgt_adv_XCQZ0716&AFIDgraco&LNM=0716|merchantlinking|graco|Banner|1x1|20090203 |20120203

I called Graco & asked if they had one that had higher sides, but the rep. said they're all the same with the 35" max. height limit.

conniez
08-11-2009, 09:44 PM
Does anyone know if all of the models have those slits at the bottom that the baby can widen if they keep sticking their fingers in them? I'm wondering if some of the other models have a more sturdy "base" fabric??

o_mom
08-11-2009, 09:46 PM
Is it this one: http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/?asin=B000056C86&ref=tgt_adv_XCQZ0716&AFIDgraco&LNM=0716|merchantlinking|graco|Banner|1x1|20090203 |20120203

I called Graco & asked if they had one that had higher sides, but the rep. said they're all the same with the 35" max. height limit.


Have you looked at something like the SuperYard XT? We used that with DS2 and DS3 for a time so that they could play unmolested by their brother(s). It is bigger than a PNP and the open mesh sides make it easy to attach toys to the sides. We put an IKEA mirror on one panel, used links on other ones to dangle things. They were younger than your DC, but it might be an option for you.

daniele_ut
08-11-2009, 10:57 PM
I never used the playpen for anything but a travel crib for my kids. Our house is relatively childproof, but the kids usually hang out in the kitchen or adjacent living room while I am cooking. They generally follow me all over the house. DD is seriously needy and is rarely more than a foot from my legs, lol! If I need to shower, dd comes in the bathroom with me. DS is almost 5 and is fine for 10 minutes while I am showering.

KrisM
08-11-2009, 11:33 PM
Is it this one: http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/?asin=B000056C86&ref=tgt_adv_XCQZ0716&AFIDgraco&LNM=0716|merchantlinking|graco|Banner|1x1|20090203 |20120203

I called Graco & asked if they had one that had higher sides, but the rep. said they're all the same with the 35" max. height limit.

Yes, that's what we have.

DD is 3 and was 36" at her last check in June. She can get a leg up, but can not get in or out without help.

DS1 is 5 and is 44" and can easily get in and out on his own.

DS2, who is the main user of the playpen, is only 1 and about 29" and has no chance of getting out on his own :).

conniez
08-12-2009, 01:07 AM
Wow you mommies are lucky that your children are relatively behaved when you let your DC roam the house. Even if we had the space, DD2 would be in everything, or hanging from something. When we visit my parents, she likes to make my mom or dad "walk" up the stairs with her & she tries to go off the balcony.


Yes, that's what we have.

DD is 3 and was 36" at her last check in June. She can get a leg up, but can not get in or out without help.


That's too funny...DD has been putting her leg up for some time now, which always cracked us up. She was only able to get her ankle right on top of one of the sides, but lately she's been able to get a whole knee thrown over it (which has me worried)!

maestramommy
08-12-2009, 07:21 AM
Dora finally stopped wanting to take her nap in the PNP shortly before Laurel was born. Or maybe shortly after. Maybe she finally sensed that the mattress was skimpy and her crib was much more comfy. :p

egoldber
08-12-2009, 07:30 AM
you mommies are lucky that your children are relatively behaved when you let your DC roam the house. Even if we had the space, DD2 would be in everything, or hanging from something. When we visit my parents, she likes to make my mom or dad "walk" up the stairs with her & she tries to go off the balcony

Well, our house is pretty kid proof. But my ILs and my mom's house are not. So it is VERY stressful and we don't visit them often. My older DD was fine, but my younger is into everything and she is FAST.

KrisM
08-12-2009, 07:34 AM
For those of you who stopped using it before your children were toddlers, what are you using now when you need to cook, use the bathroom, clean, etc.? DD2 doesn't love her playpen, but she is ok in it depending on her mood and she will sleep in it. DH doesn't do a great job of watching her, and I wouldn't feel right letting her walk around unsupervised. Is there a better option for an 18 month old than a playpen?

While I do use the playpen, I do let him walk around mostly. If I go upstairs for laundry or go to the bathroom, all the kids just walk around. The toys that are inappropriate for DS2 are in the play room with the door closed. There is a gate at the bottom of the stairs. Sure, he could still manange to hurt himself, as could the others, but it's just as likely to happen while I am watching him as not because I am not right next to him all day. Right now, I'm sitting at the computer and he's playing in the family room, for example. My attention is not completely on him and he's fine.

I do take him with me if I need to shower. The older kids are fine by themselves.

If I have to mow the lawn, he gets strapped in a stroller.

but, otherwise, the house is childproof well enough for him to have some freedom.

o_mom
08-12-2009, 08:22 AM
Wow you mommies are lucky that your children are relatively behaved when you let your DC roam the house. Even if we had the space, DD2 would be in everything, or hanging from something. When we visit my parents, she likes to make my mom or dad "walk" up the stairs with her & she tries to go off the balcony.



For us, it's not a matter of well-behaved, but major child-proofing. We have totlocks on all the cabinets that have dangerous stuff. The office with all the computers, etc. is gated. I have no lamps or things that can be pulled down and the things that they can reach are either toys or things I don't care if they play with them.

khalloc
08-12-2009, 10:00 AM
We never used a playpen with either child. I guess I am lax?

MontrealMum
08-12-2009, 12:16 PM
Wow you mommies are lucky that your children are relatively behaved when you let your DC roam the house. Even if we had the space, DD2 would be in everything, or hanging from something. When we visit my parents, she likes to make my mom or dad "walk" up the stairs with her & she tries to go off the balcony.



ITA w/pp. It's not a matter of being well-behaved. In fact, when DS was younger if he could reach it he'd either put it in his mouth, or try to climb it. That's why in our home (which is also very small) we put a lot of things away, and have gated most of the rooms off. I was unable to use the pnp as a containment system after about 12 mos. because he could get out of it (he's very tall for his age). We have latches/locks on everything and locks on our balcony at adult height because he can open doors.

Luckily, my mom's place is fairly well child-proofed as well, but going to the ILs is a nightmare. It would be less so if they would just close some of their darn doors, but they refuse. We deal with large pieces of carved Inuit stone art at a height that he can pull down on himself, pots and pans that MIL kindly showed him in the kitchen, and two bathrooms where he loves to flush the toilets. The TV is large, low, on a much smaller stand that its base with a ton of cords emanating from it. Also the carpet is white throughout and the ILs don't seem to understand that a less than 2 yr. old might not be able to eat peas off the back of a fork yet :D We just don't go there very often.

My advice would be: look at your floor plan. Are there areas/rooms that you could gate off and do super babyproofing in? You can then make other areas off limits w/o adult supervision. For us, it has gotten better as DS has gotten older. Last year, he was sitting in all my mom's plants and trying to swing from the blinds cords at my dad's but those things have lost his interest this year. Our major areas of concern are: unsupervised stairs, doors, major appliances (dishwasher, fridge), and pots and pans. Also, standing on chairs/tables.

vludmilla
08-12-2009, 12:29 PM
DD never really used a playpen except for occasionally at her grandparents house (they have one). She didn't like it too much and I didn't either.

daniele_ut
08-12-2009, 12:56 PM
Wow you mommies are lucky that your children are relatively behaved when you let your DC roam the house.


I don't let my kids "roam the house". They are in an adjacent room or the same room, just not confined. The stairs to the basement are gated, the bathroom door is closed and I am paying close attention while I am doing other things. The reality is that my dd is so clingy that she is usually in my arms when I am trying to do anything anyway.


For us, it's not a matter of well-behaved, but major child-proofing.

This describes us as well. There are no tot locks on the lower cabs in my kitchen yet, but there is nothing in any of them that is dangerous.

AnnieW625
08-12-2009, 01:37 PM
DD never used the pack n play as a play pen she just didn't like it; she liked following me around or playing with a group of toys out on the floor. We didn't have much space to keep our PNP up all the time so that was also part of why she didn't like it as a place space and she did associate it with nap time at daycare. She stopped sleeping in the PNP just after her 2nd birthday.