Playpens

A generation or two ago, baby playpens were large unwieldy things made of wood. It took up all the back space of a station wagon and took considerable muscle to heft from one place or another. After throwing all their toys out of the pen, the baby would hang his head and hold onto the bars, looking sorrowful. Young women used to comment that they would never put their baby in a jailish-looking thing.

Times change, thank goodness, and so have playpens. Softer construction, lighter weight, and easier to transport, baby playpens are much more welcoming to baby.

With playpens being made more for babies, they are, in effect, being made for parents. There are the large baby playpens that can hold nearly every toy the baby owns, there are large baby playpens for the older tot, and smaller playpens for the infant. There is also a mattress for baby playpens for that extra soft touch, ideal on a family trip where the playpen doubles as sleeping space.

Buying used baby playpens is a money-saving option, but care must be taken, to inspect every inch of the pen to make sure nothing is loose, broken, or ripped. A well kept, clean used playpen is usually worth the investment. Looking for good deals on a baby playpen? Just remember, a cheap baby playpen is usually just that. Buy new or buy top-quality, gently used playpens.

The careful parent will also take a bit of time online and check out consumer ratings of baby playpens. Baby portable playpen users among your friends can assure you of the ease, and usefulness of a playpen when traveling with baby.

Lately there has come onto the scene a new kind of playpen that caters to and protects those among us who are helpless, fragile, and need continual care: Alzheimer’s patients.

People might think of adult baby playpens the way they thought of those old baby’s wooden playpens—that they are unkind at best and abusive at worst. This is very far from the truth. Alzheimer’s patients wander away, sometimes with tragic circumstances. They can get into dangerous situations, injuring themselves and sometimes others. In a nutshell, they must, as babies, be watched over all the time for their own protection. When they cannot be, the equivalent of an adult baby playpen is the answer. It is certainly better than the restraints that have been used for many years. Restraints are the equivalent of being tied to a bed or a wheelchair. Looked at it in this context, an adult baby playpen offers them a modicum of freedom and free movement. Perhaps it is not the best alternative, but it’s certainly a better one.