Conference moira::parenting_v3

    On the recommendation of my mothers' group, or specifically the leader,
    we purchased the GRACO Pack'n Play. It's the green one with mesh on all
    four sides. We put our daughter in it from 3 months on, sometimes for
    naps, other times just to lay for a minute or two under the play gym. 
    She is now 5 months old, still doesn't move around much, and still
    likes the play gym.  I had also heard about putting a baby in there
    early so they will not protest about going in, and it seems to have
    worked for us.
    
    We have found it to be very handy.  We can put Ellen in it for a short
    while - that's all she'll take, but it gives us a chance to get a few
    things done and not worry about her getting into anything.  It happens
    to be in sight of the TV and I have seen her look up at it!
    
    Lastly, we took it with us on a recent trip and used it as a playpen
    and portable crib and it worked great.
    
    Hope this helps!
    
    Mary

The best thing about a playpen of some kind is that it's a nice safe place
to tuck a baby while you have to have your mind elsewhere, like bringing 
in groceries or fighting with dinner.  Otherwise, its usefulness will partly
depend on your child's personality.

 Kat and David both enjoyed playing
in it -- Kat didn't give hers up until she was about 3, but she had one
of the old-fashioned solid wood kind that was sturdy enough to let her 
climb in and out of it on her own.  Steven couldn't stand it and was never
in it much except for times when he had to be confined in a safe place
for safety reasons.  

--bonnie

    You might want to get one before your child can crawl;
    we got one afterwards, and he never was happy in it.
    
    We were subsequently told by other parents that a baby
    will learn to expect as much space as they get--ours was
    used to whole rooms, so a playpen was too small.  If we'd
    started out putting him in a playpen all the time, he
    wouldn't have minded later on--or so they said.
    
    		-John Bishop

    We used a standard playpen for the house, for the reasons previously
    mentioned, i.e. when bringing in groceries, taking a shower, or keeping
    him out of trouble for 10 minutes.  As a word of advise, buy a terry
    cloth cover for the pad, it keeps the vinyl pad from ripping (I
    replaced the pad twice before getting the cover) plus it great in the
    summer "stickys", and vinyl is soooo cold in the winter, and all you do
    is pull off the cover and toss it in the washer to clean.
    
    I used a Houdini brand for travel and keeping at the sitter's home, it
    folded up so compactly, I did buy an extra standard playpen pad (and
    cover for extra softness).  I'd recommend one of each if you live like
    I did!
    
    Lyn
    

    James went back and forth on the playpen -- but I did put him in
    it for a short while almost every day.  Mostly I used it to keep
    him happy/safe while I cleaned, cooked, put in laundry, etc.
    I plan to start using it much earlier with No. 2.  By 11-12 months
    most babies can't stomach the playpen.
    
    The Graco is a good one, I also have a big "play yard" with folding
    mesh sides that is nice and roomy, surprisingly portable, and not
    too bad for naps.  James used it for naps when visiting till he
    was about 15 months and wouldn't sleep if he could play with his
    cousins!

Evan hated ours, and we have a really big Fisher-Price.  He wanted to be
out of it "where the action is".  We have kept it, with the thought that
maybe we will use it for #2 to protect him/her sometimes from a 
boisterous #1 (if necessary).  We have friends who have done this, and
the baby is able to be kept safely away from the 3 year old who isn't
*always* watching what she steps on, and away from the dog, who may want
to kiss the baby just a little bit too much.  ;-)

The *portable* playpen, on the other hand, has been a godsend.  It has
been great for naps and overnights at other people's houses, as well as
for camping trips when we all sleep in a tent.  This playpen has actually
kept our son a lot drier than we were on rainy nights, when despite our 
best efforts, our tent leaked a *lot*.  Because of the playpen, he was
off of the ground, safe, dry, and warm.

        Carol

    Ryan tolerated the playpen for about 20 minutes each day - his biggest
    treat was standing there fascinated while we vacuumed!  By 8 months he
    was too busy standing outside it, so we put it away by 10 months.
    

    We purchased the Century 36" playpen when Alex was about 3 months (July)
    and never really used it that much (more in the summer on the deck).
    The babysitter would put him in one occasionally so we never really
    worried about him not being used to it.  Well Alex is now nine months
    and we have rediscovered the playpen as a great way for him to pull up
    to standing - he loves it!  He is also learning how to walk along the
    inside by holding on to the padded railing.  Since he is also "creeping" 
    all over the place it's a great place to occupy him for short periods.  
    
    I don't know how long he will stay happy in it, but at this time it
    seems to have been a worthwhile purchase.
    
    Mary
    
     

Based on my personal experience, I don't think a playpen is worth the money.

I got one (Evenflo) for Matt when he was about 4 or 5 months old.  He used
one at his daycare frequently, so he really didn't mind it. But I think he
preferred to be out with us than in it.  He would play in it for short 
periods of time, but not enough to justify the cost of one.  It took up so
much space in our living room, and we used it more as a big toy box than
anything!  He preferred sitting in his walker at that age (even tho his feet
didn't touch the floor).

If I had to do it over again I would either 1) Not buy one at all, or 2) Buy
one and use it when they are much younger (lay them in it to keep them off
the cold floor).

For what it's worth, my sister had a Graco one (the yellow one with the bear
on it) and one day noticed my niece was munching on something. It turned out
my niece managed to get the bolts or screws off of it and had them in her
mouth! (This was about 6 years ago.)

� �ori �

    
    I found it to be a nice receptacle for toys.
    
    Hannah was never particularly happy in it.
    
    Maybe I will try to put baby #2 in it at an earlier age (think I got it
    when H. was around 5 mos. old)--but I don't have great expectations.
    
    Bonnie
    
    

    I'll agree with Bonnie (.-1) .... it was a great place to toss all the
    toys, but that was about it.  Neither kid was interested or happy in
    it, and both were started as infants.  The only time it helped at all
    was to put the baby in his seat, and put the seat in the playpen to
    help protect him from his older brother and the cat.  But then they
    both just joined him, so we folded it up and put it away.
    
    For my kids, it _definitely_ was not worth it.  I would recommend the
    portable type for your child to spend the night at Grandma's or
    something though.  That would've been nice (providing it worked).

    re: .0
    
    Based on the replies here, I'd guess that there's alot of barely
    used playpens out there!   You might be able to take advantage of
    that and pick uo a good, used one for cheap and give it a try for
    your child.   :-)
    
    For what its worth, we used our conventional playpen about two times 
    with our first and only child.   I suspect it might get a bit more
    use if a second child showed up  (too few hands already!).  But we 
    picked it up used so it wasn't a big $$ loss.  We've also had no
    luck using our Pack-n-Play (porta-crib/playpen) as a playpen but
    have used it about a dozen times for overnite. 
                                                  
    Carol

    We never bought one either.  In the pre-crawling days, I would just lay
    or sit Marc down with a bunch of toys spread out on a big quilt.  He
    was very happy to stay where I put him.  Once he started crawling, 
    I wanted him to be able to explore, so I was happy (most of the
    time :-)) to have him all over the kitchen.

    I used a playpen with both of my extremely active kids and am glad I
    did.  I started it when they were babies, mostly to keep them in the
    room with me, but off the cold (hardwood) floor.
    
    As they got older, it was a safe place to put them quickly to answer
    the door, run down and get the laundry, etc.  I put Caileigh in there
    during that impossibly cranky time each night, while I was making
    supper.  She would calm right down and play quietly.  I think after
    being "loose" all day, it gave her a secure feeling.
    
    I used it the same way with Paige, but I also used sometimes as a way
    to keep her away from Caileigh's toys with small parts, etc., when P
    was in the crawling stage.
    
    That's also the first place each stood up.  I took it down when each 
    girl was a year old (mostly to make room for the Christmas tree!).
    
    It was also great for when we were working in the yard.  And it does
    make a great place to throw all the 

    We received our GRACO playpen (Disney characters) as a shower gift.
    
    We put Juli in it at about 3 months (boy, how I hated to set it up in
    the middle of the living room ... but I could watch her from the
    kitchen, living room, dining room, etc.).  We used it quite a bit --
    several times a day ... probably for a total of 3-5 hours/daily.  Juli
    just got used to it.  She'd fall asleep in it, too.  She learned how to
    pull herself up and cruise along the sides ... then cut the corners
    short.
    
    After she started walking "unsupported" (10 months), she wanted
    her freedom.  We then "fought" the playpen, so we decreased the stays
    and the lengths of the stays and this worked out OK for about 2 more
    months.
    
    'Round about one year plus, she really fought the playpen, so it became
    a large toybox (still in the living room).  Visiting friends would put
    their babies in it.
    
    Then we discovered if we put one side down, Juli could climb in it (on
    her terms! -- knowing she could climb out on demand), and she would
    actually play in it for a 1/2 hour or so, out and back in again for
    another play session.
    
    At Christmas (15 months), we took it down for the Christmas tree and
    never put it up again  (Juli now uses her bedroom as her play area).
    
    At the sitter's, Juli naps in her (second) playpen more often than the
    crib.
    
    I know several people who have kept their playpens around as "backup"
    cribs for visiting babies (they're bigger than the port-a-cribs, too).
    
    Dottie
                                                              

    I started putting Christine in the playpen when she was about 3 months.
    She loved it.  There were plenty of toys and there was room to crawl.
     I should mention that we "HAD" a graco.  It was the model with the teddy
    bears on it.  Anyway one morning while I was doing the dishes, it got
    very quiet.  As a parent, you know that isn't a good sign(  must be
    into something).  So I looked in the living room and there she was,
    (she was about 5 or 6 months now). Her head sticking out of the
    netting, trying to get her freedom.  Christine managed to tear a hole
    in the netting(there was no hole there before we had already checked
    before).  I tried fixing it, but each day, the hole got bigger.
    Needless to say, the playpen went into the garbage! Thats my experience
    with play pens!!!!!!!
                            Cheryl