Does anyone think playpens are kind of...cruel?

[Melissa_M]

OMG the pics with the babies out the window makes me dizzy I would never trust anything that much Scary!

 

[youngmommy2]

Is a play pen cruel. Do you know the definition of cruel?

Cruel-
1.willfully or knowingly causing pain or distress to others.
2.enjoying the pain or distress of others: the cruel spectators of the gladiatorial contests.
3.causing or marked by great pain or distress: a cruel remark; a cruel affliction.
4.rigid; stern; strict; unrelentingly severe.

Placing a child in a safe playpen with toys for them to occupy themselves is not even close to cruel. If you were putting your child in a dog cage then yes that would be cruel. Beating, smacking or pinching your child is cruel. I don't even see how you can say that a play pen is cruel. I really don't.

 

[SillyMoo1983]

I don't think playpens are cruel at all. We have one and she goes in there when I go to the loo, hoover, cook or shower. I don't trust the cleanliness of our hard floors (husband is a farmer) to have her crawling on them too much. Also the loo is not a clean place for her. She is scared of my hairdryer so I have to go into a different room to use it! The cat is not safe from her curious hands. I can't leave her for a minute in a room as there are lots of hazards. When she is in her playpen I can hear her at all times and she chats away and plays with her toys. She rather enjoys it. Most of all, she is SAFE. Her jumperoo has lost its charm now she's 11 months old as she used to go in that. Playpen gives her much more freedom.

 

[loverguts]

Woah.
I didn't expect such a response, although like someone else said - i guess i should have really when using the words 'playpen' and 'cruel'.

I'd like to clarify that i think its cruel to see someone i know leaving her LO in one for hours on end, i didn't say its cruel to leave a baby in there while you have a wee or do the washing up . And ok...so i personally don't like them, but i asked for reasons why others use them so i could maybe change my way of thinking.

I didn't call anyone a bad mum for having one, so im not sure why certain people have gone way OTT with their replies

I will re-think in future before asking any more questions. It was a truly innocent question and i didn't intend to rile anyone up just because i don't like playpens

 

[Jaylynne]

Well... You did call a tool a lot of us use as cruel and didn't separate looong hours vs as needed.

I really don't think one can keep a baby in any toy, bouncer, playpen etc they don't want to be in for long because they would cry their heads off. If the baby is happy and content, why change it? It's cruel if they left their baby in while he was screaming forever. I leave lo in his bouncer because he loves it. I try to get him to do other activities and he shows me he doesn't like that idea lol.

 

[PepsiChic]

so what would be more cruel?

letting my baby get burnt while holding it while cooking? or leaving my toddler to terrorize it? or putting the baby in the play pen with some safe age appropriate toys?

honestly i think this thread is quite rediculous

 

[robinator]

so what would be more cruel?

The fact that I feel a constant, neurotic need to keep checking this thread.

 

[Jaylynne]

so what would be more cruel?

The fact that I feel a constant, neurotic need to keep checking this thread.

Bahaha me too... There should be an AIM style chat section for those who are on here late... Usually the US ladies...

 

[robinator]

^^See? I saw there was a new post and HERE I AM.......

 

[whit.]

Cruel would be not feeding my child, beating her, or abandoning her.

Putting her in her playpen, (which she loves), for even an hour or so, to play with her toys while I can get things done around the house, not cruel.

 

[JASMAK]

K used her a bit...mstly when I fixed dinner. She liked it...she had lots of toys etc. i think it would be cruel if I left her there when she was howling...but, that would be cruel for anywhere. It was also great for outside! This is before she was mobile.

 

[kerrie24]

I havent had one for any of my 3.I have never had safety gates either,they've never came to any harm.
I wouldnt say they were cruel if used correctly.If the baby is happy to sit in there for 15 minutes with some toys while you get something done then thats totally different to dumping them in there for hours on end so you dont have to get up and look after them properly,which sadly Ive seen done in a few cases.

 

[sapphire1]

My little monkey needs to be kept in a cage!! We have 2 playpens, one in the kitchen and one in the living room. Here in Italy they are called a box!! I was given both of them by family members, not sure I would have gone to the expense of buying one if we hadn't been given them. However, they are proving to be quite necessary now and again. My LO is crawling and cruising and extremely active and constantly getting into scrapes such as crawling behind the sofa and getting stuck or trying to do gymnastics on the bars of the chairs . We have tiled floors throughout our house and the house is not baby-proof at all. I'm with LO 24/7 and follow her about the whole house as she explores. I put her in the play pen when I have to go to the toilet and that's about it. Mostly I'll shower, do chores and cook while she's sleeping so I can play with her when she's awake. However, there are odd times when I need a safe place to put her for a couple of minutes. Once she's bored of being in there (usually after about 5mins) then she lets me know. She prefers to be in there than in her carrier now that she can crawl she just wants to be on the floor the whole time. I think that as long as your baby is happy and safe then it doesn't matter what you do. For those of you who have managed without a playpen where do you put LO while you go to the loo?

When Maria was younger I took her to the loo with me. Then when we moved and the loo was too small to fit her in with me I just left the door open so we could see each other and now I shut the door and go to the loo in peace and she does her own thing.

The only time I wished I had a playpen was when we were moving house and needed to contain Maria while we were packing boxes and moving them out to the cars. Poor girl had to spend all day in a box

You did make her sleep in a box though too Nats I am using my playpen on overtime at the moment. We are moving house, so there is chaos and mayhem and boxes everywhere. Holly is obliviously tucked up in the playpen watching cbeebies. Although not now obviously, cos I am sitting on my bum on the internets instead of packing.

 

[Natsku]

My little monkey needs to be kept in a cage!! We have 2 playpens, one in the kitchen and one in the living room. Here in Italy they are called a box!! I was given both of them by family members, not sure I would have gone to the expense of buying one if we hadn't been given them. However, they are proving to be quite necessary now and again. My LO is crawling and cruising and extremely active and constantly getting into scrapes such as crawling behind the sofa and getting stuck or trying to do gymnastics on the bars of the chairs . We have tiled floors throughout our house and the house is not baby-proof at all. I'm with LO 24/7 and follow her about the whole house as she explores. I put her in the play pen when I have to go to the toilet and that's about it. Mostly I'll shower, do chores and cook while she's sleeping so I can play with her when she's awake. However, there are odd times when I need a safe place to put her for a couple of minutes. Once she's bored of being in there (usually after about 5mins) then she lets me know. She prefers to be in there than in her carrier now that she can crawl she just wants to be on the floor the whole time. I think that as long as your baby is happy and safe then it doesn't matter what you do. For those of you who have managed without a playpen where do you put LO while you go to the loo?

When Maria was younger I took her to the loo with me. Then when we moved and the loo was too small to fit her in with me I just left the door open so we could see each other and now I shut the door and go to the loo in peace and she does her own thing.

The only time I wished I had a playpen was when we were moving house and needed to contain Maria while we were packing boxes and moving them out to the cars. Poor girl had to spend all day in a box

You did make her sleep in a box though too Nats I am using my playpen on overtime at the moment. We are moving house, so there is chaos and mayhem and boxes everywhere. Holly is obliviously tucked up in the playpen watching cbeebies. Although not now obviously, cos I am sitting on my bum on the internets instead of packing.

Cheaper than buying a moses basket

 

[_jellybean_]

Woah.
I didn't expect such a response, although like someone else said - i guess i should have really when using the words 'playpen' and 'cruel'.

I'd like to clarify that i think its cruel to see someone i know leaving her LO in one for hours on end, i didn't say its cruel to leave a baby in there while you have a wee or do the washing up . And ok...so i personally don't like them, but i asked for reasons why others use them so i could maybe change my way of thinking.

I didn't call anyone a bad mum for having one, so im not sure why certain people have gone way OTT with their replies

I will re-think in future before asking any more questions. It was a truly innocent question and i didn't intend to rile anyone up just because i don't like playpens

I don't really think people went "OTT" with their responses. The title of the thread is "Does anyone think playpens are cruel?" You go on to say they look like a mini-prison. I think that posting something like that could cause people who use them to feel insulted, because no one wants to look at it like they're putting their child in a prison. I just think that it was your choice of words that caused you to get so many responses.

Many people use them out of necessity. Some homes can't be childproofed because it's impossible b/c of the layout of the house.

 

[Ozzieshunni]

I agree. It was the word choice. If you meant are they cruel for extended periods, you should have worded your OP differently.

 

[eulmh82]

I agree it's like putting them in a mini prison - however we are getting a travel cot which doubles up as a playpen and IO have thought when he's moving around and I need the loo he will go in there. it's for his own safety not so I can sit on my ass and watch tv

 

[whit.]

Honestly, I use mine more now that she's mobile than I did when she wasn't mobile. She doesn't hate it, she plays with her toys. I don't leave her in there if she doesn't want to be in there.

Mobile babies are hard work and exhausting! If I didn't have her pack and play to put her in for a little while, I'd NEVER get a 5 minute break to sit and just breathe! It keeps me sane most days.

 

[maria2611]

I don't think they are cruel at all. We don't have one, but have been looking into getting one since he has started crawling for the rare occasions that we need somewhere safe to put him whilst we do something. I don't agree with people sticking the child in there for hours, but on the odd occasion to keep them safe it is perfectly fine.

 

[Ozzieshunni]

Is this thread still going?