Gates or Playpen?

[vintagegyrl]

Do u use mostly baby gates or a playpen in your house?
We have a 3-level split with a very wide entrance way. It is super-costly to use gates, so we have playpens in each room. (bought cheap off craigslist or other) I have 2 older boys who may/may not be able to open the gates to go from room to room.

However, now that DD is standing, etc. she is really fussy in the pens. I keep changing her toys, giving her things, but nothing works.
DD is fine in them as long as it isn't a teething day for her. Which is most days, LOL.

Just wondering what everyone's strategy is.

[jac1976]

I used baby gates. I am not a fan of play pens/play yards at all. I think kids need more room than that. We childproofed our entire house and had baby gates at the top/bottom of the stairs. Now that DD can handle the stairs, I still use the baby gates b/c I like her to be on the same floor as I am on.

[beautiful8]

we use baby gates, he has been climbing out of the pack and play since 18 months.

[erin13]

I have a split level house too, so I feel your frustration! I gate off our living room and that gives him a wide open play area, I also gate off the steps entry way, but the large entry way is gate free. If he's playing up there, we are usually skirting after him. I've priced those BIG gates and they're crazy $$$
Good luck!

[Celeste]

I use the super yard xt, so it's more like a fence. Kind of like a kid corral! I like that it's enough space for the kids to crawl around in & move from toy to toy without just sitting there. You can also purchase an extender kit.

[oscarandbabys]

gates all the way!

i agree with the other mama, playpens are just so small!!

maybe you could just gate off the family room? we had to buy 3 different gates, its expensive but so worth it!:thumbsup:

[ericandash]

I think no matter what you will have to invest in some kind of gate system. You can't keep her in the playpen forever. She is going to want to be walking around in no time! My dd never would do a playpen, she is so active :) Good luck mama! Maybe you could find a reasonable gate on craigslist too!

[Skittle]

I agree with other mamas. We have gates :goodvibes:

[THBVsMama]

I voted baby gates. I am not a fan of playpens.

[Len27]

no way in heck would my 10 mos old tolerate a playpen. We have a raised bungalow though, so only have one gate at the top of the stairs. My friends have a sidesplit and as soon as their DD could crawl they taught her how to manage the stairs, though they gated off the main flight. But if you only have lots of little up and down levels (like a few steps each) I would teach DD how to navigate them.

[Ashlovespat]

I have the playyard, and my babies loved it when they were young, but once they started scooting, even that they started hating being confined in. So now we use IT as baby gates...half of it gates off our living room so they can't get to the entryway, computer desk and tv, the other half blocks the bookcases, and we have a baby gate to the kitchen entry.

[chickenmonkeybaby]

Ok after reading the responses, I am apparently the only mom who does not use anything.:giggle2:

[cassieJJ]

We have a one lvl apartment and only have one gate. I do wish that we had another one, but we just can't afford it.

[shelbell]

Ok after reading the responses, I am apparently the only mom who does not use anything.:giggle2:

Nope, we don't use anything either. I used a gate when I had a dining room that was unsafe but we child proofed it and no gates now. We may gate again when dd moves to a toddler bed but we'll gate to include our room and hers.

[inhomecare]

I don't use anything either. If I need to do something in another room, I will just put my dd in a sling or other carrier and take her with me.

[dencakes]

Baby gates are so the deal! We can increase or decrease parameters in our home according to need. As our baby gets older and more coordinated, we widen the area that he is allowed to roam. He loves the new freedoms and areas that he can explore.

[tallanvor]

With my oldest we didn't use much at all. In our first apartment we had a gate across the kitchen, but that was more to keep her out while I was cooking or cleaning as the space was sooooo incredibly tiny. We moved out of there when she was about a year and then we just had a gate at the top of the stairs because she went into a toddler bed at a year. This way I didn't have to worry about her if she got up before me or if she got up during the night, as she had to pass the stairs to get to our room. Didn't add anything with DS until we moved into a house, and then the gate was in the hallway only at night because they could open the doors to the house. He was a little over 2 when we stopped using the gates. When my youngest came along, the gate pretty much stayed in Aiden's doorway because the Lego's lived in his room. But YDD had run of the rest of the house.

[Janine]

Gates all the way for us. We have a pack n' play in the master bedroom that we put her in if we have to use the restroom, but we rarely do that. It is just too small for her to crawl around or practice walking for us to put her in there for more than a few minutes. So we decided to gate off a play area for her instead. We have two living rooms in our house right next to each other and we completely emptied out one of them except for a soft couch, baby-proofed it, and put gates up in the two walkways and that is now her play area. It is right next to the kitchen and the other living room, and visible from the laundry room. She can play and crawl all around the room and if we need to cook dinner or do laundry or anything like that we can still watch her while we do. It also has become the home for all her toys. I'm so happy that we have the floor plan that we do, because it has allowed us to make a play area that is perfect for her and us.

[tnt1014]

We only have one gate that we actually use. It' block's the hallway which also includes the bathroom and laundry room off of the hall way. Skylynne wants nothing to do with the playpen as she is kept in one ALL the time at bio mom's house.

I agree with the PP about the superyard. We have one but rarely use it but that is only becuase our home lay out allows it. You can buy extension kits or even another gate to make it as big or as small as you like. We found ours on craigslist for not too much

Terri

[burnsis]

Ok after reading the responses, I am apparently the only mom who does not use anything.:giggle2:

I don't either:giggle2:

[GEMQEMCABOOSE]

We use both, they are for very different purposes. Gates control flow from danger like stairs or bedrooms/bathrooms when children have the privilege to free range and a parent is nearby. Playpens teach children to play contently with what they've been given and receive boundaries. Its an extremely valuable skill in my opinion and teaches a wealth of skills that are useful for years. We use the playpen at specific times a day when I am occupied elsewhere. When I am cooking dinner and lunch, or when I have to step outside for a minute (repairmen, older child, delivery, etc...). We started with short intervals in there like 5 or 10 minutes and have built up to 45 minutes when necessary. I think they both are valuable and serve totally different purposes.

[PipersMomma]

gates :) The only time dd goes in the playpen is if im in the bedroom getting ready to lay her down for bed while im changing.

[smom0508]

I use the playpen, though DD is only 9 mos. She's still trying to walk and standing up and crawling everywhere super fast :giggle: and sometimes when I can't wear her in my Babyhawk that's where she goes. She doesn't always like it, but I do like that I can pull her close to me while I'm cooking dinner instead of her being on my back and trying to reach for everything with me being super paranoid that she's going to hurt herself.

[lemurmommies]

Ok after reading the responses, I am apparently the only mom who does not use anything.:giggle2:

I don't either. DS is 2.5, and we never owned a baby gate. They playpen was something we used for naps/bedtime when we were traveling, never for playtime and such during the day.

[CandiceN]

I use both. I have a pack n play on each floor of the house, but also gates that block off the unsafe areas. He's in the PNP when I'm doing things like cooking or emptying the dishwasher, and runs around otherwise.

[momof_2girls]

We use gates only in our house! The ONLY time I've ever used a playpen was when we went camping and dd was only a few months old. We got all of our gates off craigslist and one came from a 2nd hand store.

[ShyDaisi]

Nothing.

I taught Micah how to go up and down the stairs before he even learned to walk. He was always supervised, but I wanted him to know how in case he ever was drawn to them when my back was turned. Oddly enough, since they weren't a taboo item, he was rarely interested unless we were going from one level to the other for a purpose.

Other than that, I took everything that I was attached to out of his reach, but let him explore. Books were left on the shelf, cabinets and drawers were left unsecured, etc. There are a lot of messes for us to clean up together, but for the most part, it works for us.

I am having more of an issue now that he is older and can drag his chairs around the house and use them to reach higher areas. Anything under the height of 5 feet is fair game, which gives me little to no hiding areas now. I thought about getting a gate so that I would have more "me" room, but that would only work if I am in the area he is contained to.

[proudmomma4]

I've never used a playpen with any of the kids. I use a gate when they become mobile (scooting/crawling), up until around 1year. I then have the house babyproofed and take the gates off. (no stairs here).

[The Fancy Pansy]

I voted other. We have a baby gate to the hall, but we have a playpen that we've used frequently until dd started crawling. But at the moment, my house is set up with a "baby perimeter" around the living room...meaning, I have a baby gate, a wooden trunk, and the playpen set up so she can't get out of the living room unless I let her. :mrgreen: It's been a life saver, and everything moves back into place and out of the way in about 30 seconds with minimal effort.

[Jollymom]

Gates for sure. I like letting the kids explore and not being locked up in one small area.

[luvsviola]

We own 6 gates and one playpen. :) The playpen was time out.

[kat1205]

I did other cause my vote is both!

[HadassahSukkot]

We live in a one level apartment that is ... um.. big.

We use a combination of baby gates (right now two - saving up to get more) and the crib and playpen.

When it comes to the living/diningroom - I can keep an eye on him enough and convince him to stay in the room with me.

However, the kitchen - he tends to dissappear out of - so we try first using the baby gates in the bedroom (by our kitchen) to contain & allow him room to roam and play. If he gets extremely quiet or I know he's doing stuff he isn't supposed to - into the playpen or crib he goes. Same if I am in the room with him and redirection x 100 has occurred.

When it comes to our hallway, the rule is that he has to hold my hand to go where we're going (usually bathroom).

He's not allowed out of either bathroom without me or DH, unless the other parent is home and can help monitor him... anything could happen since we're still babyproofing the house, and moving things around.

For me, the playpen saves my sanity, because as high needs as the little guy is, he is verrrrrrrrrrry smart - and I get exhausted. I have a small thyroid so lots of stress impacts my health. Being able to put him in there and give him a blanket and toys to play with, helps immensely. Usually he'll play quite happily, or even take a nap - which means I can get household stuff done or plan for us to go out later in the day. :)

When I wasn't pregnant, I did wear him a lot come nap times, so that he could relax and slow his mind down enough to actually sleep. Once he was out, he went down to rest near me (either in the pen or on the couch/chair with me).

When he was crawling lots, the pen did not work. However, once he started walking, he was more content to be put in there when things got too overwhelming