[myfirstbubba]

Im at the stage of babyproofing my house for my 8 month old, not yet crawling but rolling around. Im tossing up between gates or playpens.

My boy is very tall (76cms) Im concerned that by the time he's pulling up and starting to walk he'll be able to climb over some of the pens as they are around 60cm high. Have you had any experience with this, do you use gates or pens? Mesh or bars?


Thanks for your imput

This post has been edited by myfirstbubba: 09/08/2012, 11:32 AM

[Xiola]

I've always just sectioned areas off like at the moment the kitchen and access to our computer nook are gated off (I actually use a playpen in two parts as I don't have a gate wide enough. I did that with the boys too and just keep bathroom/toilet doors closed so there's no access. Playpens are a bit small I've always thought and have ever used mine for outside while I garden so that our dogs can't get too close. Neither of my boys ever climbed a gate.

[Jess1]

Playpens just didn't work for my daughter as she hated being away from anything that was happening. She would stay in it but only if I was in there as well.

So we ended up taking it apart and using the pieces to section off areas such as the hallway (which went to bedrooms, laundry and bathrooms) and kitchen. I wish I had gone with gates instead as it was always a pain to try and prop up the bits of playpen!

She never climbed over it though and she is tall for her age and a known climber of everything and anything.

[Lil Chickens]

Like PPs I use a playpen to section off areas I want to keep the kids away from rather than penning them in.

I have two playpens o one is opened out blocking off access to our TV and door in the lounge room (where we bring wood in) as it's a pain to get in and out with wood when DS is trying to get out the door too!

I have part of it around our wood heater as it has a wide chimney and brick mount that a regular fire screen wouldn't block off.

The single rewmaining piece I pop between stools to keep DS from the oven when it is on as he is obsessed with it, especially when the light is on!

[Lil Chickens]

Like PPs I use a playpen to section off areas I want to keep the kids away from rather than penning them in.

I have two playpens o one is opened out blocking off access to our TV and door in the lounge room (where we bring wood in) as it's a pain to get in and out with wood when DS is trying to get out the door too!

I have part of it around our wood heater as it has a wide chimney and brick mount that a regular fire screen wouldn't block off.

The single rewmaining piece I pop between stools to keep DS from the oven when it is on as he is obsessed with it, especially when the light is on!

[Eight.years]

Baby gates are useful long after kids stop tolerating a play pen.

[cluckyluckyducky]

I entertained the idea of a playpen, but opted for baby gates in the end. When shopping around, the playpens all seemed so flimsy and easily able to be knocked down / pushed over and also too small for any real use.

We have both bar gates and a retractable meshy type for the one a the bottom of the stairs. We've blocked the entry to the kitchen with a gate (dining / kitchen divide) and also the whole length of the lounge / dining divide, so that DD effectively has the dining room as her playroom. We are lucky that we have another space for our dining table.

[tenar]

As the PPs, playpens start looking really really small by the time your baby is a proficient crawler.

We have both, but mostly we use the gates to section off rooms or areas that aren't safe for baby, or that we don't want her in for whatever reason. One playpen gets used outside because our "garden" (which is mostly concrete driveway - we live in a block of flats) is open to the road and it's impossible to contain her otherwise while I do stuff with the 3yo like hang out washing, etc.

[Guest_~ Pearl ~_*]

Gates, gates 100 x gates.

I bought a huge play pen for my son when he started moving around, he used it for about 6-8 weeks they would throw a screaming fit and try to pull the pen onto himself everytime I put him in.

So now its sitting in our shed and we have installed gates and security latches which are great if people remember to relatch them.

[Beltie]

Play pens are useful for keeping little hands away from the Christmas tree. That's all.