[baileybunny]

Our bub is now at the age (7mths) and level where he wants to grab absolutely everything, phones, remotes, car keys, glasses, you name it if he sees it he needs to grab it and put it in his mouth or else its tantrum time!!

Anyway, we have tiled floors in our lounge room and now that he can stay in a seated position (he can't get himself from laying down to seated just yet but we can sit him up and he stays that way till he crawls or rolls), and he can pull him self along with his hands but not crawl fully yet, and also roll places. Anyway, we got him this big rubber fisher and price play mat, because he was sitting up and fell back (even though we had a doona out) and hurt his head and cried.

Problem is he pulls himself along to the edge of the play mat and then starts to roll so he is going to hit his head on the tile floor still. What do you do in this situation? Supervise him like a hawk while he is on the floor on his own? Obviously we can't just let him keep hitting his head on the floor and bumping it.

I was thinking about getting a plastic play pen like a Jolly Kidz one, that we can keep the mat down and then enclose his play area with the plastic fence stuff whilst we need to quickly go to the kitchen or let the dogs in or something..either that or get him a helmet to wear!

Is that really all you can do, or what have others done to help them keep bub safe during this stage? Not sure how long it will be before he is really crawling, pulling himself upright and walking etc whether this is more a temporary measure we need to implement or if we get a playpen whether it might last at least 6-12months...

[lilsunniegirl]

My DS loves getting into all sorts of trouble and then hurting himself (i think my sig says it all!) put him on a rug, he finds the tiles, corner of the coffee table etc etc

we picked up a second hand plastic play pen.. its 2.4 x 2.4 so pretty big, popped down those rubber mats and he plays in there.. our house it tiled throughout except bedrooms.

A friend of mine has a helmet for her little one, but hasnt really used it..

I spend alot of time in the playpen with DS, so he isnt just stuck in there all the time by himself.. its been good too as there lots of toys he can practice cruising in, and motor skills etc

[noi'mnot]

We've got floorboards, not as hard as tiles I know.

When mine was little she learned that if she went off the rug and onto the boards it was cold and she could donk her head. It didn't take her too long. I couldn't and didn't want to stop her from exploring (and really couldn't be bothered with a playpen), and it's part of learning about environment. She's never been badly hurt, nothing a little cuddle and kiss couldn't fix.

[laridae]

They do learn pretty quick. It took 2 weeks from my DD sitting unassisted to crawling, then another week to learn how to transition between the two. And a week or so later she was standing (holding on to things).

We have mostly floorboards but hard tiles in the kitchen. We just used to large rug for her main area. She did bump her head a few times on the hard parts - but she learned very quickly not to!

[Mel_F]

we have tiles and when DD was learning to crawl she had a few tumbles and hit her head, but she soon learnt to catch herself. We do have a large rug in the lounge room but she prefers to explore on the tiles (whole house is pretty much tiled).. Now we just need to work out how to stop her from climbing the TV cabinet! Its hard but I think you have to let them fall themselves so they learn, once I started doing that instead of catching her every time she's had a lot less major bumps.

[Jenflea]

re the TV cabinet, I bought a 6 sided play pen from a baby store and use 3 sides to put a fence in front of the tv cabinet(and all the fascinating DVR's and playstations etc)
The 2 sides are at a slight angle and it works a treat. Wasn't cheap(maybe $180) but we also have one wall of the set tied in front of my husband's computer on the floor so she can't get under the desk.

[Princess.cranky....]

Let him go. Trying to stop baby from exploring and making them stay on a padded mat is impossible. He will soon learn not to bang his head.

I had one child learn to crawl/walk on a wooden floor and two on tiles. We had many bumps and bruises but I did not stop watch them like a hawk/stop them exploring. I just let them go and removed anything they shouldn't be having.

The only use the playpen had here was for the Christmas tree in! You would not get 6-12 months use out of it, more likely a few months. He might be crawling and even walking soon- once that happens the playpen will be over. He will not like being contained when he is on the move.

Bumps and bruises are all part of life when baby gets on the move. There is little you can do to stop it. Be prepared for bumps and bangs to get even worse when you have a toddler! My 20 month old had massive egg/busing on her forehead last week and it's not the first time that has happened. We always have someone getting hurt around here but it's all part of life with kids.