Many parents will tell you how big a help a play pen can be when you’ve got a baby. A play pen can be used regularly inside the house or outdoors allowing you to go about your daily tasks safe in the knowledge that your little one is in a secure environment. However, each year many infants, and parents, suffer injuries because of poor play pen safety. This article will give you some tips and products for keeping both you and your baby safe when using a play pen.

Play Pen Safety Advice

The first and most important piece of advice is to avoid leaving your child unattended while in a play pen. Sometimes it’s unavoidable to be with your baby all the time and modern play pens are extremely safe environments for your baby to be but supervision is always recommended. Also try and avoid leaving your baby in a play pen for too long as they need time to move about on the floor and play pens restrict movement.

Avoid using a second-hand play pen or one that has been handed down as it may not meet the current safety regulations regarding design or could have been a product recall by the manufacturer. Buy the latest play pen design and buy new if you can.

Play pens are great for the garden when you want to be outside with your baby as they can watch what you’re doing and interact with the outdoor environment. However, if you take your play pen outside, make sure it’s placed in a safe and shady spot.

Keeping your baby comfortable in their play pen is important but you shouldn’t place extra soft padding in with them. Babies have a tendency to become wrapped up in blankets and bedding and aren’t able to move their head freely leading to breathing difficulties and the potential for suffocation.

Ideally blankets and bedding should not be placed inside the pen with your baby but if you need to keep them to a minimum of one. The padded mattress included with the play pen should be the only padding you use as it’s been designed to perfectly fit the play pen preventing any gaps or spaces where your baby can pull on.

Lindam Safe and Secure Playpen

Many play pen injuries each year are actually to adults. There’s a tendency to lift your baby out of a play pen which can lead to serious back problems. Buy a play pen that has a fully opening door so you can enter the play pen and lift your child properly.

BabyDan Baby Den Play Pen

Play pens are typically built with either slatted sides or meshed sides. If you buy a play pen with slats they should be less than 6.1cm apart to prevent your baby getting their head caught. If you buy a mesh sided play pen, the mesh holes should be less than 0.6cm across to prevent fingers and toes getting caught.

Try to keep hard toys out of the play pen; better to give your baby soft toys to play with. Hard toys can be thrown and potentially bounce back off the sides causing injuries to your child. Your baby may also fall while in the play pen and land on the hard toy hurting themselves. Older children may also use hard toys as a step to climb out of the pen.

Regularly check the play pen for any problems such as loose fittings or tears in the mesh. Modern play pens are extremely well designed and made from strong materials that will give you years of hassle free use but it’s advisable to double-check the integrity of the pen each time you use it.

As your baby grows to become a toddler the play pen can still be used as a safe play area so make it a fun place to be with one of these play tents which will transform any BabyDan Baby Den into a colourful play house.

BabyDen Play Tent