Baby Playpen Safety Tips

The baby playpen is a common sight in many homes and is undoubtedly very useful for parents. However, every year children are injured in their playpens, so when using one there are certain safety guidelines that you need to follow:

One of the most important guidelines is to avoid leaving your child unattended at any time while in the baby playpen. In practice, if followed to the letter this guideline would remove one of the main benefits of the playpen, namely as a temporary safe refuge for the baby while its parent visits the loo, answers the door or puts a load of washing into the machine. This is a different matter, however, from leaving the baby unsupervised in the playpen for longer periods, which is not recommended at all.

It can be tempting to construct your own wooden playpen, or perhaps us a family heirloom that is many years old. The problem with both of these options is that the baby playpen may not adhere to the latest safety regulations. For example, wooden sides can be rough, sharp or hard. Similarly, gate hinges may pinch little fingers if they are not manufactured with playpen use in mind. Finally, the slats of the playpen sides need to be no more than about six centimetres apart, so that tiny hands cannot get trapped. These are just some of the considerations that need to be taken into account if you are thinking of using an old or home-made playpen.

Even with a modern playpen, one that has passed rigorous safety tests, you need to keep your eyes open. Make sure that your baby has not chewed through any of the fabric parts, and keep a look out for structural damage or wear, especially when your baby starts to grow stronger and begins to give the playpen more of a physical workout.

Be careful what you put into the playpen, especially during the early months. Bedding should not be used at all, because of risk of suffocation. Only the mattress supplied with the playpen should be used, although it is perfectly acceptable to leave toys in the playpen provided they are suited to the baby's age. However, if the child is able to stand, don't place any toys in the playpen that the child could stand on top of to climb out.

If you follow these few safety tips, your baby playpen will be a useful safe haven during the early part of your child's life.