Playpens
A playpen is a great helper when you are cooking, talking on the phone, or doing other things that also require your attention. A playpen can easily be turned into a cozy place for the little one, with a good thick mattress at the bottom and maybe a stroller bumper tied to the bars. Although a playpen should preferably not become a "babysitter," it is a good solution when things get busy, and for example, the laundry calls :-)
Besides keeping the baby safe, a playpen can actually also be used as a "practice area" for the baby to learn to stand up using the sides of the playpen.
When to use a playpen?
Some families manage without a playpen, but we cannot overlook that it is a great help in everyday life when the little one has started to crawl around and wants to explore all the time. In that way, a playpen also gives you extra peace of mind when you occasionally have other things to do besides following the exploration.
From the time your child is about a month old, it can greatly benefit from a playpen. It can look around and follow the world. The bars should, just like for a crib, be a maximum of 6 cm apart.
Most playpens come with an adjustable bottom, so you can easily set the depth of the playpen. That way, it's easier for you and your back to lift the child out of the playpen when they are still quite small. The larger the child gets, the deeper and lower the bottom is set. At the bottom of the playpen, a thick blanket or mattress is placed, which is both soft for the little one but also insulates against the cold from the floor.
A playpen is also a smart solution when there are older siblings in the house or maybe pets that find it really exciting to have a little one in the family, and where the little one therefore cannot always find peace to rest.
