As your baby grows, so does their motor skills. This means that they will soon be able to play outside of their cot. At around 4 to 6 months, your baby will begin sitting up on their own. Therefore, it is time to plan for a safe play space. This is where baby play pens come in handy.
These are fenced up spaces that help ensure your child stays within a confined space. There are several types of play pens available. For instance, there are those that have a high mesh partitions made of fabric. There are also play pens made with wood, plastic and metal.
How Can I Make Sure My Baby Play Pen is Safe?
Firstly, you need to decide what type of play pen suits your need. There are play pens which are a fixed size, as well as play pens that are expandable and allow you to add partitions. In general, there are a few things to consider when picking a play pen.
- If the play pen is made of wood, make sure that it is sturdy and has strong hinges. It should be made of good quality wood that doesn’t have any splinters or peeling layers.
- Ideally, you should line the floor of the playpen with a soft play mat that’s at least 2.5 centimetres thick to cushion your baby if they fall.
- Make sure there are no sharp metal edges, including for playpens made of fabric. Often times, fabric based playpens have metallic frameworks so you’ll have to check these often.
- If the playpen has a gate, make sure that the mechanism of the lock is secure and out of your baby’s reach.
- If you choose a mesh based baby play pen, do choose a mesh with a small holes that are less than 0.5 cm in width. This is to avoid your baby’s fingers or parts of their clothing like buttons being caught.
- All types of play pens should have rounded edges. Avoid any metallic frames with 90 degree angles.
- If the playpen has toys hanging from string at the top, remove them to avoid accidents from the strings themselves. Alternatively, don’t hang any toys that are dangled from strings on the play pen.
Why Farlin Play Panels Are a Good Idea
Play Panels offer you the flexibility to determine how small or large you want your baby’s play pen to be. If the grow bigger, you can easily expand the play pen with more panels.
These play panels come in three vibrant colours, namely yellow, blue and red. They’re easily attached to one another.
Each panel is designed to prevent climbing by babies, so you can rest assured they won’t be escaping anytime soon.
Where to buy: Mamahood Singapore
Price (Set of 6 panels): $178.00
Price (Individual panels): $39.90
Play Pens Should Be Safe Pens
Experts suggest that you should stop using play pens for your child once they reach 80 cm in height and weigh more than 14 kilograms.
This is because play pens have a limit as to the height and weight of the child they can contain. As your child grows, you should focus on child-proofing your home instead.