Playpen, Gate or Both?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a dedicated playroom like you and it's wonderful! We've baby proofed it but there is still a pole lamp in there, we are working on other lighting options. So we can have DS in the playroom while I'm making dinner and I can see him, however if I am going to go to the bathroom or to put laundry in on another floor, I feel safer putting him in the playpen. Ours has lights/music stuff on the side and he is totally content playing with toys by himself in the playpen but we don't leave him in there for more than 5-10 minutes.

OP here again, yes it would be ideal if I could see into my playroom from the family room or the kitchen - unfortunately there is a dividing wall so I can't. Her "playroom" was created to be an in-law suite/office so it is set up like a bedroom off of the main floor. So basically we would need to be in there with her, which is fine, but makes it tougher when I want to be in the kitchen to cook dinner for example. I'm not worried about leaving her in there if it were baby proofed, as I could use a baby monitor like I do in her nursery, but my assumption is that she may not want to stay content in there if she cannot see me until she is old enough for independent play one day? That was the reason I was hesitant to create a big baby pen in the playroom alone with her - I doubt she would ever want to be in there without me anyway, so would rather invest the money on a gate for main parts of the house, which also serves a dual purpose with the dog. If I need to do things out of the playroom (cook, pay bills at table, etc.), we can still see each other in the family room.

Trying to get stuff organized. I've been on pinterest all morning looking at creative ways to set a playroom up, and I am getting excited now.

[Anonymous]

We have a fairly small home and just gated off the kitchen and stairs. With a very small kitchen, I typically needed to keep the kids out while I was cooking since it wasn't safe to have them underfoot.

I also kept a pack-n-play in the living room for times when I needed to contain the baby for short periods and couldn't keep an eye on him -- like taking a shower or unloading groceries from the car.

[Anonymous]

OP my 11 month old will play independently for about 15-20 minutes FYI. Not sure how old your child is.

[Anonymous]

My son is really good about playing independently, but I don't think he would have been too keen on the play yard set up. I vote for the gates. Having more space to roam might actually keep her happier with independent play, although I'm sure all if this depends a lot on the personality of the kid in question.