Is a playpen worth it for a 1 year old, or just a cage he'll scream in?

velvet_chai_518628 Oct 2026

On-call week again. Mostly it's quiet, but when a page comes in I need about fifteen focused minutes, and our 1 year old has just learnt to walk along the furniture and pull everything off it. There's usually another adult at home, but not always, and the pager doesn't check. Partner thinks a playpen is the answer. I keep picturing him standing at the bars howling while I try to read logs. Ha. For those who had one: did your kid actually play in it for fifteen minutes, or did it end up as a very expensive laundry basket?

6 comments

umber_compass_988728 Oct 2026
We used one from about 10 months to 18 months. The first week he hated it. What changed things was putting it in the room where we were, not in a corner, and keeping a few 'special' toys only for in there. After that he'd give us 15 to 20 minutes most days. Then he worked out how to climb, so it had a short life ❤️
fern_diary_998228 Oct 2026
We bought one and used it maybe a month. What finally worked was a baby gate across the study door, me inside at the desk and him outside with his toys where he could still see me. Bas, no bars around him, so he didn't feel shut in. Just the other way round :)
apricot_compass_783428 Oct 2026
Same age here and he's just started cruising too. Interested to see what people say.
sage_fern_56328 Oct 2026
Had one for my son. Worked till he learnt to climb out, around 15-16 months. Get a second-hand one, they're not used long enough to justify new.
sage_fern_866228 Oct 2026
ours became a ball pit. he liked it much more full of plastic balls than with toys. didn't stop him wanting out but bought me ten minutes
violet_pomelo_3629 Oct 2026
Mine are 15 and 11, so this is a long way back, but with my daughter we had a play yard in the living room and it worked best for short planned stretches rather than emergencies. If she only went in when I was rushed, she seemed to sense it. Ten minutes in there at the same time each evening, with me close by, made it familiar for the times I really needed it.