apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I had my portable playpen in my living room set up for the first year. It was a safe and secure place to put my son when I had to go to the bathroom, or do a little laundry. It didn't look that great- brown plaid from Eddie Bauer, but it was useful. He hated those bouncer things, but didn't mind the playpen.

maybe it's just me, but that playpen looks a little like a jail cell.

Ha, pocketgnome! I was planning to type that exact thing.

Ahhh a playpen... finally the truth about all those modern corners and soft heads... baby jail!

Mostly kidding, i'd be all over a playpen or bouncy chair when the time comes.
I like to pee alone yo.

Had my son in Amsterdam, and it's true that everyone keeps one of these baby jails in the living room. They often have a "floor" that can be raised so that when the baby's teeny you don't have to lean so far.

We knew many babies there, and they were all pretty happy with their cell! And their super-amazing strollers. And their totally gorgeous furniture. And their wicked-cool bikes. (Google the word "bakfiets"...you will be amazed.)

The Dutch are great at a few things...design, dairy, and bikes!

was this inspired by a cage for a circus animals?

Also live in and had my child in the Netherlands. Most people with babies here do have a playpen in their apartments/houses. It totally looked like a jail to me at first too, but it's a great aid for the child when learning to stand, handy for when you need to do something alone but need a safe place for baby, lets baby play while you do something else and enjoy the fresh air from the open balcony door. And, in our case, doubles as bed at night when we move our little one from our bedroom to her nook in the living room - we live in a one bedroom apartment.
I have a dark brown wooden Bopita with a handy drawer at the bottom, a hand-me-down from friends. When my daughter wakes up in the mornings, she pulls herself up to stand and starts singing her "get me out of jail" wake-up lullaby. Too sweet.
It's not a must have, but can be very useful.

It is pretty jail like! So do people in the US not use playpens? I thought that was what what pack 'n plays are for. I thought "playard" was just the new, nicer term for a playpen.

heh, I'm glad I'm not the only one who automatically thought 'baby jail'.....

emilymch - I agree with you. US families have had playpens for years and they only recently were called playards.
My mom always raves about how great my sister was in the playpen and it was a big help to my single mom, but I was a stinker and refused to stay in it without pitching a fit. Really showed that different kids will like different things.