Child herding?
June 10, 2011 10:52 PM Subscribe
Tiny Human Containment Strategies
So.... the kid is crawling now. Kind of like one of those remote control cars that goes full speed in one direction, and can only reverse and turn at the same time when they hit something in their way. Cute until you realize that within 5 seconds she can be 10 feet away.
We have 2 cats and a dog, all of which she aims for when crawling, we need to sort of keep them separated, and occasionally she needs to be able to be free range-ish while we do things like get a drink of water or blink. We need some kid containment...strategies...gear...etc. My suggestions of putting her in a harness and running a line from one end of the room to the other were met with stares and questions around my suitability both as a parent and life partner.
Has anyone had any success with kid corrals ...or something similar? We may be reduced to baby gating off a section of the house, but the houses current configuration doesn't lend itself to that terribly readily, and we're moving within a month so something that can be adjusted to fit multiple locations is ideal.
So.... the kid is crawling now. Kind of like one of those remote control cars that goes full speed in one direction, and can only reverse and turn at the same time when they hit something in their way. Cute until you realize that within 5 seconds she can be 10 feet away.
We have 2 cats and a dog, all of which she aims for when crawling, we need to sort of keep them separated, and occasionally she needs to be able to be free range-ish while we do things like get a drink of water or blink. We need some kid containment...strategies...gear...etc. My suggestions of putting her in a harness and running a line from one end of the room to the other were met with stares and questions around my suitability both as a parent and life partner.
Has anyone had any success with kid corrals ...or something similar? We may be reduced to baby gating off a section of the house, but the houses current configuration doesn't lend itself to that terribly readily, and we're moving within a month so something that can be adjusted to fit multiple locations is ideal.
The word you are looking for might be 'playpen', btw, if words like 'corral' and 'harness' are off-putting to your partner. It might also be a good word to look for things on Craigslist etc.
posted by Lady Li at 10:58 PM on June 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Lady Li at 10:58 PM on June 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
Also search for "wide" baby gates on Amazon if you have a big entrance you need to block. We were able to just corral our kid in the living room - it was easier to completely child-safe a single room - and it kept her completely isolated from the kitchen/bathroom/front door.
posted by gnutron at 11:05 PM on June 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by gnutron at 11:05 PM on June 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: "Playard" or "play yard" - basically, a hexagonal plastic fence you can stick the baby in for maximum containment. Of course, companies use the same term for portable cribs, so there's some sifting to do in search results, but "baby fence" works well as a search term also.
Play Yard at Amazon
posted by annathea at 11:06 PM on June 10, 2011 [3 favorites]
Play Yard at Amazon
posted by annathea at 11:06 PM on June 10, 2011 [3 favorites]
I feel your pain.
First of all, my kids' rooms are totally baby-proof. I did this so that if they managed to get out of their cribs in the night they couldn't hurt themselves. No shelves that can tip over, no corded things that can be pulled down. I not only put those plastic things over the outlets, I put duct tape over the plastic things.
Then if I need a moment (like to use the bathroom) I could put the little monster in his crib and not worry about him. When they were a little older I could get things done by putting a baby gate up between the hallway and the living room. The kids couldn't open the doors, and with their toys in the hall with them they had their own little play room. They could see me (our kitchen was open to the living room too) and I could see them. When they got even older I would open up their bedroom door so they could play in their room and the hallway.
With my youngest I had an 'exersaucer' which was pretty great too. He freakin' loved that thing. It was also great for containment when I needed the kid to be in one spot without moving. By the time my youngest came the older two were big enough to figure out that the baby gate could be opened, so I needed something a little more secure. They liked helping little brother escape.
posted by TooFewShoes at 11:15 PM on June 10, 2011
First of all, my kids' rooms are totally baby-proof. I did this so that if they managed to get out of their cribs in the night they couldn't hurt themselves. No shelves that can tip over, no corded things that can be pulled down. I not only put those plastic things over the outlets, I put duct tape over the plastic things.
Then if I need a moment (like to use the bathroom) I could put the little monster in his crib and not worry about him. When they were a little older I could get things done by putting a baby gate up between the hallway and the living room. The kids couldn't open the doors, and with their toys in the hall with them they had their own little play room. They could see me (our kitchen was open to the living room too) and I could see them. When they got even older I would open up their bedroom door so they could play in their room and the hallway.
With my youngest I had an 'exersaucer' which was pretty great too. He freakin' loved that thing. It was also great for containment when I needed the kid to be in one spot without moving. By the time my youngest came the older two were big enough to figure out that the baby gate could be opened, so I needed something a little more secure. They liked helping little brother escape.
posted by TooFewShoes at 11:15 PM on June 10, 2011
Harnesses have a vital place in preventing child peril. If my toddling niece didn't have a harness, she'd run RIGHT AT the fun shiny zooming 40mph cars every time we walked to the park.
She's too big to be carried everywhere, it's unfair to keep her in a buggy all the time, and you can't grip the hands of a wildly energetic toddler firmly enough to prevent escapes into danger.
There are adjustible stair/doorway gates and at a pinch, and you can improvise barriers (Although they often become trip hazards for the adults in the house stepping over them...). A play pen is a lot of fun for everybody - baby gets to play with all its toys independently, parents get to turn their backs for more than 0.5 seconds.
posted by NoiselessPenguin at 11:27 PM on June 10, 2011
She's too big to be carried everywhere, it's unfair to keep her in a buggy all the time, and you can't grip the hands of a wildly energetic toddler firmly enough to prevent escapes into danger.
There are adjustible stair/doorway gates and at a pinch, and you can improvise barriers (Although they often become trip hazards for the adults in the house stepping over them...). A play pen is a lot of fun for everybody - baby gets to play with all its toys independently, parents get to turn their backs for more than 0.5 seconds.
posted by NoiselessPenguin at 11:27 PM on June 10, 2011
Response by poster: Thank you for the answers thus far, I guess I should clarify. We need something the kid can wander around in so she can use all those crawling muscles, but not be a hazard. We have the pack n play, every carrier produced ...ever...etc.
I am looking for something that is larger than her pack n play, but smaller than your average room... We just haven't had luck with finding something that is both sturdy enough to stand up to a full steam ahead crawler but portable enough it can be reconfigured to match a given space.
posted by iamabot at 11:38 PM on June 10, 2011
I am looking for something that is larger than her pack n play, but smaller than your average room... We just haven't had luck with finding something that is both sturdy enough to stand up to a full steam ahead crawler but portable enough it can be reconfigured to match a given space.
posted by iamabot at 11:38 PM on June 10, 2011
Best answer: With an infant and a split level house we needed a good way to block off the two-stair drop between our living and dining rooms, or at least cordon off a safe space for our son to crawl around. We checked out the various plastic superyards in stores and at friends' places and were not impressed with their sturdiness.
We ended up getting this wooden superyard and the extension piece which makes it a bit longer. It can be used in "gate" or "pen" mode.
After using it for about 5 months (since our son was 5 months old) I can say we are extremely happy with the purchase! I find that as long as you zig-zag the sections back and forth across the area you are trying to block it is quite a sturdy gate and you don't actually have to anchor it to any walls. Our 10-month-old is pulling up and cruising like crazy and he can wail on this thing pretty hard - it doesn't budge. We've also had older, walking, babies over for playdates and they too have been unable to move the gate.
We mostly use the superyard as a gate but have had it in the "pen" setup occasionally and our son has had plenty of space to play and move around in the area it provides. However I think buying the extension piece is a must if you plan to use it in this setup and want the kiddo to have room to crawl.
posted by sanitycheck at 12:08 AM on June 11, 2011
We ended up getting this wooden superyard and the extension piece which makes it a bit longer. It can be used in "gate" or "pen" mode.
After using it for about 5 months (since our son was 5 months old) I can say we are extremely happy with the purchase! I find that as long as you zig-zag the sections back and forth across the area you are trying to block it is quite a sturdy gate and you don't actually have to anchor it to any walls. Our 10-month-old is pulling up and cruising like crazy and he can wail on this thing pretty hard - it doesn't budge. We've also had older, walking, babies over for playdates and they too have been unable to move the gate.
We mostly use the superyard as a gate but have had it in the "pen" setup occasionally and our son has had plenty of space to play and move around in the area it provides. However I think buying the extension piece is a must if you plan to use it in this setup and want the kiddo to have room to crawl.
posted by sanitycheck at 12:08 AM on June 11, 2011
Nthing the "play yard" baby fence thing. One of the best investments I've ever made. It creates a fairly big hexagon as a stand-alone play area, but better yet, it lets me fence off a whole section of an otherwise open floor plan.
Believe it or not, the kitchen is the most frequent safe area. A couple select cabinets are fair game (with tupperware and cake mix boxes making fascinating toys) and all others are secured with childproof latches. The mess Her Imperial Majesty makes while I work beside her takes 2 minutes to clean, a small price for the hour's housework it allows me.
posted by wjm at 2:29 AM on June 11, 2011
Believe it or not, the kitchen is the most frequent safe area. A couple select cabinets are fair game (with tupperware and cake mix boxes making fascinating toys) and all others are secured with childproof latches. The mess Her Imperial Majesty makes while I work beside her takes 2 minutes to clean, a small price for the hour's housework it allows me.
posted by wjm at 2:29 AM on June 11, 2011
We actually found a HUGE pack and play (Graco Totbloc) when our oldest was starting to crawl. It was double the size of the regular pack and play and was WONDERFUL. We found ours at a yard sale, and I think you can probably find it cheaper than this.
posted by Amalie-Suzette at 5:31 AM on June 11, 2011
posted by Amalie-Suzette at 5:31 AM on June 11, 2011
Thinking out of the box, for the month until you move maybe you could hire a pre-teen to be a mother's helper whose job would be to follow the baby around and redirect her when she hits the boundaries.
posted by CathyG at 5:59 AM on June 11, 2011
posted by CathyG at 5:59 AM on June 11, 2011
Best answer: Search for 'super yard' or 'play yard gate'. Once you figure out what model and brand name you want, you can search by that on Craigslist.
Here are the brands I found when I did this 3 months ago.
child safe play yard gate
Summer infant secure surround gate
north states
summer infant sure and secure gate
These have extenders you can buy or you can buy two and hook them up to each other if you want more space. Be careful though, I bought 2 of the 2nd summer gates and the sexy bits didn't match up even though they were the same brand.
posted by bq at 6:46 AM on June 11, 2011
Here are the brands I found when I did this 3 months ago.
child safe play yard gate
Summer infant secure surround gate
north states
summer infant sure and secure gate
These have extenders you can buy or you can buy two and hook them up to each other if you want more space. Be careful though, I bought 2 of the 2nd summer gates and the sexy bits didn't match up even though they were the same brand.
posted by bq at 6:46 AM on June 11, 2011
Sorry for weird formatting, I am composing this at 6:30 am next to playIng baby who refuses to go NAACP to sleep!
posted by bq at 6:47 AM on June 11, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by bq at 6:47 AM on June 11, 2011 [3 favorites]
> My suggestions of putting her in a harness and running a line from one end of the room to the other were met with stares and questions around my suitability both as a parent and life partner.
My in-laws did that, but outside, and my husband turned out just fine. But times have changed, so I used a KidCo Configure Gate with my kid, instead. They cost quite a bit, but I sold mine on Craigslist when I was done with it for almost as much as I'd bought it for.
posted by The corpse in the library at 9:16 AM on June 11, 2011
My in-laws did that, but outside, and my husband turned out just fine. But times have changed, so I used a KidCo Configure Gate with my kid, instead. They cost quite a bit, but I sold mine on Craigslist when I was done with it for almost as much as I'd bought it for.
posted by The corpse in the library at 9:16 AM on June 11, 2011
Nithing play yard and baby gates. Gates are nice to have for all sorts of things--including keeping animals in/out. I still use them for that, and my grandkids are way past that stage. Play yards are great to confine kids in the back yard, too. Helps to keep them in shade and from getting too much sun. I put mine under a tree in the front and put up a screen tent over the yard in the back for toddler grandkids.
I might gently suggest to the SO that an uninjured baby trumps his opinion on your parenting suitability, however the neighbors talk. Bell the kidling. Seriously, they love the noise. You won't, but it's great to be able to know exactly where the lil' zoomer is. Dog and cat will know when she's closing in, too.
...f I need a moment (like to use the bathroom)...
You can go into the bathroom alone?!? Amazing. I had toddler company for years, and now I have a Border Collie for (unwanted) bathroom companionship. She figures it's a captive audience for footy belly rubs.
posted by BlueHorse at 1:01 PM on June 11, 2011
I might gently suggest to the SO that an uninjured baby trumps his opinion on your parenting suitability, however the neighbors talk. Bell the kidling. Seriously, they love the noise. You won't, but it's great to be able to know exactly where the lil' zoomer is. Dog and cat will know when she's closing in, too.
...f I need a moment (like to use the bathroom)...
You can go into the bathroom alone?!? Amazing. I had toddler company for years, and now I have a Border Collie for (unwanted) bathroom companionship. She figures it's a captive audience for footy belly rubs.
posted by BlueHorse at 1:01 PM on June 11, 2011
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posted by bq at 10:54 PM on June 10, 2011 [2 favorites]