The Mothercare wooden playpen and mat child putting his head through the gap, and any mesh, often found used in soft-sided pens, should be dense enough not to catch buttons and so on.
There shouldn’t be any sharp edges, protruding hooks or nails on the rim of the playpens which could snare a child’s clothing and cause strangulation.  And locking devices or safety catches should be child-proof to prevent the playpen collapsing accidentally. Finally, a playpen should have a floor which covers the complete base area and stops your child moving the pen by walking it along (it doesn’t matter whether the floor is fixed or detachable). If the pen is to be used out of doors, however, it’s best to choose one with a raised floor.

Two types of pen
Basically, there are two types of 3 playpen — the rigid-sided,  square or rectangular type (usually made of wood), and the modern style pens with soft, usually mesh, sides. The circular kind are widely known ‘as “lobster pots” while the rectangular type are occasionally referred to as “play parks”. Rigid-sided playpens either have hinged sides and floors to enable them to be folded for storage, or locks at each corner which when released, allow the sides of the pen to fall in flat against the rigid base.
The Boots Wooden Playpen has hinged sides for easy storage. It measures 91 x 99 cm and costs £31.95. You can also buy a nursery rhyme design, foam-filled, PVC covered 3
playmat to fit over the base of the playpen or to use separately – Price £4.95. The playpen and mat are available from all branches of Babyboots.
The Mothercare Wooden Playpen folds flat against the built-in floor when it’s not in use. Good points include the raised floor which makes it suitable for use in the garden. The pen measures 88 cm x 93 cm and costs £29.75.

Mothercare also sells a foam padded, wipe-clean Velbex playmat to cover the base of the playpen and to use under the highchair to catch the crumbs. This costs £4.55. The playpen and mat are available from all branches of Mothercare and from Mothercare-by-Post, PO Box 145, Watford, England. Postage and packing costs £2.00.
The Silver Cross Wooden Playpen has special childproof locks at each corner and four sides which fold flat against the base for storage. It comes with a detachable, padded base mat and has swivel castors at one end so it can be pushed easily from one room to another. The playpen measures 99 x 76 cm and is currently available in a dark oak or natural finish with a beige mat. A white enamel version with blue mat should also be available about now. It costs approximately £52.00 and is available from leading nursery furniture stores, including branches of John Lewis Partnerships.
The Baby Relax Foldacot is basically a full size cot but, by retracting the telescopic legs, can also be transformed into a floor level playpen or a low cot for camping. Made of chrome, the Foldacot can be folded down for travelling to measure just 56 cm x 69 cm x 23 cm. It comes complete with wipe-clean, brown/white bird design mattress, for approximately £64.00. Available from leading nursery furniture stockists including branches of Fenwicks, John Lewis Partnerships and Selfridges.
Another piece of nursery furniture that can be converted is the Baby Relax Rectangular Babypark. The Babypark play-pen has mesh sides, a paddedrim and an integral, wipe-clean padded base. A padded mattress/playmat can be bought separately to turn the pen into a travelling cot or child’s spare bed. The Baby-park can fold flat for easy storage.

The Silver Cross wooden playpen is a large rectangular playpen with Baby Relax Foldacot storage and measures 96 x 63cm when assembled. Made in the brown and white distinctive Baby Relax design, it costs around £30.00. The mattress playmat is an extra £4.50. Available from leading nursery furniture manufacturers including branches of Fenwicks, John Lewis Partnerships and Selfridges.
The Cosatto Soft-sided Play-pen is available in three sizes and two shapes — circular and rectangular. All the designs have padded top rails and bases plus floors that lock into position and fold flat easily for storage and travel. The large rectangular pen (117 cm x 79cm) and the circular pen have exerciser rings to help develop baby’s arm and leg muscles. The Cosatto pens come in a cream/brown floral design with wipe-clean top rails and base and chrome frame. The large rectangular style costs £29.32, the circular is £29.32: the budget rectangular is £19.95. Available from leading nursery stockists including Harrods, John Lewis Partnerships, Davies Carriages, and Salters Limited.
The rectangular Panorama Playpen has clear plastic panels set into the two long sides which could be the answer for a child who feels claustrophobic in a conventional playpen. Sprinkled around the sides of the playpen are flower edged grip holes for the child to pull himself up. If the sides of the pen should become slack, the tension can be increased by turning the four knobs at the base of the unit.
The playpen also has castors at one end so it can easily be moved from one room to another. It folds for easy storage, has a padded base mat and comes trimmed in red, with a floral design mat. Price £39.95 and available from The Golden Cot, Old Bond Street, Bath. Postage and packing is an extra £4.00.
Shirley Staines

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