Note: : It is important to make clear that this Hub is not intended to defend leaving a baby in a playplen or play yard for long stretches of time. It is known that doing that can be damaging to a child's development, including cognitive and physical areas of development.

Instead, it is intended to take an honest look at limited playpen/play yard use; and perhaps present ideas that parents may wish to further investigate by researching well established, reputable, sources that offer information on brain development.

Introduction

Why present ideas that I can't back up with reference resources? Because, quite simply, I can't find any material that specifically addresses those ideas. There is plenty of medical/scientific information that makes it clear that babies should not be left in playpens for a long time. There is also plenty of information that mentions how playpens and play yards can be a safe place to put babies when necessary. There is a lot of information about how to select the safest playpen.

With regard to remarks I make about nurturing brain development, there are plenty of resources that will back up those remarks. What I have not been able to find is material that addresses the specific question of whether a playpen or play yard may actually be beneficial to a baby (beyond the aspect of keeping him safe for a while).

My children are grown now, and other people's children are not my business. Still, in a time when ADD/ADHD is as widespread a problem as it appears to be, it can be only natural to wonder about possible generational changes in parenting approaches and any link between ADD/ADHD.

To the best of my knowledge, it has pretty much always been known that it is damaging to leave a baby in a playpen or play yard for long periods of time. I don't think there's any generational difference there. Where there may be some difference, however, is that over the last several years many parents are absolutely certain that playpen use of any kind if bad for babies.

Parents of my generation may have been among the first to reject playpens as widely as many did. Going against what seemed to be the common thought of so many other parents, I gave the matter serious thought and decided to use a playpen or baby corral, on a limited (but frequent) basis, for my babies. I reasoned then what I reason here; and although I know my experience offers nothing more than anecdotal evidence from one person, I still believe that my children benefited from the limited playpen and baby corral use.

In the interest of their privacy (and my own wish not to come across in a way that would create the impression I'm less humble than I really am), I will not detail all the areas in which my children were absolutely without problems. I will say that they developed long attention spans, physical agility, and reading levels several grades above their own. One little family does not a scientific study make; but I have seen, for myself, that judicious use of a play pen, play yard, or baby corral does not necessarily lead to developmental problems of any sort (far from it, as far as I have seen).

To be candid (and less formal than I've been in the above writing), I'm not writing this Hub so I can say, "Hey, my kids had no problems, so do what I did." I don't pretend to be completely certain that my suspicions about playpens and play yards are necessarily correct. I'm actually pretty uncomfortable at risking seeming like I'm "bragging" about problem-free children. Still, ADD/ADHD is a big problem today; and while I am not in a position (or qualified) to make guesses about all the possible causes/contributing factors in any number of different cases, I've been sitting on my suspicions for over 20 years now - and during that time the apparent "epidemic" of ADD/ADHD has not appeared to have improved much.

So, I've decided to offer my ideas here in an attempt to encourage parents to consider them, look further into them, and generally be aware of the types of development that must occur in baby's first years. Whether or not any parent decides to use a playpen or not is almost not the point. The point I do hope to make is that parents need not believe that limited use of one is a terrible thing, that not using one at all offers guarantees that a child will develop better, and that creating a "high-quality" playpen time (even when playpen use is limited) may make a big difference.

One question to which I do hope parents will seek answers is this: When parents decide not to ever use a playpen at all; and when a baby is allowed to just explore without interruption or limits; is there the chance that the opportunity to nurture attention span and/or ability to engage in activities that require intense focus may be missed?

And so, after that long introduction, my reasoning and thoughts follow.

The Heart of the Playpen Matter - Or At Least Some Thoughts About It

Whether playpens and play yards are too confining or a safe place to play oversimplifies the question of whether using these items is good or bad. Because the "too-confining" side suggests "bad", those in favor of using play pens and play yards will choose the "safe-play" side of the debate. The truth is that these pieces of baby equipment can be too confining, and use of them is not the only way a child can play safely. The truth is also, however, that many parents seem to miss the possible, hidden, value of opting to include these items in their collection of baby equipment.

Most capable parents know that "sticking a baby in a play pen all day" isn't just too confining, but potentially damaging to the child's development. Capable parents know, too, that a play pen or play yard is not a substitute for supervision. Anyone who has purchased a new playpen or play yard has read the warning, "Do Not Leave Child Unattended." Most of us had read or seen stories of healthy babies in orphanages, left to spend their days in cribs; and developing mental retardation by the time they were six years old. While this example is extreme, it certainly offers proof that leaving babies and toddlers confined and without attention for long periods of time is damaging. Obviously, a baby who spends, say, two hours a day alone in a play pen or play yard is not going to have the degree of damage child in orphanage horror-stories have. Less extreme damage to a child's development, however, may not always be very easy to see.

What about the baby who is placed in a play pen in the kitchen, as he watches and listens to his mother, as she cooks dinner or cleans the appliances? Assuming he spends only a hour in his playpen; that she is talking to, and engaging him, as she does her work; and the he has his toys as additional form of keeping himself entertained; obviously, that's a completely different scenario that "sticking a baby in a play pen all day" and neglecting him.

With regard to the matter of believing a child cannot be safe if not in a play pen or play yard; that, too, is not always a "black-and-white" matter. Since babies and toddlers should never be left unsupervised, and since "child-proofing" a house usually "goes without saying" for good parents; a child who is "out and free" can certainly be safe. At the same time, a home with fireplaces and stairs, older siblings, pets, a few toilets, and lots of glass panes in French doors is not always as safe to a "tippy" ten-month-old, new walker; as a three-room apartment with thick rugs and two parents there.

So, with so many factors that seem to point to playpens and play yard being unnecessary at best, and damaging at the extreme worst; why would anyone believe that (when they're used properly) they're good (and even important) items to have?

One reason is that a nice, big, baby corral at the beach or on at a relative's backyard party will stop a super-speedy toddler from heading for the ocean, lake, pool, or street on his own.

Years ago, when I had one baby and two young children, I had a real estate agent visiting me.
The woman, a decade or so older than I was at the time, was dressed in a crisp, professional,
suit and hair a crisp, professional, hair style. During our conversation she commented on how she remembered having such small children; and she suddenly went into her own brand of physical comedy, as she demonstrated her own memories. She extended her two arms straight out ("Barbie doll style"), with her thumbs toward the ceiling, dramatically bent her tall torso over as if chasing after a toddler, and began to chase an imaginary baby across my kitchen. She made some joking comment about how, for several months, mothers never get to walk up straight or stop chasing.

In all seriousness, this kind of "chasing of a baby" can be tiring. Sometimes it isn't practical. It can be even less practical if there are older children who also need attention. When a nice-sized playplen or play yard is not used as a substitute for "relating" back and forth with the child; and when, instead, it is used only to give a parent (often other) a chance to straighten up her back and stop chasing for a little while; a play space with netting around it isn't such a terrible thing.

Independent of having a place to put a baby when Mom is boiling vegetables on the gas stove, and independent of giving Mom's vertebrae a break; there is at least the possibility that judicious use of a playpen or play yard may actually be good for a baby of the age when he's just learning to get himself around on his feet.

Anyone who has had a learning-to-stand and learning-to-walk baby has witnessed the ups and downs of a child going through this process. There are the trips and tips, most of which don't seem to bother the baby much. Some falls are a matter of simply suddenly landing on a bottom. Some, however, result in a baby's getting hurt (even if not seriously). The baby who is out and around with older siblings is likely to be inadvertently knocked over or down. The little one who thinks he can rely on grabbing the floor-length curtains or tablecloth edge for balance will learn otherwise (the hard way). The baby with even the most vigilant parents usually finds some way to get scratched or bumped on things like fireplaces or coffee tables (even with the child-proofed corners). Most of the time these incidents (even if some minor injury occurs) are relatively harmless - or so it would seem. Some parents even belief that being hurt all through the day is important for a child. They say, "He has to learn." Of course, he has to learn. He has to learn to stand, walk, and climb. He has to learn to fall and learn that he can get up. He even has to learn that he get hurt once in a while.

How good is it, though, for a child to spend several months of his first year in the world without ever getting a break from the bumps that come from having unsure feet and legs, combined with your own fierce curiosity and high energy level? When you're nine or eleven months old, you haven't even quite come around to realizing that you and your mother are not one person. Your mother and father, siblings, pets, and home are your world. How good is at for a baby to live his days with seemingly non-stop tumbles (with varying degrees of hurt) without ever experiencing the feeling of having parent offer him a break from those frazzling experiences? How good it is for a baby to experience the feeling that "the world" is "all about being hurt all day long", and that hurts seem to "come out of the blue" from all directions?

School children are given snack time and recess because it is understood that children need to be given a break throughout the day. Workers are given coffee breaks and lunch hours. The idea that people need to take a break from frazzling, stressful, activity is something most people understand is a solid one. Still, it can seem so easy for adults to overlook the idea that a baby who is tripping, tipping, falling, and generally meeting up with "frazzlement" throughout the could use a break.

When babies take tumbles sometimes they, themselves, will laugh. Sometimes they neither laugh nor cry, but can appear a little bewildered for a moment. There are times, too, when some babies are in situations in their "little home world" where it seems as if they're always being hurt, frustrated, and crying. If they're not falling it may be a three-old sibling who takes away their toy and makes them feel frustration or bewilderment. If they step on the cat, and the cat gets angry, they don't understand why "nice ktty" has not been nice. There can be something very nice about a nice, clean, play pen or play yard; where a child can relax and play for a while.

Finally, the following point is offered from what I believe is "common sense opinion", and is not intended to state "scientific fact" with regard to possible benefits of playpen/play yard use:

It is a known (scientific) fact that children's brains are developing connections in the first three years of life. Just as children need to learn to stand and walk and climb, they also need to learn how to sit somewhere and engage in activities that will encourage mental development. The things we learn from climbing a jungle gym are different from the things we learn from building with blocks, looking at books (even the wipe-clean, 6-page, kind for babies), or making a toy family sit sit in a toy car.

When it comes to mental development, however, children don't just need to have experience with things like building blocks (which can, of course, be play with on the kitchen floor). Children need experience with the idea that they can't always just go around without ever being expected to sit in one place They need to learn how enjoyable it can be to engage in "quiet" activities. Babies just under and just over a year old will usually choose walking around over sitting down with a toy when they "out and around". They may pick up one toy and carry it with them, or they may select a push toy to push as they make their rounds of the house. They generally have not learned "the joys of sitting in one place and playing" for more than a moment at a time.

When the option of roaming the house is removed at least once in a while during a baby's day, and when he finds himself surrounded by interesting toys, maybe his "blankie", a bottle of water, and family members nearby; it offers him the different experience of having some degree of freedom of choice of activities while being encouraged (yes, "forced" by the netting) on a different set of activities/thinking skills than he may use when he is roaming.

Exploring isn't just about climbing stairs, crawling under furniture, and figuring out the "kitties" don't like when you accidentally fall on them. Exploring (i.e., learning) is also about taking the time to decide which toy catches your eye, how pages in a baby book can be turned and then turned back, and seeing all the things a parent seems to be doing as he prepares dinner.

Besides, it is a rare human being in this world who doesn't appreciate a space that is "just his" and that isn't the same place where he sleeps. As adults, we have our computer desks, sewing nooks, work benches, and areas where we keep our fitness equipment. A playpen or play yard is what a parent makes it. "What a parent makes it" depends on where it is located, how much time is spent in it, how comfortable and inviting it is, and even whether the baby is "in the mood" to be in it. The baby who has been out and around and has become kind of frazzled often appreciates a comfy playpen break for a while. The one who isn't quite "awake yet" after a sleep may appreciate the chance to transition gradually. On the other hand, the baby who hasn't had much chance to be out walking around much (maybe after a long car ride) may not particularly appreciate playpen time. Babies who get more than their share of snuggling and attention, and more than their share of exploring the world, may be more likely to see a playpen as yet another fine option. Those who don't get the attention and snuggling they need, or those not given enough chance to just "go around", may feel differently.

Just as a child in first grade must learn to sit still long enough to experience the joys and benefits of reading, there is at least the chance that the baby who has some experience sitting in one place long enough learn the joys of engaging in "sit-down" play may well be being offered something positive - not "confinement". We're only confined when we want to do one thing but are prevented from doing it. Assuming that the only thing a baby can ever enjoy, or wants to do, is be out running around underestimates the ability of even a baby to become engrossed in "concentrating"/"sit-down" behavior (that, I know for a fact); and also at least stands some chance of preventing a baby from one of the many important kinds of experience that will help his brain develop in the best way.

Artists, scientists, writers, and philosophers will all tell you that remaining one one place and engaging in focused activity is often one of the most freeing experiences one can have. People who believe that children under school age cannot and should not ever experience sitting in one place, having a bit of a limitation, and cannot learn to engage in "focused"/"sit-down" behaviors; and people who believe that sit-down activities are only for rainy days and sick days; don't seem to realize the importance of a good balance of activities for even the youngest of babies. Those who believe that learning to sit and do "quite" activities is only for children of school age are often dismayed to discover that their child has not developed the attention span and self-control needed to pass the kindergarten screening process.

I don't, of course, advocate expecting a ten-month-old baby to sit in a preschool class and go along with the program; but I can't help but believe that, in small and appropriately timed doses, a little playpen time may actually contribute to, rather than detract from, a child's development in several ways.

When we place our babies in baby swings, we don't usually think about how "confining" they are. We usually think of the swing as nice play for a child to be. When we sit our toddlers on their first tricycle we don't usually think about how "confining" it is that they are expected to keep their feet on the pedals and their hands on the hand grips. We fasten our babies into car seats with straps across their chests, and we put snowsuits on them that sometimes barely allow them to move their limbs. We do these things for their health, their safety, the enjoyment, and/or their chance to develop new skills of one sort or another.

Playpens and play yards are like most other pieces of baby equipment. They should be used correctly and with common sense. When it comes to children developing the set of skills they need, there are lots of a ways to "leave a child unattended". While I cannot state with certainty that judicious and limited use of a playpen can help a baby develop the brain connections needed to be able sit and play, learn to enjoy such play, and maybe even develop a better attention span; it is generally common knowledge that when parents are oblivious to the need to nurture these skills in their children, children eventually run into difficulties (often in school and the world, in general).