Play Yards / play pens (infants, toddlers, toys, parents)

[lowellmaine]

Okay I have to ask. If you have one of the pack and play play pens from evenflo.......can you think of any reason to put the mesh netting on top of it with the child in it sleeping in the house???

I just read a story about a two year old that strangeled himself when he got up and got his head stuck between the side of the play pen and the netting.

I have been sitting here for awhile trying to understand why a parent would put the netting over the top of it in the house.

[anifani821]

Only two reasons I can think of (and both are pretty dumb reasons).

One - if there are pets in the house roaming around and the parents don't want the pets to get in the play pen (cats) or to stick their faces into it (big dogs).

Two - the child stays in the play pen while awake and throws toys out and mum doesn't want to pick the toys up.

Those are the only two reasons I can fathom doing such a thing.

[findinghope]

i have an evenfo and dont remember having netting for the top. our son is 2.5 and maybe this is something new??

[veuvegirl]

My GF has one for her toddler when they travel. She uses it to prevent her son from getting out of the pack and play and roam around the house. It can be a safety precaution for toddlers trying to get out in the middle of the night.

I am not sure of the story of the boy almost strangling himself trying to get out, it may be a different system.

[lowellmaine]

Here is a link to the story. I should of put it in my first message,. If parents do this maybe this will make them think twice.

Toddler, 2, accidentally strangles himself in crib - Bangor Daily News (http://bangornews.com/detail/96076.html - broken link)

[veuvegirl]

That is a horrible story. I am not sure if it is the same system, I will check with her, thanks for the link.

[ADVentive]

I've only put the netting on top when we had it outside, like at the beach or camping, either for shade or to keep bugs out.

[sskkc]

The netting in them isn't strong enough to keep cats out - they do sell special frames and netting strong enough to protect infants from cats. Cats like to sleep where it's warm and cozy. Most like to sleep where they can feel a human's breath on them - babies aren't strong enough to push them off (and their lungs can't expand and contract with the additional 10-15lbs sitting on them) and cats have been known to accidentally kill unsupervised infants (and so that would not be a dumb reason if it worked).

That said, no, I do not know of a legitimate reason to keep the netting on indoors.