Carolyn Ziegler is co-founder of Dreambaby, the child safety brand as well as an international child safety expert and advocate. Here she talks about the benefits of using a play-pen for young children from the moment they start to roll over.
“There are many reasons using a play-pen can be beneficial and here are some top tips on when and how to use a play-pen,” says Carolyn:
- Play-pens can help protect little ones from over enthusiastic older siblings and favourite family pets. “While a hug from a big brother or sister is lovely, it can actually be dangerous for a newborn or very young child as they are still very delicate. As for the many YouTube videos out there showing a baby being licked and petted by the family dog, this may be cute, but it is very dangerous and a child could even be smothered. It is highly recommended to avoid exposing your newborn human baby or toddler to your fur baby unless they are separated from each other by a play-pen, gate or one or the other is firmly in your arms and remember, nothing replaces adult supervision,” says Carolyn.
- Play-pens can help prevent accidents in the home. “How? Well take Christmas for instance. It may have just past but remember for next year – always put your Christmas tree inside a play-pen if you have young children in the home. You don’t want your child to accidentally pull over a Christmas tree with all those glass ornaments that can break into shards. Even if they pull at just one ornament it can be very dangerous if it breaks. A play-pen helps families avoid this risk but allows them to still enjoy their Christmas tree.”
- “I often tell new parents to get down on all fours and look at the world from the view of a child,” says Carolyn. “It may sound a little extreme, but you will be amazed at the hidden dangers you see – like accidently dropped coins, medicines or small toys parts or puzzle pieces. Also, a living room or any room come to that can be full of sharp corners and other dangers. A play-pen means you can help limit your child’s exposure to these dangers and rather help create a safer area for your child to play in – it’s a smaller area to fine-tooth check after all.”
- “Home renovations are also popular at the moment. Renovating with small children in the home is a big challenge, so I always advise among other things to keep children completely away from the area being renovated in another room and under supervision. The extra protection of a play-pen can be lifesaving, helping to ensure there are no surprise visits to the building works.”
- “Play-pens can help allow for more independent play- a key element of any child’s development. They can play with age-appropriate toys in a suitable and safer environment, giving parents peace of mind,” says Carolyn.
- One last thing advises Carolyn is to make sure you do your research and buy the right play-pen. A recent report by CHOICE highlighted numerous design and manufacturing faults in many popular play-pens in the Australian market. They gave a glowing recommendation to Dreambaby’s Royal 3-in-1 Converta® Play-Pen Gate though, of which we are very proud. This multi-purpose play-pen converts from a play-pen to a wide barrier gate to a fire place barrier providing multi safety solutions in the one product.
Website: https://www.dreambaby.com.au/
Facebook: @dreambabysafety #dreambabys
Want to win a Dreambaby Royal 3-in-1 Converta® Play-Pen Gate valued at $179.95? Enter here.