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Expert Q&A:
Should I buy a playpen for my 8-month-old?

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Suzanne Dixon
Answered by Suzanne Dixon M.D., M.P.H.
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"There is nothing so amazing as the development of a child," says Suzanne Dixon, M.D., a behavioral and developmental pediatrician who was one of the founding members of the Pampers Parenting Network. "Every day is a new adventure when you have a child around you. I never get tired of learning from the children who have been a part of my life, professionally and personally."Suzanne Dixon, M.D., M.P.H., was born and raised in Minnesota and graduated from the University of Minnesota, School of Medicine. She did her pediatric training at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and then completed a fellowship in Child Development at Boston's Children's Hospital. Dr. Dixon joined the faculty at the University of California, San Diego, and did patient care, teaching, and research for 20 years. She ran a large newborn service, performed research in early child development, and was involved in many community outreach activities in maternal child health. Throughout her entire professional life she has maintained an interest in cross-cultural activities, living and working in many parts of the world, including Mexico, India, Kenya, Indonesia, and several countries from the former U.S.S.R. Dr. Dixon is the author of numerous research articles, review articles, and textbook chapters in pediatrics, child and family development, and public health. Her textbook, written with Dr. Martin Stein, Encounters With Children: Pediatric Behavior and Development, has become a classic in child health education and is in its fourth edition. She is Editor in Chief of the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, an international journal of high standing in the professional world. She also has served as an associate editor for Infant Mental Health and currently reviews for several major pediatric journals. Dr. Dixon is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and served in national positions in that organization. She is a member of the Society for Pediatric Research, the Society for Research in Child Development, the American Public Health Association, and the Executive Council of the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. She serves as consultant to several national and international organizations and has received an award from Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies.Dr. Dixon continues to lecture and consult worldwide on aspects of maternal, child, and family health. She practices behavioral and developmental pediatrics in Montana and works with local advocacy groups on education and women''s health. Dr. Dixon has been married for over 30 years and has three sons. She and her husband travel frequently, are outdoor enthusiasts, and enjoy being amateur anthropologists.
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Question


Should I buy a playpen for my 8-month-old?

Answer


A playpen can provide a safe place for a child to be parked with safe toys, near where the action around him takes place. Outside, at the beach, in a house with older children or pets or while visiting a non-childproofed house (and placed away from dangerous reachables), it is a safe haven for an infant. It should meet all safety standards, with slats close together and mesh with small openings, and not one shown to be likely to collapse. (See the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Web site for the latest product recalls.) No large toys should be placed in a playpen, as these will become step stools for an eager climber.

A playpen should not be a daylong cage, however. All young children need to explore the environment, moving on their own and going after interesting people and things. Floor exploration is good for at least some of the time, provided it is directly supervised—-you'd be surprised what trouble even rollers can get into!

So, having a playpen or not is a matter of personal choice and balance in your child's life. The good news is that there's hardly anything you can do to stop him from getting on the move, short of tying him up. His own drive for mastery and developmental push will get him going, in the playpen or on the floor.
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