Electronic Design Software - Playroom for kids or let them play around the house?

Playroom for kids or let them play around the house?

Do you think "locking" up a 12 month old in a playroom with toys is ok or should I let him run around my house. He seem to be getting into everything. I find myself closing bathroom doors, locking up kitchen cabinets and hiding things like my lab top or other electronics. Does anyone have any advice on this?

Public Comments

How about teaching him where he can and can not go and what he is allowed to touch and not touch. . All three of our kids knew these things...we of course took care of dangerous things like knives, cleaning supplies and drugs,,,they were where the children could not get them, but otherwise, they knew their boundaries..Children are very smart and quick to understand. Just be firm and consistant about your expectations and set limits. I'll quickly tell you how we taught our children to stay out of the kitchen...it was a seperate small room with only one doorway so no one had to go through it to get to another room. For a couple weeks we kept a board in the doorway and told them they could not go past that spot...after we took it away...they would stand with theri toes right at the door jam, but they would never even spill over into the kitchen by even a centimetre...they never had to be told. They would lean in and reach out for their bottle to be handed to them, but thier toes stayed out...it was so cute.
Two Words: Baby Gates
it depends on whats easier for you and safe for your son. a friend of mine has a specific room with all her child's toys in it and when she plays she goes directly into that room. it contains the child and the mess. my living room and 'dining room' are child proofed. the dining room is REALLY a play room it's all toys so i know its safe for her to run around and play. if you think your son is in danger of getting into something he shouldn't running free then i don't see an issue with letting him have a play room.
You need to start teaching your child, what is touchable and not touchable. ( Connie Mom of 4 )
teach him not to touch things he shouldn't touch. you can also give him a play room. this way he will learn to keep his things in his play room. good luck. oh and don't lock him in the room.
Baby gates are a good idea - not sure why the other poster got a thumbs down for that one. I, for one, though, would LOVE to have a designated play room for the kids. Not necessarily to 'lock them up,' although if he's safe there's probably nothing wrong with it - but a place to put all the toys so they can spread out, make a mess and have fun. It's hard when they're that age because they are into EVERYTHING and are probably climbers, too. As long as you're interacting with your child and paying attention to him, you can easily put him in the play room with his toys and let him rip. That way he can't really hurt anything, he's safe and you're relatively sane from not having to worry about what he may or may not be putting into the light socket. LOL (hopefully not!)
If he is anything like my 12 month old, he won't like it, lol. I tried to put my son in his room w/ the baby gate up once when I was home alone and needed to take the dogs out. He was NOT happy; I doubt I'd try it again. Just baby-proof everything and let him explore, it's the best thing for him.
If you have the money....buy 2 Playyard supergates and connect them together to make a huge play area in the living room or where ever. I did it and it was lots of room to play with big and little toys and her 4 year old brother would go in and play as well. I understand and you kinda have to do this to keep your sanity. People dont understand what all these adventurous kids can get into....and the dangers of it. I have left for less than 10 seconds and my 14 month old was standing on a table and a TV could have fallen on her. It scared me to death. She will push toys over to climb onto things....I have tried child proofing my whole home and am still trying. Good Luck!
EVEN IF SOME PARENTS THINK ITS MEAN, I HAVE TO SAY THAT I THINK THE PLAYROOM IDEA IS A GREAT ONE. IT IS HARD TO KEEP CONSTANT WATCH OVER A 12 MONTH OLD. I HAVE AN 18 MONTH OLD DAUGHTER AND SHE DOES HAVE TIME WHEN SHE IS IN HER ROOM WITH THE PLAYGATE UP. I THINK IT'S DANGEROUS TO LET A 1 YEAR OLD HAVE RUN OF THE HOUSE, THERE IS SO MUCH THEY CAN GET INTO. SO UNLESS YOU CAN SIT THERE AND STARE AT YOUR BABY, GO WITH THE PLAYROOM IDEA. NOT ALL DAY BT ATLEAST LONG ENOUGH TO GET SOME HOUSEWORK DONE OR HAVE A LITTLE DOWN TIME, YOU KNOW YOU DESERVE IT!!! GOOD LUCK AND I HOPE I HELPED.
I do a combination - there are times I need to restict them to the family room and keep them safe and other times they are free to explore. At 12 months, it is a good idea to have a 'safe' zone, like a playroom.
Having a safe place for your child to roam is always a plus, just make sure it's not a door locked.
When my son was two years old and my daughter was 3 months old we moved into a house that had a designated "play room". This made keeping the other rooms in the house tidy a much easier task. I did not shut the door or gate the room, the kids were pretty good about playing in the play room, seeing as how ALL the toys were in there. In the other parts of the house, they were taught what they were allowed to touch or not touch and basically it worked well all the way around. In our current house there is no one designated play room and the kids have most of their toys in their bedrooms. This makes it difficult when friends or cousins come over to play because the bedrooms get TRASHED and even though the kids clean/tidy up, later I will have to go in and help sort the toys....legos in the lego bin, transformers in the transformer bin, barbies in the barbie bin etc.
Personal choice. I believe they should roam freely around the house. I have seen many family's who have a playroom. It doesn't really make a difference as long as it works for you.