How to buy the best playpen for your baby or toddler

A playpen can bring some peace of mind to busy parents. Here's how to choose a safe one.

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Last updated: 24 May 2019

There is currently no mandatory or voluntary Australian standard for playpens – unlike for cots, strollers or high chairs.

Yet our playpen reviews have found some that can pose potential safety risks to your child. These range from relatively minor hazards such as sharp edges or protrusions to bump themselves on, to major hazards such as a gate that the child could easily open, climbing footholds and gaps that can trap a head or limb.

Types of playpen

Playpens come in several shapes and sizes: square, rectangular, hexagonal and more. They may be made from wood, metal, or plastic; some have mesh or fabric walls. Many are modular, so you can add extra wall sections to expand the playpen to suit your room. They can often be used as a fence to screen off a section of the room, or to protect your toddler from a fireplace or other dangerous area.

Portacots can also serve as a playpen, but they are comparatively small so they’re usually only an option for short periods and for very young toddlers.

To fence off a doorway or stairs, you will probably find a safety gate or barrier more useful.

Safety

What to look for in a playpen

Walls at least 50cm high, to prevent your child climbing out or falling.
Strongly built, stable and resistant to lifting or tipping.
Certification to a standard: while there’s no Australian standard, some playpens are certified against the European standard EN 12227 or the American standard ASTM F1004.

What to avoid

Small parts or objects that can be swallowed or inhaled.
Sharp corners, edges and points.
Projections that can injure a child when it bumps into them.
Projections and openings that can entangle a child’s clothing and create a strangulation hazard.
Gaps and openings that can trap a child’s finger, limbs or head. Gaps should be between 50mm and 95mm – larger gaps can trap the child’s head – or between 12mm and 30mm.
Moving or rotating components that can injure a child when a part of the child’s body gets in them.
Footholds that a child could use to climb out.

Other features to look for

Multiple configurations

Some playpens can be set up in various configurations, which could be useful for sectioning off out-of-bounds areas such as fireplaces, or to fit rooms of various sizes. You may need to buy extra wall sections separately. Make sure the wall sections lock together securely.

Gate

A gate is useful as it means that you don’t have to lift your child up over the sides. It should be too hard for a child to open, but safe and convenient for you.

Cost

Playpens cost from about $60 to over $250.

Chris

In my current role I manage a range of product review projects for CHOICE. Most product reviews are done here in the CHOICE labs, but my focus is on those projects where we partner with external labs or data sources. For some product types, CHOICE doesn't have the facilities to perform testing, and usually it wouldn't be practical or economic for us to build them. So we partner with other expert labs for some tests, including solar panels, electric heaters, air purifiers and detergents. For some other projects we make use of government energy registry data, including air conditioners and heat pump hot water systems. I also manage our testing services through our commercial arm, Test Research, and I'm CHOICE's NATA Authorised Representative for all matters relating to to our lab's formal accreditations. I'm involved with the standards committee for air conditioners. I often liaise with government and industry in areas such as product safety and regulation. In over 20 years at CHOICE, I've had a variety of positions, writing content and managing lab teams for a wide range of products, including children's products, kitchen appliances, laundry appliances, garden power tools and more. My background is in science and technology. I have a science degree from the University of Sydney and I had a 15-year career in IT before joining CHOICE in 2004. CHOICE lets me exercise both sides of my brain; there's nothing I like better than diving into a stack of technical data and turning it into useful, consumer-friendly info for you, our members. (Though sampling pizza and scones from our oven testing is pretty nice, too.) You can find me on Twitter (X) and LinkedIn.