toddler containment ideas

[anne_josh]

So my 26 month old decided today was a good day to climb out of the playpen. I use it (a standard pack & play) for exactly 30 minutes every day so I can take a shower. I set it in the hall, and we have an old vhs-only TV that I put on a table at the end of the hall so he can watch Pingu or Sesame Street. There is no possible way I can trust him loose in the house (or even in his room) while I shower, and he will not stay in the tub with me. He is really curious, strong willed, and into everything. Very busy.

I looked into a playpen tent like we had with ds1, only to find them all recalled from a strangulation hazard. So that won't work. There has to be something with taller sides than a Pack & Play.. or some way I can still take a shower in the morning :P Please advise.. I will consider any and all ideas.. I realllly need my shower to wake up!

[BeccaSueCongdon]

Could you put a baby gate on the door of the bathroom and let him play with some toys in the bathroom while you shower? Put locks on the cupboards and such to babyproof and keep a special basket of "shower time" only toys?

When I had just one DS, I would actually put him in his high chair with a sippy cup to watch a cartoon while I showered. Our house is set up where I could set his high chair right outside the bathroom door so i can hear him the entire time and see him if I pull the curtain back.

A few times I actually even resorted to showering with the curtain completely open bc I was so desperate. Lol. That was a day when our computer wasn't working (where we watch cartoons) and after we'd gotten rid of the high chair.

[hpfgirl]

Can you shower before he gets up in the morning or before DH leaves for work?

[loki]

I have one like that too. I have a couple extra carseats that they sit in to watch tv and some times they get buckeled in if they are being destructive while I make supper. Or you could use a stroller.

[Mom2Connor]

When does he nap, and do you need to shower before he naps?

If your bathroom is anything like ours, there is more stuff to get into in the bathroom than any other room in the house, so that would not work for us. Can you trap him in the hallway with door locks (those child safety locks that go over door knobs) and a tall baby gate on each end (one near the TV and one on the other end?)

[kimb96]

When ds became more mobile, I strapped him into his high chair with some snacks and took a 5 minute prison shower.

[Nerissa]

I had done multiple things:

~take in the shower with me
~shower during nap or before he wakes up or after bed.
~strapped in the high chair with cartoons in the living room.
~shut all doors in and put a baby gate on the end of the hallway give a bunch of toys. Baby gate at the door to our bedroom/bathroom. If he can climb over a baby gate put stack two. A friend had to do that for her DS.
~our shower/toilet is in a seperate room from the sink and all the stuff so there is nothiing he can get into so some toys in the room with me.
~ I like the extra car seat idea.

[Geckmumto3]

Is it possible to baby proof his bedroom and make it a safe zone with a baby gate when you need to be unavailable? I know you said bedroom is not an option, but long term, it would be handy for him to have a safe place to play.

[escapethevillage]

When my daughter was little, my bathroom was in the master bedroom, so I'd just lock her in the master bedroom with the tv on, and a drawer full of random weird things that she could play with. They weren't toys, just stuff I didn't throw away, but didn't really use anymore either.

I had a pretty low bed at the time, and she'd play for a while (get into my underwear drawer) then climb on the bed.