We have been considering buying/renting a play yard for Darius since he started cruising along our furniture. We could see that he really enjoys cruising and have always been doing so gleefully. However, it also means that we have to watch him closely in case he loses his footing and falls on the concrete flooring.

It’s normal for babies to fall down along their journeys towards exploration and gaining mobilitity. However, I’m concerned that his fall could be harder than other babies since he doesn’t wear diapers when at home, due to us practising Elimination Communication with him. The diaper would act as a good cushion if he/she falls on the buttocks, but not in Darius’ case.

Also, I’m worried if he couldn’t control his fall, he might fall backwards further due to the momentum and hit the back of his head. Head injuries can lead to severe damage and even be fatal. Maybe I’m just getting paranoid, but I wouldn’t want to regret when something happens, for being too complacement with his safety. I’ve read about head-injured kids who have their development greatly affected, and I wouldn’t want Darius to become one of them.

And so, the play yard would be a good solution to our let-him-cruise-safely-without-close-supervision needs. We would prop it up on the Pooh Bear playmat and so even if he falls, there will be the mat to cushion his fall. Of course we will have to remove any potential hazards in the area too, such as small balls (which he may trip on) or toys with hard, sharp edges (in case he falls onto them).

We finally managed to rent a 6-panel Haenim Play Yard from Little Fairyland (it’s quite a popular item so we needed to reserve in advance) which arrived on Saturday evening. We had ‘upgraded’ it from a 4-panel to 6-panel as we felt the former would cover too small an area for his comfort.

We have to push the fence on the right outwards to keep it steady

After setting up the play yard, we were glad to see that the area it encompassed approximated the size of our playmat. It would mean sufficient space for Darius to move around, yet well covered by the playmat.

Two of the panels also have some toys on it for Darius to explore, such as a telephone (the handset can be taken off), a mirror, a moveable sliding door, some gears and rolling balls. This should help keep his interest for some time while in the play yard.

"Mirror mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?"

Besides the play yard, we have also rented the Fisher Price Roll-a-Rounds Jungle Friends Treehouse, to make up for the minimum rental fees of S$40 to waive off the delivery charges.

Small balls could be tripping hazards but we needed them for the treehouse to work...

It has a ‘hole’ at the top of the toy, where the child can place one of the three balls provided into it. The ball will then roll either to the left or right, and when it falls, it will trigger rotating motions of the two circular plates below, moving the balls around while playing some music.

The original three balls that came with the toy looked kind of old so we replaced them with the ones we had bought earlier, which were of identical sizes with the originals.

We believe this toy would be beneficial to Darius’ motor skills, though so far he had not managed to place the ball into the hole himself.

Meanwhile, we hope that the play yard and treehouse will keep him entertained and occupied while Catherine busied herself with the house chores and food preparations. At the same time, it should also further strengthen Darius’ legs and also build up his skills in preparation for his walking stage.

Darius cruising in the play yard happily

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