DIY playpen for a child
Children are always curious, that’s how nature works. Curiosity helps them get acquainted with the world around them and quickly learn to interact with it. She is also a parenting headache.
After all, before the birth of a child, it was difficult to even imagine how dangerous your own home could be: sharp corners, fragile objects, household chemicals, tools - this is not a complete list. And in order for the mother to have the opportunity to be distracted from the baby at least for a short time, it is necessary to temporarily limit his freedom of movement around the house.
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Selecting materials and tools for creating a playpen for a child
Durable and reliable wooden structures are the most common option. This do-it-yourself playpen for a child will not tip over because it has a significant weight. Its creation does not require special financial investments or carpentry skills. Tools you will need:
- Tape measure and a simple pencil;
- Hacksaw;
- Drill with a drill of a suitable diameter;
- Self-tapping screws.
The materials are even simpler: round rods with a diameter of 1 to 2.5 cm and timber with a thickness of 3 to 5 cm, respectively. It is recommended to choose dense and heavy wood - the extra weight of the structure does not harm, but adds stability.
A playpen made of mesh is devoid of the main disadvantage of its wooden counterpart - hardness.In it, the child will not hit himself and will not be upset due to a painful fall. But there are several requirements for the grid:
- No twisted fibers or inserts made of fishing line or metal - there is a risk of cutting yourself;
- The cells are 2.5-3 cm in size (larger - a stuck-in arm or leg may get stuck; smaller - fingers or clothing buttons get tangled).
To install such a structure, you will also need plastic pipes, fittings and a pipe cutter.
Product sizing
In many ways, the area allocated for children's games depends on the room. In cramped conditions, triangular models of playpens, which are located in the corner of the room, are preferable. If the apartment is spacious, then you can choose classic rectangular and square shapes or not quite standard hexagonal ones - it all depends on your desires and capabilities.
The recommended height of playpens is from 70 to 100 cm. The first option is more convenient for parents, since it will be easier to get the baby out of the playground. The second is longer-lasting—it’s an obstacle the child won’t be able to overcome soon.
Having decided on the shape and dimensions of the future playpen with your own hands, you can begin to calculate the necessary materials. For a wooden structure everything is simple. The two perimeters of the arena are the total length of the beam. If you want to make a reinforced structure, you can add 4 more heights - for corner posts.
The recommended gap between the bars ranges from 5 to 7 cm. Their number, respectively, is equal to the perimeter (in cm) divided by the distance between the lattice elements. The resulting number is rounded to the nearest whole number, and a couple of rods are added to it “in reserve.”
With a mesh playpen it is a little more difficult. The perimeter of the structure indicates the linear meters of the grid.To calculate the length of the pipe, you will also need the height.
It is also important to consider the number of vertical posts. Corner ones are a must. If the side of the arena is equal to or more than 1.5 meters, then one additional stand will be needed.
The final formula: two perimeters + the height of the arena, multiplied by the number of racks. Fittings are calculated a little easier: number of corners * 2 = total number of corners, and number of posts * 2 = number of straight tees.
Step-by-step assembly of the structure
Creating a playpen from mesh and plastic pipes is easy. It is enough just to cut the structural elements to the required length, connect them using fittings and stretch the mesh over the resulting frame.
With the wooden version everything is a little more complicated:
- The timber is cut and marked.
- According to the marks on the horizontal lines, holes are drilled for the rods to half the thickness of the wood.
- Half-wood cuts are made along the edges of the workpieces - these are the joints.
- If necessary, the rods are shortened to the required length.
- All workpieces are sanded and then polished. The corners of the beam can be rounded with a plane at this stage.
The last step is assembling the structure. The rods are simply inserted into the grooves of the longitudinal strips, which are then fixed at the joints with self-tapping screws. The playpen is ready.
Advice from experts
When making a wooden version, you can use a little trick - connect the corners using rods. To do this, in addition to the cut, a through hole of the appropriate diameter is also made along the edges of the beam. The height of the corner rods should be half the thickness of the array greater than that of the other lattice elements. During assembly, the corner rod will reliably connect the structure of the playpen without glue or screws.
It is not recommended to coat wood with varnish or paint.Polishing with a thick cloth is quite enough to remove splinters, and if the child decides to chew on the obstacle, he will not eat harmful paints and varnishes.
To prevent a lightweight playpen made of mesh and plastic from turning over, you can make it heavier. To do this, it is enough to pour simple sand into the lower pipes of the structure - a child will definitely not be able to cope with such a load.
