Playpens and walking

My Mom and I were talking the other day about babies walking. My youngest grandchildren are 20 months, 14 months, and 14 months. The 20-month-old is my granddaughter, Ripley, who began walking at 17 months. The first 14-month-old is Oliver and he just started walking over the weekend. The second 14-month-old is Necalli and he isn't walking yet. All three, plus all the other grandchildren of my sisters never walked at one year or earlier.

I walked at 10 months, my daughter Merideth walked at 10 months, my second son Tyler walked at 11 months, and my oldest son Judson, who was blind at birth walked at 17 months. My siblings and their children all walked by the time they were a year old, but all the grandchildren are "behind" in the walking department.

What's the difference with this newest generation? The wooden playpen. This motherhood tool was invaluable to my mom's and my generations. It was the only way we could get household chores done. As soon as the baby was beginning to crawl, we would use the playpen in which went the baby and toys and sometimes a bottle. They never stayed in it for more than a half-hour at a time, but they didn't mind and often fell asleep in it. We also used it (sans toys or blankie) as a 5-minute timeout place, which worked quite well. The tantrum ended as soon as we took them out.

As the babies grew, the playpen enabled them to begin pulling themselves up, standing alone, and raising their arms to be lifted out. They would walk around the inside when they weren't interested in the toys or books. When they were outside the playpen, they would pull themselves up and begin walking around holding onto the furniture. They became more confident and independent.

Even after the babies started walking, the playpen was a good place for timeouts, independent play, or security while we were painting walls, moving furniture, sweeping up broken glass, fixing dinner, etc. It was not too big and was easy to move around.

Unfortunately, the babies of the last two decades have not had that tool. They have been forced to use the soft-mesh-sided portable crib, which is not sturdy or stable enough for building up their arm and leg muscles.

There is nothing bad about kids not walking "early," it just seems odd to us.