Convenience with Summer Infant Pop ‘N Play Portable Playard

I debated for a while about buying the Summer Infant Pop ‘N Play Portable Playard. I don’t even remember where I first saw it but I thought it could be a good purchase, as it’s nice to have ways to contain your child. We have one of those traditional plastic playards, but if you have one, you know they’re kind of a pain to deal with. I really liked the idea of having something that would be easy to put up and take down, would be small to store, and again- contained my child. What held me back is that we really didn’t need it.

I decided to pull the trigger on the playard as we had a vacation coming up and would be staying in a vacation house. I figured being able to keep our almost 1yo, N, in one place would be pretty useful. And it was- except not how I was expecting. We actually didn’t use it that much in the house. Where I did end up using it was at the pool and the beach. People may have thought I was a little silly bringing out my playard, but if they were a parent of a young kid, I also think they were jealous!!

The playard was perfect at the pool- I took both of the kids by myself and rather than having to contain N in the stroller as I got everything situated, I was able to open up the playard and have him hang out with a few toys while I got my older son ready. It was great after he and I were done swimming and E wanted to continue to swim. I didn’t have to try to hold a wriggly kid or strap him in the stroller. Instead, he played happily in the shade. (Side note: You can buy a canopy or a full cover for the top). So the playard was awesome at the pool. It comes in a bag that you can carry fairly easily. The handle is a bit uncomfortable on your shoulder, but it’s a small inconvenience.

We also took the playard to the beach and this was another great choice. A baby at the beach can be fun, but my guy only crawls and I didn’t want to chase him around the beach the whole time and deal with all of the sand that he would likely put in his mouth. Having the Pop ‘N Play Portable Playard was so helpful. Again, I probably looked silly with my playard on the beach, but I didn’t care!!

I also think this is going to come in handy at home too, as we hang out with our neighbors quite a bit and our non-walker is the littlest one of all of the kids. When we hang out by the pool, it’s hard to always hold him because he wants to be on the move. We’ve brought out the pack ‘n play a few times, but the playard will be a much better choice. It’s bigger, lighter, less awkward to carry, and easier to put up and take down.

I’m really happy with Summer Infant Pop ‘N Play Portable Playard. The on main drawback is that the bottom of the playard has no padding so when we were at the pool, I was a little nervous about him falling on the concrete, but the outside of the playard is really sturdy, so there was no issue with him falling from it being flimsy or not secure. The other thing I learned is that you have to be careful when you secure each leg- I accidentally got my thumb stuck the first time I put it up!

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