Easiest playpens to set up/take down?

[SongSparrow]

Hi everyone,
Starting in September, I will need to nap one or two of my DCKs in my children's bedrooms. So will need to set up and take down a playpen (or two) each day. Currently, I just have one in my own bedroom which I leave set up all the time, but there isn't space in my kids rooms to do this. My playpen is a Graco Pack and Play and while it comes down easy it can be a bit of a pain to set up. Do any of you guys have one to recommend?
Thanks :)

[Momof4]

I have 3 different playpens and they are all a different size, height and length but basically they all set up exactly the same. 4 buttons to push, one on each side. Of course the smallest one is the lightest and the easiest but I need the taller, longer ones for the bigger, taller, heavier children.

[2cuteboys]

We keep all of our platoons up because they're just a pain to take down after every nap. Not ideal, but afternoons are hectic here and I'd prefer not to add to it.

Just a word of advice on playpens - when you buy them, make sure they say on the label that its intended to be used for play or sleep. Some are not meant to have kids sleep in them, and should the unthinkable happen, you'd be liable.

[SongSparrow]

Thanks, I'm really not looking forward to setting up and taking down playpens, but unless I come up with another set up that's what I'll be doing. What does everyone use for older nappers? Two of my DCK's will be 3 in Sept and too big for playpens. I've heard people mention cots and also mats? Not sure where to buy these things....

[Artsand crafts]

I bough a couple of cots from Kijiji. I am planning to buy 2 more from Kijiji or Craigslist. Can you leave your playpens all set up in an adjacent room and just drag them to the right place when needed? I usually drag the playpens out of the sleeping room when I have a screamer during nap time. I never take down a playpen unless a kid has graduated from it.

[torontokids]

I have to take the play pens down every day as they take up too much room. I just find the more I do it, the better/faster I get. Still a pain though! I only have one or two in a playpen as the rest are in cots I bought on Kijiji

[playfelt]

I am currently using crib mattresses for the older kids. They do take up a lot of room to store but do offer a nicer sleep surface for older kids. I am planning to replace them over the summer with probably mats. Just can't decide if I want the solid mats or ones that fold up thinking once folded they will take up the same amount of space as stacked mats.

Almost any school supply type store sells the mats or cots. Wintergreen is one that I know ships across the country but there are several others. I thought we had a thread at one point that listed the supply places that people had ordered from so worth checking and if not would be worth starting again.

[Sassygirl]

Hands down Graco pack and play are the easiest. I tell my dcp to bring their own playpens so I have a few different brands here. When setting them up do the arms first then the middle part, taking them apart do the opposite pull the handle up from the middle after you remove the pad then bend down arms.
As for cots, I am not sure where you live but I am in Durham Region and JYSK has sleep mats for toddlers and adults as well I have had others tell me that Walmart U.S. has sleep mats online there.

[playfelt]

I looked at the flip open things that JYSK had but was disappointed the cover although removable is cotton and not vinyl. It would have worked well to have them folded up as hassocks using them as doll beds or play surfaces and then flipping them out for naptime. The childsize couches that some use have the same not waterproof cover issue too.

[SongSparrow]

Hands down Graco pack and play are the easiest. I tell my dcp to bring their own playpens so I have a few different brands here. When setting them up do the arms first then the middle part, taking them apart do the opposite pull the handle up from the middle after you remove the pad then bend down arms.
As for cots, I am not sure where you live but I am in Durham Region and JYSK has sleep mats for toddlers and adults as well I have had others tell me that Walmart U.S. has sleep mats online there.
Thanks, it's been a long time since I took my playpen down, but I found the legs used to pop out of the middle piece underneath when I was setting up and it would drive me crazy lol....I must have been doing it in the wrong order!
I am in Nova Scotia and I think we have a JYSK in Dartmouth...I will check it out. I think I might change the way I use my mainfloor rooms and try and nap the kids in my living room, I can make it pretty dark and could use mats instead since there is nothing in there for them to get into, and I would be able to peek in easily from my kitchen.

[SongSparrow]

I looked at the flip open things that JYSK had but was disappointed the cover although removable is cotton and not vinyl. It would have worked well to have them folded up as hassocks using them as doll beds or play surfaces and then flipping them out for naptime. The childsize couches that some use have the same not waterproof cover issue too.
Hi playfelt, so the JYSK ones are not waterproof at all? Or just the removable covers are not? I used to work at a daycare and am picturing in my head these vinyl mats that we used to stack on a shelf, and each child had a sheet that went on theirs. But I like the idea of a folding one better :)

[playfelt]

We changed the diningroom to an upstairs playroom and that is where older kids nap so I am on the same level and can hear them get off their mats etc. When I transition a child I will move their playpen down to the room and start that way till they seem to get the idea that we lay down, don't talk to those around us and sleep. Then move them to a mat "like a big boy" but have the playpen right there if they abuse the privilege and try again the next day.

[playfelt]

Hi playfelt, so the JYSK ones are not waterproof at all? Or just the removable covers are not? I used to work at a daycare and am picturing in my head these vinyl mats that we used to stack on a shelf, and each child had a sheet that went on theirs. But I like the idea of a folding one better :)

The covers are just cotton zippered things that go over foam like the character chairs you can buy. You would have to have a waterproof layer to put on the mat first. Cost wise they are about the same as the mats and cots meant for daycare but would have other uses if you can come up with a waterproof layer. Somehow it would have to be safe if the child pulled the sheet off as you won't want them getting caught in the plastic.