Babydan Baby Den

...wall in my lounge, and BabyDan instruct that the gate must never be used in a completely straight configuration to maintain stability, I have found myself in need of a further panel. Now I purchased my BabyDen on the internet via Mothercare (more on suppliers later). When I placed my order I had a vague recollection of them supplying the extension pieces at a reasonable price. However, they now do not supply the extensions and I am unsure that they ...
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@@@ BABYDAN @@@

BabyDan are a family run Danish company and as such only give details of their office in Denmark in the user guide. However, they do have offices in the UK:

BabyDan
5 Duke Street
Southport
PR8 1SE
Tel. 01704 537843

They have an online catalogue but I can only say that at the moment it is not working.

When I rang BabyDan in the ... more

Imagine if you will a small front room (13’ 7” x 13’ 5”) where one wall of the room is taken up by a fabulous stone fireplace with stove, hearth and green marble effect plinths either side. Now imagine small baby learning to walk…and fall near this beautifully but dangerously appointed hearth! Well now you are in my living room watching my son take is first steps (well in the next month or so).

I looked around at fireguards, which are all very nice and functional, but only protect the actual hearth area. I need to literally cordon off the entire wall. How was I going to do it? Well I spotted the BabyDen, made confusingly by BabyDan!

The BabyDen is essentially a hexagonal playpen which comes with a gate, so you can just walk in, as opposed to having to stretch and reach into conventional playpens. However, the BabyDen can also be used as a safety gate, a fire surround or a room divider.

@@@ TECHNICAL DETAILING @@@

When you purchase a BabyDen you receive the following:

5x 60cm (24”) Sections
1x 60cm (24”) Section with Gate – Single action squeeze handle opening.
1x Hexagonal Textile Base (usually in red)
All the pieces needed to fix both ends (if using as a safety gate, fire surround or room divider) to walls.

The BabyDen currently comes in two colours, Silver or Black (Silver is the new white apparently!).

The textile base may be machine washed at 40 degrees but must not be tumble dried. The BabyDen need only be wiped with a damp cloth or cleaned using warm soapy water. The unit may rust if used outdoors, but I’m sure if you ensure it doesn’t get wet or is dried properly when brought indoors, this should not be a problem.

When used as a Playpen you get approximately 1 square metre of play area.

@@@ ASSEMBLING/CONFIGURATIONS @@@

BabyDen

To use as a playpen you fit all 6 panels together into a hexagon. This sounds fairly simple and I guess it was if not a little frustrating. The BabyDen comes semi-assembled. Upon opening the box you will find all 6 panels interlocked in a zigzag configuration i.e. /\/\/\ To assemble the BabyDen you first remove the middle vertical bar. This is very easy as they are sprung and have a channel to push them out of in the base holder. Once the vertical bar is removed you have two units, both with 3 panels each. Take one unit and adjust the ‘hinges’. This is simply done by pulling one panel up and depressing the next panel down near a hinge and then rotating the outer panel to the correct position. There are markers on the hinges giving the position for hexagonal or square configurations, but you can alter to any angle in between that you like. Once you have adjust the first panel to the correct configuration (i.e. half a hexagon) then you repeat the procedure with the second unit. Place both units together to create a hexagon and replace the vertical bars. You can now place the textile padded base inside the BabyDen and let your little tike play safely. The BabyDen can also be used outside, although best not to use the padded base.

Fire Surround

To use as a fire surround you can remove a couple of panels and place around your fire in a square configuration, using the gate panel in the middle to allow access for lighting/switching on. Remember as the panels are just made up of vertical bars, that your child will be able to reach through them.

Safety Gate

Can be used as a safety gate but really only suitable for larger openings. Not suitable as a straight wall to wall gate. To use as a safety gate you need to use 3 panels in a half hexagon shape and then place at the top of stairs or use more panels if need to place around bottom or stairs if you have large sweeping staircases etc. If you have the conventional staircase then you will be better off buying a conventional stair gate.

@@@ MANUAL/INSTRUCTIONS @@@

The BabyDen comes with an extremely well formatted user guide, giving clear instructions with diagrams on how to assemble the BabyDen into the above mentioned configurations. Good Safety tips on how and where to position the unit are on the first page!

The User Guide also states that additional panels may be purchased from your supplier.

As I need to make safe an entire wall in my lounge, and BabyDan instruct that the gate must never be used in a completely straight configuration to maintain stability, I have found myself in need of a further panel. Now I purchased my BabyDen on the internet via Mothercare (more on suppliers later). When I placed my order I had a vague recollection of them supplying the extension pieces at a reasonable price. However, they now do not supply the extensions and I am unsure that they ever did! Fortunately, Mothercare kindly rang the supplier for me to see if they were available, which the reply was "of course have the customer ring us and we will deal direct". So now I think I should mention who the supplier is!

@@@ BABYDAN @@@

BabyDan are a family run Danish company and as such only give details of their office in Denmark in the user guide. However, they do have offices in the UK:

BabyDan
5 Duke Street
Southport
PR8 1SE
Tel. 01704 537843

They have an online catalogue but I can only say that at the moment it is not working.

When I rang BabyDan in the UK, I explained what and why I needed the extension piece and they told me exactly what to order and how much it would be. Unfortunately the UK office isn't geared up for Credit Cards, so I find I now have to write to them specifying what I need and enclosing a cheque. I was informed that even though I was ordering from them the item would actually be despatched from Denmark a.s.a.p. I was kinda hoping the online catalogue would be working today but alas it’s not!

The company has been in operation since 1947, it has an environmental certification stating that its production techniques are in keeping with the environment as much as is possible. They also received the royal (Danish) award for excellence in export in June 2000. Their website is www.babydan.com and it details suppliers across the globe! There is also an option to enter details of the space you are trying to secure and they will recommend the right product for you, but I found this function to be very limited.

So finally and probably one of the most important things, aside from does it keep my child safe is how much!

@@@ COST @@@

Cost of the BabyDen in the UK can vary. John Lewis sell it for £79.00 but tend to only stock it in Silver. Mothercare sell it for £79.99 but do stock both colours. Other outlets are Toys R Us, Perfectly Happy People (phpbaby.com), Tesco Online, Littlewoods Home Shopping and a few other smaller outlets which can be found on BabyDan’s website. Usually there will also be a delivery charge occurred when purchasing online. But both Mothercare and John Lewis tend to have a ready stock of silver ones in their stores.

The extension piece is costing me £20 direct from BabyDan. How this is broken down I do not know yet. I shall update when I find out.

+++ UPDATE ON EXTENSION PIECE +++

Well finally I have received my extension piece. I have to say it has not been an easy task! So apologies for the length of this update, but it has served to get some frustration off my chest!

So on January 17th I dutifully wrote to BabyDan in the UK with an exact quotation of what I was told to order, making sure the colour required was clear, and a cheque for £20 exactly. I had been informed that it would take about 7 days to receive as they would then have to contact Denmark. Ok no problem there, my son was just about bum-shuffling and the rest of the BabyDen was doing a good job without being secured to the wall. (Because it's recommended that the BabyDan is NOT used in a straight line, it has some stability) However after about 10 days had passed and there was no sign that my order had been received let alone despatched I rang BabyDan UK. I was informed that the delay was due to the item being out of stock and that if I had not received delivery by Friday lunchtime (the 31st Jan) I should give them another ring. Friday lunchtime came and went still no sign, so I rang BabyDan UK just after 3pm (Why so precise with the time you may wonder? Read on!). I was informed that they would have to contact Denmark to find out where my order was. Ok no problem there or is there? Well the Denmark office close at 4pm on a Friday, again not a problem as it's now only 3pm except you then have to take into account that Europe runs an hour ahead of us! So I had to wait until Monday 3rd Feb before we could even contact Denmark. Still at this point I'm happy and saying fair enough. I spend Monday at home waiting for a call, but it doesn't happen. Tuesday I phone BabyDan again, explain the situation again and get told that they will have to chase the order. A week goes by and I go out and return home to an answer phone message saying the item was delivered on Monday 3rd Feb, to my postcode and signed for by someone with the name piers??? My surname is McLean, I was in all that day no one knocked on my door! I rang BabyDan again (Tues 11th Feb) explained that after a week the supposed neighbour has not produced my parcel. All BabyDan can say is that someone called piers? signed for the order and so they have proof of delivery. I point out my name is not piers and it's not piers that's written on the cheque I sent them! So after some minor arguing I agree that I will check with my neighbours to see if anyone has 'accidently' forgotten to let me have my parcel after a week! I check with the nice chap across the road to see if there are any piers? on the street and he points out the house 2 doors down and says they are pearson. I check with them but they haven't had it. I ring another neighbour and they say the people living 2 doors down from me are also called pearson. I check but they don't seem to be in for 2 days solid, finally I see they are in but it's 9:40pm, so I knock because I'm desperate to find my extension piece (Last week my son learnt to crawl!). However, Although I can see someone sitting watching television they refuse to come to the door. The following night I send my husband and he knocks on the window as the poor very hard of hearing gentleman walks by. Alas no sign of the parcel. So back to BabyDan, they nicely say without any fuss that they will send another one out. Two days ago (17th Feb) I'm laying on the sofa bed in my lounge all day due to being very ill and am not disturbed in the slightest. However, later that day after my husband has returned from work my immediate neighbour pops round with the long awaited parcel! One wonders why Parcelforce seemed totally unable to deliver to my door!!! I do hope this is not a standard for dealing with orders. One last thing, my cheque has still not been cashed and I have no receipt or delivery note, so it could all have gone wrong again for all they know! 

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