When we were shopping for baby stuff oh, so many moons ago, I noticed that stores and catalogues were offering a fine selection of "playards". This, I learned, is a clumsy abbreviation of "play yard", what we used to call a playpen.
I'm assuming that the name change comes from ultra-sensitive people being offended at the use of the word "pen" in relation to the containment of precious babies. [i]"Pen!"[/i] they screamed (or so I imagine), [i]"Pigs live in pens! My pwecious widdle snookums will not be contained in a pen, play or otherwise!"[/i]
The manufacturers of the much-maligned pens in question scratched their heads and brainstormed for endless... minutes before coming up with a new name. [i]"Yard! Play Yard! Better yet, Playard! Sounds like Juliard! And Har-vard! They'll love that!"[/i]
Let's call a spade a spade, folks. We [i]do[/i] use these convenient baby-containment systems to, well, contain our babies. It's a pen. It's there so we can let our kids play in a safe place while we pee, cook on a hot stove, or for when need to keep Junior away from marauding toddlers.
In protest of the unnecessary changing of perfectly good (if un-P.C.) names of products, I will now be using my own name for this one.
Now excuse me... I have to go put my boy in his Baby Cage while I make supper.
;-)
cfamommy posted on Jul 25, 2006
| views: 121
Comments
-
JadeLondon said on Jul 26, 2006....
The only thing that my playpen has ever been used for is a glorified toy box. We just use our furniture in our very small living room to build a corral. That worked much better with my oldest son. My second-born is something of a monkey boy--he'll scale about anything. We don't even have him sleep in a crib because we are afraid that he will try to climb out, fall, and break his neck. We've resorted to taking his crib mattress and making him a bed on the floor (until we can get a toddler bed frame). -
cfamommy said on Jul 26, 2006....
My aunt used to have a play pen- her husband came home one evening to find the kids running around the room while my aunt sat in the playpen reading a book! Hey, whatever works! -
JadeLondon said on Jul 26, 2006....
I would love to throw myself in the playpen and read a book. Now, if only I could find that stupid playpen (it is now packed away). -
Brownian said on Jul 27, 2006....
"Yard! Play Yard! Better yet, Playard! Sounds like Juliard! And Har-vard! They'll love that!" That made my day! This reminds me of the time the restaurant chain I worked at as a busboy decided to start calling us 'table technicians'. They stopped when we started demanding tool belts, screwdrivers, and hardhats instead of aprons, washcloths, and red clip-on bowties. -
cfamommy said on Jul 27, 2006....
Brownian: lol. I like to think of myself as an "infant bio-waste disposal management technician" sometimes. -
Supermom said on Jul 30, 2006....
My son is 16 months and has taken to diving out of his cage face first but I still love it, my daughter isn't big enough to need the cage though so I only have one source of entertainment right now...poor me. Thank you for writing to me on my blog, we can totally be friends, -
bipolarbear said on Jul 31, 2006....
how funny! i loved reading this one.
Comment on "Yard, Pen, Whatever..."
Related Posts:
uniquely-ironic
posted about 8 hours ago
| views: 47
|
and have to at least try to keep a straight face.... read entire post
pickersplock
posted 2 days ago
| views: 41
|
Or does Aaron Neville.................. read entire post
uniquely-ironic
posted 1 day ago
| views: 2241
|
Last night Sweetie and I drove to San Jose to have dinner with my niece.... read entire post