• Always show your babysitter or caregiver how to properly set up your playpen according to the manufacturer's instructions. Improper setup can cause the playpen to collapse, resulting in injury or death to the child.

• Never leave an infant in a mesh playpen or crib with the drop-side down. Infants can roll into the space between the mattress and the loose mesh side and suffocate. Even when a child is not in a playpen, leave the drop-side up. Children may try to climb back into a playpen and cut or pinch their fingers on the unlocked hinge mechanism.

• Remove large toys, bumper pads, or boxes from inside the playpen. They can be used for climbing out.

• Avoid tying any items across the top or corner of the playpen; they can be a strangulation hazard.

• Toys should not be hung from the sides with strings or cords because they could wrap around a child's neck. Use another method for attaching the toys to the playpen.

• Children may use the top rail of the playpen for teething. Check vinyl or fabric-covered rails frequently for holes and tears. A teething child can chew off pieces and choke.

• If staples are used to attach the mesh side to the floor plate, make sure none are loose or missing.

• Examine the mesh and its attachment to the top rail and floor frequently for loose threads. There have been reports of entanglements in threads (stitching) that unraveled.

• Never use a playpen with holes in the mesh sides. These could entrap a child's head and cause strangulation.

• Never use a playpen with a hinge in the center of each of the four top rails that fold if each top rail does not automatically lock when the rail is lifted into the normal use position.

• Never use a pad that does not fit snugly and never add a second pad or mattress. Babies have suffocated when trapped between mattresses or between the playpen side and mattress that was too small.

Adapted from "The Safe Nursery" by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission