Playpen

I would agree with babyproofing a room, getting some good baby gates will work great. The playpens are good for sleeping, so don't give up on it altogether. :)

My daughter is 18months and we still use it. She goes in it when I take a shower and plays by herself. We also use it for when we go out of town and she needs a place to sleep. When she was little and couldn't sit up on her own I would put her in it propped up on the boppy or had her in a bouncy seat.

if he hates it now, he'll hate it later....play yard panels worked better for my boys.

Very few babies like being penned up. Reserve the playpen for traveling needs or short moments when you need baby safely secured. Otherwise, a baby proofed room is nicer and more developmentally appropriate so the baby can learn and interact.

Have you tried other baby favorites? At that age, my daughter loved her bouncer, jumperoo, exersaucers, and swing.

I've used mine since my son was born. He is now 22 months old and still goes in there and plays with his toys, only when I am taking a shower though, any longer than that and he will climb out. He still sleeps in it when he stays overnight at my moms house as well. My nephew used his until he was 2 and could climb out. My friends with little ones seem to never use theirs because their babies have always hated them, so I guess it depends on the child..

He probably won't ever "like" it. Each baby is different.

As the other poster said, play-yards are great... and you can configure it larger or smaller depending on how many panels you have.
That is what we used when my kids were babies... to put them in and for safety if I was home alone and cooking or doing chores etc.

A baby can be in a play-pen up to the weight limitations on the product.

I had playpens for both of my children and got them used to them very early on. Even before they could sit up by themselves, they could still roll all over the place. I didn't put them in there for hours or anything, but there were just times they had to be in their playpens for their own safety. They didn't mind them, but they were both really good about playing or jabbering to themselves independently. I'd turn the TV or music on and make sure they had a few toys. I also had a mirror that I could move around and prop up so they could see themselves when we were at home.
We travelled a lot so they were used to any playpen, pak-n-play or port-a-crib. Even though we stayed in nice hotels, I didn't like them being on the floors too much and being on the beds were fine if someone was right there to watch them so they didn't roll off.
I never regretted getting them used to a play pen. God only gave me two arms and hands.
Your baby might not like being in his playpen, but it really, really won't hurt him to be in there for a while. It won't hurt him to fuss about it either. He's just not used to it, in my opinion. If you take him out everytime he cries, he never will be.
You'll know when your baby is too old to be in a playpen. It's usually when they figure out how to hoist themselves up to try to get out. You've got quite a while to go for that.

I wish you the best!

I used mine as a "time out" once my son got to 7 months and then as a potable crib when we went out of town.

I think maybe you should not put him in it at all until he absoultly has to for instance when he starts really crawling...he may at that time he may not rmember not liking it and will maybe find it a new fun experience...but if hes cant even it up yet there is really not reason for him to be in it :) All babies are different mine is also 6 months old and is crawling like crazy infact he tried climbing the stairs yesterday...hes something else let me tell you! good luck :)

my kids are 15 months and they love the play yard and the like to rest there when they are tired in the day and is a secure place where thay can be while i am cooking

As soon as my daughter could sit up, we used the playpen everyday for an hour or two while I got things done around the house. Honestly, I think that its a learned behavior to be happy with being in the playpen. I used to give my daughter toys and alternate them when she got bored. She did just fine. This hour or two each day actually taught her to play independently and now she is a happy well adjusted 3 year old. We also used it for travel for her to sleep in and that always worked well.

we never used a playpen.

we childproofed one room as best we could and gated the room.. so the baby had the entire room that was pretty safe.

now we never really left them alone in the room.. but I thought this was better than putting htem in a pen.

at 6 months your baby is barely moving so you probably dont even need a playppen yet..

I used it for my oldest to sleep in bc we didn't have a crib until she was a year where my MIL finally got the crib to us lol! My youngest sleep in it right now bc we are transitioning my oldest into a toddler bed soon, they are only 13 months apart... My SIL used it for similar usuage till her daughter learned to climb out now she uses it for her son... Also we can't fit a crib into our bed room...

I babyproofed the room, and had gates on the doors. That worked for a place to play. My kids slept in one for the first year or so, as it fit in our bedroom (and a crib would not have).
The best use for one though was when my #2 was big enough to bug my #1, I told #1 that it was 'her' space - she could get in and out on her own, and it gave her a place to play that he could not get to. (He is 2 years younger - so she found it useful right around age 3.)

Both of mine only used it to sleep in when we travel or in the beginning as a changing station. We also bought the outdoor gates that are quite big when set up. It gavet them lots of room to play w/out confinement and they were fine with it for the first year or so. At the lake we would set it up by the water with the fake grass for our son to use and play in the dirt and water edge without being free on the beach. He used it that way until he was almost 2.

I never used one for my baby to play in. I only purchased one to use when we were traveling and needed a place for them to sleep. I don't think anybody would be happy playing in a small, confined space at any age.

Just put your baby on the floor somewhere safe with age appropriate toys for him to play with. Once he is a little older and moving around make sure you have a safe area where he can explore without getting into trouble. If you can gate off a room and make sure that room is completely safe for him to explore.