Where can I find the value of an Abbott vintage wooden playpen?

Answer 1

Most "vintage" playpens and vintage cribs do NOT meet today's current safety guidelines. Older playpens and cribs have wider bars than today's manufacturers and health care providers recommend. They also have a wider gap between the rail and the mattress.

The Risk

Statistics showed that babies could easily get their heads through/between rails, or between the rail and mattress. Either way, a baby can choke, strangulate, or suffocate. A baby's head weighs a lot and the baby's neck muscles cannot pull or lift -- also, a baby cannot use mental processes to free themselves from dangerous positions. For example, a baby does NOT think, "Well, I turned my head to the side, like this, to get through this space. So if I turn my head again, I might get free." Instead, they either struggle till they suffocate or stangulate, or hang themselves because the head is so heavy and they can't pull themselves up. (Same reason that water in a bucket is so dangerous. A toddler or young child can drown in just an inch or two of water.)

If you choose to sell this playpen, I implore you to clearly state that it should not be used for any child (infant to toddler).

But, you could list it as "a playpen to display doll or stuffed animal collections" BUT I would somehow permanently mark it "Dangerous rails--do not use for children". If you use a temporary marker like a tag on a string, the buyer could later take the tag off and sell it to someone with a child. That would be horrible that this "vintage" crib could cause a child's death sometime in the future.

Professionals actually recommend completely disabling all parts and breaking the rails out so that NO ONE can ever possibly put a child at risk.

Please carefully consider this information and the fact that ALL old / vintage / antique cribs or playpens have rails that are too far apart and that pose a great risk of injury and death. As well, old playpens that have mesh sides (from about 1970s) are also not recommended; neither are crib "bumpers" recommended anymore.