... how much do they use it?
I'm planning DS's toddler room and Pinterest is full of adorable rooms with little tee-pees and tents. I want one so bad. But I don't want to put something like this in his room if its just to please my aesthetics and he won't actually use it. So if you have one, does your LO like it? Any features / uses that make it particularly awesome?
47 votes
eggplant / 11287 posts
We have one and they only really use it in the summer when I put it outside on the lawn.
squash / 13208 posts
We have one and it stores stuffed animals and blankets - sometimes my DD sits in it and reads but it goes mostly unused
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
We have one and right now the girls play with it almost daily. It's stored in a closet in our family room. DD1 asks for it almost daily. They (almost 4 & 18m) play in there, they like to bring their animals in there and pretend to sleep. They also like to be read in there.
A old co-worker gave it to me when DD1 was about 1.5 yo and she has gone through phases of forgetting about it and loving it.
nectarine / 2460 posts
@Mamaof2: The ones I really like on Pinterest are full of blankets, pillows and are near a bookshelf, so that's my vision. But DS will also only be about 2 by the time we get around to his room so "read" probably needs air quotes 
coconut / 8483 posts
We have a castle one from Ikea from my ILs. He loved it at first and was in it multiple times a day with us!
He's not into it as much (2 months later) but probably uses it daily. It's in the playroom.
nectarine / 2460 posts
@regberadaisy: Ah, sounds like a great shared activity. LO won't have anyone to share it with for a while, but this makes me think I should make sure I'd be happy with it in a shared space and not just his room.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
Teepee hardly used, it's been put away for the winter, but I'll try to bring it out in the summer and see what happens.
We have a VW beetle bus tent now and my son adores it.
cantaloupe / 6171 posts
I want one but it's not happening in our little apt, we just don't have the space 
honeydew / 7622 posts
I think they are cute but there is not room in Ts room and we do not have a playroom. My sister got rid of hers because my nephew would tell her he would go in there to do bad things. Whatever that means to a 4 year old. Poop on the floor?
pomegranate / 3003 posts
DD has one in her bedroom, and we filled it with pillows and a fluffy blanket. We keep a basket of rotating library books inside. We use it as a quiet reading space, for the most part. Sometimes it's her rocketship.
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
@youboots: LOL! I'm pretty sure DD1 hides in there to pick her nose sometimes!
@JennyPenny: yes! It's wonderful. We would just hear them giggling about god knows what in there.
pomelo / 5573 posts
We have the VW bus tent and it's possible that I love it more than my son does, but it gets a fair amount of play. We don't leave it out all the time, though. When we take the recliner out of his room we plan to replace it with a teepee to give him some private reading space.
honeydew / 7917 posts
Since it takes up a lot of space, I prefer tents that I can easily take apart and put away. We used it a lot outside last summer, and it's been collecting dust in the garage. I might clean it up and bring it inside for the kids to play with. They love camping in the tent.
cantaloupe / 6885 posts
We have the $20 ikea one and its get an okay amount of use (couple times a week maybe). I'm glad I didn't spend a lot of $$ on it though
GOLD / wonderful olive / 19030 posts
I'm following this because it was one of my ideas for DD1 birthday. Take out the chair and put in the teepee with books.
grapefruit / 4455 posts
Dd had one in her room (a cheap one) and loved it but I just tossed it because she was so rough on it, it was falling apart.
nectarine / 2460 posts
Thanks everyone! I at least feel like if I get one it probably will get at least some play and hopefully not be a total waste. I also love the idea of bringing it outside!! So I'll have to keep that in mind when picking one
nectarine / 2951 posts
We have one in our playroom/basement. My husband got a discounted floor model. My son likes it, but is not obsessed or anything.
pineapple / 12566 posts
We had an Ikea tent for awhile, but they never really played in it. They would go in it for 5 minutes when I would set it up, and then it would just sit there taking up room. I finally got rid of it. For us, it's better to let them make an occasional tent out of sheets and blankets than to have an actual tent.
wonderful grape / 20453 posts
E's school has a "dinosaur cave" right now and she is obsessed. But i'm sure the excitement would wane if it was available 24/7
grapefruit / 4187 posts
He plays in it sometimes but mostly it's for decor. No regrets though because it's fun for play dates and really ties his room together!
pomegranate / 3231 posts
We have a small tent that was a hand-me-down. We take it out every once in awhile, so it's a novelty, but it doesn't get much use.
I would avoid a tee-pee since it feels like cultural appropriation to me.
I'm glad we didn't pay for one.
persimmon / 1345 posts
We have one in her playroom. She plays in it once in a full moon but most of the time it goes ignored. She's 3.5 and it was a gift.
pomegranate / 3350 posts
We actually have 2 - DH made one for Christmas and we received one for a Christmas present the same year. The one that DH made really doesn't get much use, never has. The one we received is from Ikea and a tunnel can attach to it. I get annoyed with it because the kids like to run around the house kind of wearing it and they fill it up with their toys. So they do play with it but it drives me crazy so I don't take it out much.
clementine / 778 posts
DS has one and he goes in there sometimes. Before Christmas, we moved it into his room so we'd have more room in the playroom for new toys. We added pillows and blankets in it, so he could lay in there and read. Hoping as he gets older he'll us it more.
apricot / 370 posts
We have one, and my daughter didn't use it much until I strung fairy lights in the tent. Now she loves it!
hostess / papaya / 10219 posts
LO has one in his playroom from Ikea. He loves it and uses it daily.
pomegranate / 3658 posts
I don't have input for my own baby since she's 11 months but I have a little hesitation when I see these on Pinterest etc. They're usually all very expensive for starters. More to the point though, my memory from my own childhood is that I truly loved the little hideouts and forts and special places that I created myself. That was most of the fun of it.
squash / 13208 posts
@PawPrints: my kids are older but they love the set we have where you make your own fort and then throw a sheet over it!
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