Puddin' in the Playpen

[Bugiddle]

In the first season (I think) Wally and the Beav babysit a little girl nicknamed Puddin'. Her father states she is four years old, yet they place her in a playpen! They treat her like she is two (or younger) and she acts like that, also - throwing toys at the boys and speaking with a very limited vocabulary. Did anyone else think this was really weird? It's always bugged me! At least the kid is potty-trained, because she asks to visit "Mary Jane" (the bathroom). The part where she locks herself in there and wreaks havoc, and then the boys have to call the fire dept. to get her out is quite funny, though.

In "Yours, Mine, and Ours" with Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda, I noticed that they placed a three- or four- year-old Tracy Nelson in the playpen, too. What is up with that? Please tell me they only placed preschoolers in playpens on TV and in the movies - parents didn't do that in real life in the 50's and 60's did they?

(I was a toddler in the mid-sixties, and I don't ever remember being in a playpen, but then I was the youngest of four, so there were three other kids to help watch me.)

[junecleaver]

i found that kid real annoying...i can't even watch the epi without fast forwarding through her scenes. my mom was born in 1966, oldest of 4 girls, she never had a playpen...maybe it was just a tv thing

[howilu]

I remember that early episode! Wally and Beaver are babysitting Puddin' and she causes trouble by throwing things and constantly whining "I WANNA SEE MARY JANE!" That was a code word for the bathroom, where she locked herself in and refused to come out. BTW, Puddin' was played by a young actress named Gabrielle des Enfants.

[Mijada]

I thought that was weird too. A four year old in a playpen. Most kids are out of the playpen by the time they are two. I'm surprised that kid didn't just climb out of it. According to my mom, playpens were a lot more common in those days than they are now. Most people I know who have little kids don't use them. They just put gates all over the house. When people go visiting, they are more apt to bring a playpen with them though.

[evermore]

Gabrielle des Enfants!!! too funny!!!:crybaby:

I WANT TO SEE MARY JANE!