playpens

Where did the playpen go?  I used one once my babies were mobile just to keep them safe if I had to leave the room for any length of time, like to go to the bathroom or change a load of laundry.  I don't get why playpens got a bad rap.  If the mom who tied her one-year-old to a chair with an apron to keep her "safe", while she ran her a bath, had had one, then the little girl wouldn't be in critical condition because she almost strangled herself trying to get free.  Seriously, this is true.  I loved the playpen, and my kids did not mind it either, it was full of toys and books and they could have a good time in this playland for a short amount of time.  I think a playpen is a far better way to keep a kid put, then tying him to a chair, don't you?  If there was no safe place to leave the toddler, why didn't the mom just take her little girl to the bathroom with her to ready the bath, or put her in her crib?  I don't get it.  I am praying for the little girl and her mother, I hope both will be alright.
Rosemary