IKEA Toddler Tower Hack Bekvam £29 + Oddvar £13

[BakeOffRewatch]

Anyone tried it and would recommend? Can’t find any forum posts on it, only influencer posts. Very tempting at that price point, but am I just going to end up with something that doesn’t fit the bill.

ohhidiy.com/diy-learning-tower-ikea-bekvam-odvar-hack

Proper toddler tower are soooo expensive. This is one I’m considering from Etsy because at least it’s multifunctional, it’s still over £150 though 😱

Becoming an urgent matter because toddler is dangerously climbing up us or on drawer handles just to see what we’re doing.

@BakeOffRewatch we had the fun pod (original little helper). I know it's more expensive (£99) but the things I like about it

• I liked them not being able to climb up it themselves. Yes it's a bit of a pain having to lift them in & out, but I liked they couldn't just access the cooker/sink/knives themselves.

Solid sides so no just wriggling down either.

I also felt teaching them to climb on chairs to access stuff wasn't a good idea (so avoided using just a kitchen chair!

the small increments & ease of the height adjuster made it the perfect height over a long period.

many years later it's still being passed on.

well worth the money.

We have a little helper - it's great. Have you tried looking on market place, even a bit outside of your normal area?

We did the hack with the IKEA stool then built a frame on the top. We started using it around the time my son turned 1 and he still uses it at 3.5. We use it most days if not all. He's probably getting a bit tall for it now.

My only regret was not staining/sealing it. They get SO dirty with grubby hands and general spills.

We used this guide but this was 6 years aho and there are loads more out there now.

FIL did the work and hes a good diy er so he splayed the top for more room. He also dowled the rod in the back. I would not do this as we had to cut it off when dd got too big to get in from under neath. Mush better to pop a bit of wood on than can be easily removed.

Forgot to add pic!

Yes we made this! Used it loads, my little girl loved it. The only thing I'd say is you need to push it right up to the work surface to make sure it's stable as it can tip forward

Yes we got the callowese. I was unsure based on reviews but it does the job! When you drag it there is some movement of the bits that slot in within their brackets (hope that makes sense) but my toddler has used it as a trampoline and it's not budged so I don't think it's going to come apart easily.

Oh no, I’m kind of put off by the point about tilting! The whole reason for me is so I can actually relax a bit and not constantly hover. At the moment I am doing a lot of things with toddler on hip (they just want to see what I’m doing, fair enough) which is killing my back.

Thanks for listing all those points about The Original Kitchen Helper @ATadConfused. I think I would like solid sides too, the Niro kitchen helper has solid sides and they can climb in and out but a bit pricier at £170 www.nidofamily.co.uk/collections/prepare-your-home/products/kitchen-helper

We had a Little Helper pod, was amazing and lasted years through both children. Bought ours second hand so wasn't that expensive. Extremely solid and impossible to tip over.

www.littlehelper.co.uk/products/little-helper-funpod-kitchen-learning-tower-05?variant=30481648975927&currency=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gclid=CjwKCAjws8yUBhA1EiwAi_tpEYwMlFb1Z5NLupCSf1ywDoKM_U8lwgKkNKHnRAp5S2F9UGsB6jl8_hoCDngQAvD_BwE

@BakeOffRewatch

we all have to choose what we think will suit us best!

as I said, I didn't want them to be able to climb in & out themselves, as I didn't want to encourage them to climb to reach things they shouldn't and I didn't want them to have access to the water/knives/cooker top as they pleased.

it was a little bit of a pain having to lift them in and out, but for me it didn't outweigh my safety concerns.

plus as I said I lived the small increment the pod/helper had so it was always the perfect height for them and it was incredibly sturdy.

good luck choosing!

I found one for £45 on either Amazon or eBay last year. It's grand. Has a white board and blackboard on it. Definitely recommend. I couldn't find a second hand one either.

Yes I second @Flipflop123462 if you don't push it right up to the worktop in can tip over .

I actually used that tutorial/link you posted on the first post , I didn't paint it though.

I probably should have added that I’d not been to IKEA before this weekend. I bought Mammut table, chair and stools yesterday (toddler had stumbled from normal garden furniture when tired last weekend) and that was in and out. Really happy with those.

Today we went through the show room and were there for HOURS, I got lost and by the time we got to the restaurant we had to eat. I bought the Bekvam stool in white and I’m not happy with the quality. The paint is uneven and there’s gaps between the pieces. I won’t be buying wood flat pack from ikea again and I might sell this one on soon, it’s horrible to touch.

I decided to just get the Bekvam on its own as I need a stool for not holding toddler on hip for tooth brushing and so on. The foot stool I have already is heavy and cumbersome to move from living room to kitchen. I don’t have chairs, we have fold away dining table and chairs so not safe for standing. I’ll get the NIDO or The Original Kitchen Helper when we move home, as it’s what I want for our needs. Thanks for talking it through everyone.

I have bought 3 of the Bekvam stools 😳 since this thread . No modifications. One for my parents houses and two in ours. Just useful to have around for tooth brushing, hand washing, decorating and helping in kitchen. The Mammut stuff is great too.

I'm back because I have a new question: which junior dining chair from Ikea? Ingolf or Agam? Agam looks nicer but Ingolf looks comfier? Don’t worry I’ll start a new thread too! i need to get one tomorrow, the step on our Stokke Clikk high chair broke off under my toddler’s full weight 😩

We got the Agam, they are great

I got the Ingolf, my toddler refuses to sit in it 😂. She sits in the one I bought for my mum’s house, but at ours she sits in our lap or by herself at her Mammut table. On another thread someone said their kid used it into teens and good for homework, so I’m not too put out about the purchase. It is really comfy, I perch on it sometimes.