Wondering whether to get a toddler tower or not

[Mazuslongtoenail]

My two year old (28months) seems to really like helping me cook and prepare meals. It’s a good way to entertain him and keep him safe in the busy after work/prep dinner period.

So far he’s sat in his highchair close by but he can’t join in so much doing that. At breakfast he sits on the counter with me in front of him as a barrier.

I’m wondering whether to get a toddler tower so that he can join in better and be safe but I can’t find any second hand nearby and they’re also another bit of kit to have hanging around, so want to be sure I’ll use it before I invest.

Has anyone got one? Did you use it for long? Or shall I just wait and he’ll sit on the counter safely quite soon?

What shape is your kitchen? Mine is U shaped and I never bothered with a toddler tower even though my toddler loves to help as I put a dining chair in one of the corners so she's blocked in one one side by the back of the dining chair, on two sides by the kitchen counter and then I stand on the fourth side so she can't fall off that way either and it works well for us. My house isn't big enough to store something as big as a toddler tower that is only used for a short period of time each day.

Bump

Depends on your child. We just needed a chair for 1&2, but the youngest was a lunatic who would just step off it.

It’s a U shape as well @SweetThames but our chairs wouldn’t be big enough to provide much of a barrier. I see other, younger, children sat on the counter unguarded which makes me think we might soon be past the stage of needing it. But I definitely don’t trust him not to leap off yet!

I hadn’t even thought of using a chair as a platform 🤦‍♀️. I understand now the pp, I was thinking if it being a blocker. We have a step stool for decorating that I could wash down and use temporarily.

We just turned a chair around! Possibly not the safest option, but we were always standing right next to him (tiny kitchen, so he had a wall on one side and me on the other). Obviously I picked a sturdy chair with a large seat area.

We still have an Ikea wooden step (for me to reach the top cupboards), and he stands or sits on that to keep me company aged 7. Has never fallen off it.

We have a great little trading company one which we love. DD is just 2 and it's perfect for keeping her safe but allowing her to help. It also has a blackboard on the side which she likes too.

We got one off fb marketplace when my oldest was 2- I absolutely love it, my 6 year old still uses it now.

Yep we've had one and use it every day. Well worth it.

I had one (second hand) but it got used most from about 15 months to 2.5 so not sure how much you’d get from it for a 28 month old

Was mainly useful as a temporary container to stop toddler doing something daft while I answered door or checked on washing machine or ran upstairs for something. But by 2.5 it was more possible to leave her unsupervised for a couple of min for these jobs.

Sitting on the counter is not a habit you want to encourage by the way, IMO.

That’s useful to hear that we might be nearing the end of most useful period. But interesting to hear that they can be used for longer.

@minipie “Sitting on the counter is not a habit you want to encourage by the way, IMO” For safety reasons? Or something else?

I have many happy memories of sitting on the counter watching my mum make a pie or my dad cut my sandwiches into shapes so I’ve never really considered that it’s something to avoid?

I think my son switched to just climbing onto our bar stools or pulling up a chair to stand on around the 3 year mark. Until then yes we really enjoyed it. It does make a large section of the countertop accessible at all times (assuming you keep it out), so we had a zone around it of child-safe stuff. Might be difficult if your kitchen surfaces aren’t that large.

Just because it might make them think it’s ok to climb up there when you’re not there. And I’ve seen 2 kids (one mine, one my sister) taken off to A&E after falling from the counter.

But maybe you have more rule abiding kids than mine!

My 4 year old still regularly uses his! He's tall for his age but still waay off being able to reach well so can't see it being outgrown for a while?!

Similar to pp, chair in the corner part of the worktop gives a surround on 3/4 sides and I block the last.
Toddler using this by 2.5yo. Needs help getting up and down but would drag the chair over themselves to "help".

We use ours most days. My kids love helping to cook and I try to find something they can do in most meals I prep, or let them sort their own cereal and milk using it for breakfast, etc. My oldest is 4 and still uses it as much as the younger one.

Our 2 year old uses his tower most days pushed against the dining table.
We got one that folds in half to make a table and stool which he loves. He sits and eats his dinner on it.
For us it was a good investment and doesn't take up too much space

We have one, its amazing. Used it with DS1 now aged 5.5, and now DS2, age 26 months. We didn't spend a fortune though, I made one with an IKEA stool we already owned and some bits of wood. It sounds really unsafe, but its still solid 3 years on. It gets used several times every day, my toddlers loved helping with stuff up there

If you want to save money and are near an ikea have a look at this page, I didn't use this tutorial, but one similar.

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

We got a two step stool from IKEA and hacked it with some off cuts of wood about 4 years ago. Cheap as chips and still going strong. It's used for way more than them just helping out. The kids (5&2) utilise it to be more independent in a variety of ways, and I use it to reach stuff. It's great.

Jinx!! 😂

I got mine off of Facebook marketplace and it is used daily. My two year old plays at washing up, helps me cook but also eats her lunch stood up in it. I wouldn’t have paid full price for a new one but we love it.

Ooh Spooky!! I have to say, yours is a lot straighter than ours, but yes, other than that, exactly the same!!

Ha thanks!!! It was a total hack with bits we had lying around and we're both shocking at DIY so I shall pop that compliment straight into my pocket!! 😍

I've never heard of a toddler tower (or of kids sitting on counters, to be honest), but I would just use the IKEA stool (or any stool). I don't see why it needs extra bits added to the top. It's tall enough that he can stand on it and be at or above counter level.

My DS is 6 and uses it daily. He has issues with balance and gross motor so it's great because he feels safe and can make his own breakfast. My DD won't use it as long I don't think but it currently gets a huge amount of use here