There’s a new fun house in my kitchen – it’s a cross between a mini tree house, a ladder, and a lookout tower yet it helps me to be able to safely cook with the kids! We are having so much fun with our Learning Tower from the Little Partners.
I have been eyeing this cool contraption for over a year now and couldn’t be more excited to have it! My oldest (Gabriel) has been cooking with me in the kitchen since he was 18 months old and so has our second son, Grayson. With Gabriel, it was much easier to keep him safe, although still a challenge. I’d pull a chair from the kitchen table over to the countertop and turn it backwards, but there were several times he fell off the sides, hitting hard on the tile floor. So then I started using a step-stool for a while, but found that to be even more annoying because the front handle sticks out and keeps the kids about a foot away from the counter, but kept them from falling sideways.
So, now with both boys wanting to help with every meal preparation at the same time, safety has become a major concern. They also get up and down quite a bit when they were standing in chairs, so the mess would get EVERYWHERE and it has really started to become something I’m not enjoying anymore. Not to mention that as Grayson’s interest in cooking has grown as he’s moved past the 18-month mark, so has my belly as I’m pregnant with son #3! Physically, I just haven’t been able to cook with my kids lately – until the Learning Tower came!
See how they can stand side by side to “help?” (I should seriously comb their mops of hair before taking pictures, shouldn’t I? Nah!)
I’ve hyped it up so much in my mind now for a year, that I was worried I might be disappointed once it was actually in my kitchen. I can happily say that it has lived up to all my expectations! The kids now cook safely with me, side by side, and I’m no longer fraught with worry that they might fall and crack a bone or get the kitchen even messier. Does it keep messes away? Ha! Anyone who’s been around a toddler knows that’s the impossible task and there’s nothing that keeps messes away. But, that’s okay with me. Babies and toddlers learn so much more with their hands and mouths and I do my best to be patient to allow for that.
And when we’re not cooking? The tower becomes a fun house to play with our cats, to hide under, climb up and down and up down…you get the idea. It’s seriously like a little playground in my kitchen! Genius!
It’s recommended for 18 months to 6 years.
See a video here of it in action on the Rachael Ray show! It shows how it works in the kitchen AND how it comes with accessories to be used as a puppet theater, play house and more!
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/embed/gJQtQJgU06I?rel=0]
