Guidecraft Kitchen Helper

One piece of "toddler gear" we really wanted as Sadie has been getting bigger is a kitchen/learning tower. She was always wanting to be "up up up" when she was in the kitchen - she wanted to be up at our level for everything we were cooking.

I knew we didn't want to rely on a step stool, especially because we have slate floors in the kitchen, which are very uneven. I loved the idea of a learning tower that would completely surround Sadie so that she couldn't (easily) fall. After doing a lot of research, we settled on the Guidecraft Kitchen Helper.

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What sold us on it was the ability to fold it when it was not in use. There are many other similar products out there, but most of them cannot be folded. Because we live in a small house with no storage space to spare (no garage, basement storage, etc) we needed something that could be flexible for our home.

 

The pros of the Guidecraft Kitchen Helper:

• Can be folded
• Comes in white to compliment our décor
• Decently sturdy

The cons of the Guidecraft Kitchen Helper:

• At around $150 it's not a cheap investment if you don't find yourself using it a lot
• The little dry erase board and the chalkboard are cheap quality/not necessary
• Sadie likes to stick her feet out of the little shape cutouts on the sides
• You have to use a wrench to be able to fold it up, so it's not something you would want to do every day - you still need a dedicated place in your kitchen to keep it for daily use

For us, the pros definitely outweigh the cons and we have no regrets about adding this into our small kitchen. It took Sadie one day to get used to it and after that she always wants to be up in her "tower" whenever we are doing anything in the kitchen! We use it to wash her hands at the kitchen sink, we involve her in doing the measuring and mixing when we bake, and we often set her up with various spoons and bowls so that she can "cook" while we get some actual cooking done in the kitchen!

 

Overall, it is amazing how seamlessly we've added the helper into our daily routine and how it is not an extra thing but a truly useful tool for involving Sadie more with what we're doing.

 

And, the proof is in the picture - Sadie and I making biscuits together!