Does anyone have a learning tower?

[vpalmer]

Clearly, we are going to need some type of stool for Eva to be at counter level to "help" me cook. I swear she will ignore me for30 minutes while playing and the second I try to cook she wants to "see" what is going on up there. For those of you that own a learning tower, is it practical if you have a normal sized kitchen? My kitchen is 12x12,but once you subtract all the space the appliances and counter tops take that doesn't leave a lot of extra space. The learning tower looks large to me in the pictures, but is it really? It is so hard for me to get an idea of the scale of it. So to those of you who already have it, I have a few questions: Do(es) your child(ren) like it? Where do you store it? Does it get in the way? Would you buy it again? Is this practical for one child or is it really made for two kids? Is there a better alternative for one child?

Thanks in advance!

Veronica
Mom to Eva
Born on 6-12-03

[masetane]

I have never heard of this - where can i see a pic please?
Caroline
Isabelle 10/1/00
Nicholas 2/27/03

[vpalmer]

Caroline,

No problem, here is a picture:

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/9638.jpg

Here is another:

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/9639.jpg

Veronica
Mom to Eva
Born on 6-12-03

[August Mom]

We have one, but we haven't had it for very long so I'm not sure I can really give you a lot of feedback. DS has no trouble climbing up on it. He seems to like standing on it. I feel better about him helping me because he can't fall off. Unfortunately, when I received mine, it had a defective part, so I worked to get that resolved. It is big enough for 2 kids (a 3 year old friend stood in it with DS), but I do not feel it is too big for 1 child. It is a bit heavy to move around. This is a good a bad thing. The good thing is that DS can't move it himself (like he does chairs). The bad thing is it's a pain to store in another room, so we generally leave it sitting in the kitchen. I am not aware of any other similar product.

Here are links to previous discussions about it:

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=12&topic_id=19076&mesg_id=19076&listing_type=search

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=12&topic_id=19237&mesg_id=19237&listing_type=search

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=12&topic_id=11609&mesg_id=11609&listing_type=search

[etwahl]

we have it, but my 16.5 month old just fell off it yesterday. fell backwards and fell through the side hole and onto the floor, where she banged her head on the cabinet door. SCARY. SO, kids can fall through them, but maybe she's still too young for it. we're going to probably just put it away for a couple months and try again.

[supercalifragilous]

I saw this almost happen with my 15 m/o when she first got in it!! She actually tried to sit down and her little butt was sticking out the side. We caught her just in time but basically she would have jacknifed herself out of that hole! We still use it b/c she LOVES it to wash her hands and play with the water but I am always standing beside her.

It's going to look SUPER tacky, but DH is either going to wrap the sides with bungee cords (like a mini WWF wrestling ring) or nail/staple on wood slats on all sides so she can't buckle out.

Since DD loves standing on it to play in the sink, it gets SUPER slippery too so we're going to add rubber feet (like the adhesive ones you put in the bathtub) to keep her from slipping.