Looking for stool to use in the kitchen for 20 month old to use.

[bee]

Any suggestions on "safe" stools to use in the kitchen so my son can watch me cook, etc. I've seen the nice ones in the magazines that are the big wooden square like box, where the child in contained and safe. Too large and expensive. I'm just looking for something basic but somewhat safe. However understand that I of course will be supervising.

[o_mom]

At that age, I found a kitchen chair to be the safest option - The back of the chair kept him from stepping off the back, and it was big enough for him not to fall off all the time. It also was higher than most step stools, so he could really see what was going on.

[Ohio_Mom]

I looked at all of the things you are talking about too, but the very best (and delightfully cheap) option I found was to get something like this:

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=br_1_15/602-3135889-2899803?%5Fencoding=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B00002N84F

It's just a simple folding step stool, but it has stairs that my 21 month old can climg up while holding my hand, a handle at the top that she can steady herself with, and nonskid steps so that she doesn't slide off and fall down. And best of all, I can fold it up and store it next to the fridge when we're not using so that: a) it doesn't take up a lot of room all the time in the kitchen, and b) she has to ask to use it and can't just climb up on it herself whenever she feels like it.

Of course, she has to be supervised while standing on it, but that would be true regardless. It's ended up being a great option for us, and my daughter loves to "help" me cook. When it's time for me to fix her lunch, she runs over to where I keep the stool and starts shouting, "Step stool time!" excitedly.