Please explain the value of the Learning Tower!

[maylips]

...especially at $189! DD currently climbs up on a cheap rubbermaid 2-step ladder.

Am I missing something? What do your kids use it for?

[happy2bamom]

Well, for us DS has some trouble with balance so the LT was essential for him to help-out with cooking. He is just safer in the LT then he would be standing on a chair.

Now that both kids want to help with cooking, the LT is big enough for both of them to be in it and it takes up less space then having 2 seperate chairs for them to stand on. If both stood on one chair, I KNOW that one (or both) would end up falling. I like that they are contained, but still able to see and do things on the counter. HTH

[BeachBum]

We used it a lot because we didn't have a breakfast room or bar seating. DS ate breakfast standing there, did play dough there, etc etc. It was his "go to" safe spot in the kitchen. I could let him play with all sorts of messy things there while I was cooking without him being in my way or in danger.

If I was only using it for the instances when DS helped me cook, or play in the sink etc, I wouldn't have purchased it. For us, it was much more than that.

Now that we have island seating, we haven't used it at all. Not sure how/ if we will use it going forward.
HTH.

[ThreeofUs]

DS would fall off the sides of a 2-step ladder, and when he tried to put it up himself, would get his fingers caught. Doesn't happen with a LT.

But we love it for all the reasons Kelli listed, as well as the complete inability of a child to fall backward accidentally out of the LT. It's always just the right height for helping a the counter, and is roomy enough to fit 2 BIG kids.

I got mine for $122 shipped, btw, and you can sometimes find them on craigslist.

[vludmilla]

DS would fall off the sides of a 2-step ladder, and when he tried to put it up himself, would get his fingers caught. Doesn't happen with a LT.

But we love it for all the reasons Kelli listed, as well as the complete inability of a child to fall backward accidentally out of the LT. It's always just the right height for helping a the counter, and is roomy enough to fit 2 BIG kids.

I got mine for $122 shipped, btw, and you can sometimes find them on craigslist.

We like our LT and we bought ours off of Craigslist for $70 and we can probably sell it when we're done with it for $50 so I imagine our real cost for use may only be $20-30.
When we were looking for one, none were listed so we posted a wanted ad on Craigslist and then got two offers.

[elektra]

I had never even heard of this thing! Well, I think I saw another poster post about it but I thought it was some kind of outdoor wooden play structure. ;)
But I think I may need something like this because DD would fall off a step ladder and I'm thinking that it's going to be getting harder for me to pick her up to wash her hands all the time as my bellly gets bigger.
FWIW, SIL uses a plain 'ol step ladder for her 2 yo. and that works fine for them. They have a tiny kitchen and would have no room for a Learning Tower. But my DD still doesn't quite have the balance thing down yet.

[WatchingThemGrow]

ITA with the CL idea. They come up periodically, but you can always post a wanted ad. We have the folding Kitchen Helper, but if my kitchen were larger and could dedicate some counter space, I'd totally get a LT.

I copied this from PlatinumGalleria.com -They have the LT on their site. I refer back to the list from time to time. From friends' kitchen stories, I'd MUCH rather have a safe place for DC to work in the kitchen than end up with one head gash or burned hand from not knowing having their dedicated, safe work space.

TODDLER TIPS:

Children love to help adults cook and there isn't anything children can't learn through cooking:
* They practice motor skills such as scrubbing, tearing, pouring, rolling, kneading, peeling, cutting, grating, slicing, spreading and shaking.
* Their language development is enhanced through discussions while cooking, reading the picture recipe, following directions, sequencing and making comparisons.
* Mathematic is learned through counting, measuring, classification and number recognition.
* Science is learned through discussions about how food changes during the cooking process. They learn about hot and cold, floating and sinking, dissolving, evaporation, browning, leavening, melting and freezing.
* Social skills are developed by having to take turns, work together to complete the cooking project, and learning how to share responsibilities.

2 Year Olds Can...
* Scrub food. Tear, break or snap foods. Dip food items.

3 Year Olds Can...
* Put toppings on a pizza. Add decorations to cookies. Wrap foil around potatoes. Press dough into a pan. Cut out biscuits. Pour milk or juice (practice first at the sink).
* Stir with hands (bowl should be twice the size of the mixture.) Shake pudding or mix in a ziplock bag. Crack nuts in a heavy plastic bag with a mallet. Grease baking pans.

4 Year Olds Can...
* Peel eggs, corn and tangerines. Scrape carrots. Roll and flatten biscuit dough. Juice fruits. Crack eggs usng a plate or flat bowl. Spread soft peanut butter with dull knives.
* Mash egg yolks for deviled eggs. Cut soft fruit, cheese or vegetables with a knife. Roll cookie dough into balls. Arrange fruits, sandwiches and crackers on a plate. Mix a salad.

5 Year Olds Can...
* Measure ingredients. Stir with a spoon. Beat eggs using a fork, whisk or egg beater. Grind cranberries or apples. Grate cheese or carrots.
* Knead bread dough. Learn to use small knives safely under supervision. Mash or sieve cooked apples. Grind cooked vegetables or fruits in a food mill.

[hillview]

We really like ours. DS #1 at 3 years old does ok on a stool for hand washing etc but for projects we :heartbeat: the LT. It is also a safe place for him to do things away from DS#2 (for now).
/hillary

[brittone2]

Agreeing w/ the PPs. It is much more stable than a stepstool. I don't have to be watching them constantly when they are in it for fear that they are going to tumble off the thing, trip, step backwards off of it, etc. That makes my life easier.

We got it for DS when he was 15ish months or so IIRC. He is still using it (now often alongside his 22 month old sister).

When we got ours I think DH thought it was nuts to spend that amount, but it has gotten a *ton* of use through the years, and still looks great (and could still be resold on Craigslist for quite a bit of $$). We have a small kitchen, but we do have 2 walk in pantries, so storage isn't a big deal for us.

If your current system works for you, it works for you. But the LT has made things much easier for us, especially since we cook most meals from scratch and our kids usually help in some way.

[AngelaS]

I've never seen the purpose of them either. My girls always either stand on the stepstool or (gasp!) sit on the counter to help out.

[thomma]

We liked ours but I think if I had had one kid I would've skipped it. With two, I knew that one was safe/contained in the LT so I could chase down the other one.

FWIW, I paid almost $150 for ours and sold it for $100 after using it for 3 years.

Kim
ds&dd 5/03