Tell me why you do NOT like your learning tower

[arivecchi]

and convince me not to get one!

I really want one but do not really know that my kids will use it enough to justify the price.

I am also worried it will just get in the way in the kitchen.

[Kymberley]

Mine is on the way, so no BTDT advice. I can't wait though. Maybe DS will stop climbing on every single thing in the kitchen if he has something just for him!

[MommytoEliana]

It is really big. In our old house we had a small kitchen, and it was just too big. We didn't have a place to keep it out of the way, and I felt like it took over the space.

In this house it works great. The only thing is that DS uses it to reach _every_thing...especially what he isn't supposed to reach. :-) (Of course, when the learning tower isn't available, he uses the kitchen stools...or a chair...so it isn't the only culprit.)

Good luck with your decision!

[Canna]

We moved and had absolutely no place to put it in our kitchen. Call me crazy, but I found that standing on a chair *gasp* or working on a lower table, not the higher countertop, works just fine for my kids in the kitchen. My kids are now older - 3 and 6. I'm sure they still might use it if we had the space for one, but we're not missing it at all.

In the interest of full disclosure I should tell you that I bought one because I found it for $20 at a tag sale (thus I probably wasn't as committed to it from the outset) and sold it for three times what I paid on Craigslist. So I have ulterior motives to be glad to see it gone!

[elektra]

So here are my thoughts on the learning tower:
I love the idea of having a spot for the kids up at the counter where I don't have to constantly worry about them falling off of or tipping over a chair. But I really don't think they are worth the $200 price tag.
Also, they are pretty dang big. Unless you have a spot in your kitchen or right off of your kitchen to store it, it's going to be in the way.
I think $150 is a fair price and anything in the $50-$100 is a very good deal. Anything under $50 is a steal, as that is about how much the materials alone cost.
I do really like ours- we use it about 3x a week for 30 min at a time (so not a ton, but regularly), but like I said, it's pretty big.
We got a great deal though, as DH made the whole thing from scratch and it now has a bit of sentimental value because it was homemade.

[arivecchi]

Ok, while we have a large kitchen in this house, I cannot really think of a great place to store it. I also found a good price, but not a steal. Thanks for helping me avoid this purchase! :)

If someone needs a deal on one, let me know. I will share the deal I found.

[mackmama]

A friend of mine raves over hers (sorry that probably doesn't help you not want one :) ) Personally I think it'd drive me crazy being in the way. Ok I guess this post isn't really all that helpful! :)

[twowhat?]

When we first got our LT, it was HEAVILY used. The girls would insist on eating all their meals in it, wash hands, play with bubbles in the sink, "help" with cooking, etc. But the novelty seems to have worn off. And also I haven't been doing a good job with cooking so there aren't many opportunities to "help".

Ours still gets used daily for washing hands. We put felt pads on the bottom to make it easy to slide around. When I do cook and have opportunities for them to help, we use it. It's nice to keep them contained while "helping" me cook because I can open a hot oven without worrying about a toddler getting underfoot. We have the playhouse kit and have not used it yet.

The main drawback with us is that even though it fits 2 kids - our girls constantly get into fights, even after implementing a "keep everything to yourself" rule which, if not followed, results in immediate removal. They still annoy each other in the tower. I think if we had a corner where we could push the tower (so that they can work at a 90 degree angle to each other, allowing more room if that makes sense), it would help a lot. But we don't, so they always have to stand side-by-side and can't seem to not be annoyed by bumping shoulders.

I do agree that you're hitting the age where sliding a chair or folding stepstool up to the counter would work so long as you only have the one child to keep track of. Yes, the LT will get in the way unless you have a place to tuck it away (our kitchen is large enough for this).

Overall I'm happy with the purchase and hope that the girls get over their fighting in the tower so that we can use it more often (and hope that I figure out a way to start cooking healthy meals again so they have opportunities to help!)

[egoldber]

Never had one, never missed it. :)

A bargain is not a bargain if you didn't really want or need it in the first place.

[arivecchi]

A bargain is not a bargain if you didn't really want or need it in the first place.So true!

[elbenn]

I have the kitchen helper. It folds so it can be stored away more easily. It is sold on amazon if you want to check it out.

[Kaylee31]

I have the kitchen helper. It folds so it can be stored away more easily. It is sold on amazon if you want to check it out.

:yeahthat: I wanted the LT, but I have a tiny kitchen, so I needed something that would fold up. An I only needed it because it was the only way I could get anything done in the kitchen w/DS around. He always wanted picked up and would be underfoot. His stepstool wasn't high or sturdy enough; and our chairs are counter-height; too high. It's a lifesaver, now he feels like he is a part of dinner prep. And DS could spend 20 min. just playing w/water.in the sink.

ETA: So I guess I'm being an enabler, instead of talking you out of it! :) Honestly, if you think your DS will enjoy using it, at least for a while, it's worth it. You can always sell it later for the same or more than you paid for it.

[TwinFoxes]

Ok, while we have a large kitchen in this house, I cannot really think of a great place to store it.

We don't store ours at all. The girls use it every.single.day. Multiple times a day. We just stick it in a corner.

[wendibird22]

It is big. It is wicked heavy. It can be a nice way to assist your little monkey on crawling onto things you don't wan them to.

That said, I love ours and it is used daily. It lives at the end of our kitchen island and only moves to vacuum and mop. DD1 (3.5yo) is on it all the time to help daddy cook dinner, to eat a snack, to help with dishes, etc. I imagine that sometime soon DD2 will begin using it too.

But I agree with PP that if you don't need one, then don't get one.

[MSWR0319]

Would you mind sending me a PM with the deal? We're on the edge of getting one and DH keeps bribing it up, so I think we'll take the plunge.

[WatchingThemGrow]

I have the kitchen helper. It folds so it can be stored away more easily. It is sold on amazon if you want to check it out.
LOVE our KH. The thing I did not like about is is that one of the hinge screw holes stripped and the screw was falling out. I called Guidecraft and they didn't send me a board with new screw holes, they sent me WHOLE NEW Kitchen Helper! Part of me is tempted to fix up the old one and use both. We have a lot of little cooks in our kitchen.

[Kymberley]

Okay, our LT came today and I put it together, and you guys are right. It. Is. HUGE. DS just kind of stared and leaned on it. I guess we'll see!

[ellies mom]

It is big. It is wicked heavy. It can be a nice way to assist your little monkey on crawling onto things you don't wan them to.

That said, I love ours and it is used daily. It lives at the end of our kitchen island and only moves to vacuum and mop. DD1 (3.5yo) is on it all the time to help daddy cook dinner, to eat a snack, to help with dishes, etc. I imagine that sometime soon DD2 will begin using it too.



:yeahthat:

The thing is a beast. My kitchen looks much bigger when it isn't on the end of the island where it normally lives. But that said, we bought it probably just before our oldest turned two and it has seen daily use for the last 5.5 years.

[DietCokeLover]

I bought mine for ~$60 when Babycenter was closing it's store. I think if I had a bigger kitchen, I would love it. But, since I have such a small kitchen, it actually kind of annoys me. I have to sit it on a corner and since I have two little monkeys that stand on it, one is always hitting their head on a corner of a cabinet. It is HUGE. It is extremely heavy. I'm glad I didn't spend more money for it, and I keep holding onto it in hopes that we will get to move and I'll have a normal sized kitchen.

[Smillow]

I do not have a large kitchen and am considering trying this DIY kitchen tower (http://ana-white.com/2010/12/helping-tower.html) that someone posted a link to a month or so ago. If I do, I will report back...

[Melaine]

We love ours and although we do not have a large kitchen, we do have a little nook that is just right for it. If it is a deal, honestly, I say buy it and if you don't find it works for you then resell it.

[bigpassport]

Well this isn't going to answer your question at all...I say get one. The hours it has added to my time with DS are priceless. DS can now hang out with me while I prepare meals, doing the dishes, etc. He can also see what I'm doing when I'm cooking (after seeing Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, I want to make sure DS knows what a potato looks like before it becomes french fries). Yeah it's big. Yeah there's always crumbs under it. But totally, totally worth every penny.

[emily]

We have a small kitchen. we got it cuz DD was constantly climbing in the stools in the kitchen. It was novel for awhile for her to use the tower but lately she's gotten back into her bad habit of climbing in chairs again. That said, we do use it more lately so she can help cook. I have a love/hate relationship with it mostly because it doesn't get used as much as I'd hope and it wasn't cheap. Im hoping we'll use it more as she gets older. DH thinks it was a waste of money.

We have the easel too which I def have regrets about.

[TwoBees]

I have the kitchen helper. It folds so it can be stored away more easily. It is sold on amazon if you want to check it out.


:yeahthat: I wanted the LT, but I have a tiny kitchen, so I needed something that would fold up. An I only needed it because it was the only way I could get anything done in the kitchen w/DS around. He always wanted picked up and would be underfoot. His stepstool wasn't high or sturdy enough; and our chairs are counter-height; too high. It's a lifesaver, now he feels like he is a part of dinner prep. And DS could spend 20 min. just playing w/water.in the sink.

ETA: So I guess I'm being an enabler, instead of talking you out of it! :) Honestly, if you think your DS will enjoy using it, at least for a while, it's worth it. You can always sell it later for the same or more than you paid for it.
Thanks to both of you for posting this. I have been contemplating a LT for when DD is old enough, but I'm not sure where we would put it. The kitchen helper might just work for us!

[Mamma2004]

The Learning Tower IS huge and a challenge to store. However, DS is 6 1/2 and we have used ours so much over the years. Even on play dates, two first graders can climb up into the LT to "help" me in the kitchen, create with Play Doh, enjoy a snack, etc. I know DS would be careful on a chair or a step stool but that was not always the case! I love our LT and cannot imagine what we would have done without it, especially before he started to school full time.

HTH!

[justlearning]

When the Learning Tower first came out and was being raved about on here, I wanted to get one. But once I marked the dimensions out on our kitchen floor, I realized it would make it impossible to walk in a certain area of our kitchen if we had an LT.

So we've never had one and you know what? My kids have been able to help me in the kitchen just fine! (Both boys love to cook.) I've used a step stool with them that I've had for 10 years now. Neither my older DS nor my younger DS has ever fallen off of it. I'm attaching a pic that shows DS2 standing on it now.

Once my DS1 got tall enough, he switched to using a shorter wood bathroom step stool. Now DS2 is 5 and as you can see from the pic, he's tall enough that I'll probably have him start using the shorter step stool.

So I'm very glad that I never bought the LT. Both step stools easily fit into my pantry (the one pictured collapses), which has been convenient. BTW, I bought the step stool pictured from Ace hardware for around $15.

[egoldber]

We have a similar stool and it works great.

[citymama]

Well this isn't going to answer your question at all...I say get one. The hours it has added to my time with DS are priceless. DS can now hang out with me while I prepare meals, doing the dishes, etc. He can also see what I'm doing when I'm cooking (after seeing Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, I want to make sure DS knows what a potato looks like before it becomes french fries). Yeah it's big. Yeah there's always crumbs under it. But totally, totally worth every penny.

This is wonderful and it sounds like it has really added to your quality of life. But like egoldberg, I've never had one or missed it. Dd1 is a big helper in the kitchen and bakes and cooks with us daily. She just gets on one of out sturdy kitchen table chairs. I considered the LT at one point in time and DH asked why it would be $200 better than what we already do. I had no good answer! Now with twins or two little ones under 3, I can completely understand why it is more practical. Maybe I'll change my mind if I find one on CL under $50 and get tons of use out of it!

[carolinamama]

The only thing we don't like about our LT is that we accidentally hit our toes on it sometimes - really hard and it hurts. Other than that - I really like it. My kids spent so much time on chairs in the kitchen and we had several accidents falling off them. I was also SO tired of having several chairs in the main kitchen area that the big LT is actually an improvement over that setup. Guess it depends on how much your kids do at the kitchen counters and if you have a decent place to store it. We put heavy duty felt on the bottom and scoot it around where we need it. DS2 uses it so often though that it doesn't get put away (in the dining room) usually.

I do have to say that while I always like the concept of the LT, I'm not sure it would have made it to the top of MY priority list. My parents bought it for the kids.

[ahisma]

Yes, you'll stub your toes on it often. It HURTS.

Still, we love ours. And, we now cook in shoes.

We have a small kitchen and no room to store it in there, we store it in the dining room and pull it in. We probably only have it in there 3-4 times a week, but it's well worth it. We used chairs before, but our 2 yo is not a chair friendly child.

They don't have any trouble working together in it, but they're both small kids who generally don't squabble. (yet)

[bigpassport]

This is wonderful and it sounds like it has really added to your quality of life. But like egoldberg, I've never had one or missed it. Dd1 is a big helper in the kitchen and bakes and cooks with us daily. She just gets on one of out sturdy kitchen table chairs. I considered the LT at one point in time and DH asked why it would be $200 better than what we already do. I had no good answer! Now with twins or two little ones under 3, I can completely understand why it is more practical. Maybe I'll change my mind if I find one on CL under $50 and get tons of use out of it!

Point well taken. I was thinking about LT vs. nothing. If you can find another chair/stool/stand that allows DCs to participate in kitchen time, that's wonderful. Unfortunately, my DS isn't coordinated enough to keep his feet on a chair or a stool so the LT has been a blessing to us:)

[Melaine]

I do wonder if I would feel differently with only one chlld (I often wonder this). The LT is ideal for twins, IMO. There is no way I could let them both stand on a chair. Even two chairs sounds like a recipe for disaster when I imagine it with my two.

[hellokitty]

It's too big and also I was annoyed that the platform did not lock into place. My kids were constantly fiddling with it and one would crawl underneath while the other one fiddled with it, it was not safe in that situation. Of course, you can say that under parent supervision that wouldn't have happened. True, but I was letting them use it as a fort/playhouse with a tarp over it when this happened, which is actually one of the ways LT markets this product.

[Melaine]

It's too big and also I was annoyed that the platform did not lock into place. My kids were constantly fiddling with it and one would crawl underneath while the other one fiddled with it, it was not safe in that situation. Of course, you can say that under parent supervision that wouldn't have happened. True, but I was letting them use it as a fort/playhouse with a tarp over it when this happened, which is actually one of the ways LT markets this product.

We always remove the platform when playing fort...I'm pretty sure that is what the manufacturer intended for the playhouse configuration.

[twowhat?]

I do wonder if I would feel differently with only one chlld (I often wonder this). The LT is ideal for twins, IMO. There is no way I could let them both stand on a chair. Even two chairs sounds like a recipe for disaster when I imagine it with my two.

I feel the same way. I think with one baby I wouldn't have been so inclined to get it for exactly the reason Melaine describes. But - I do have friends with one baby who love their LT. If only I could get mine to quit fighting in it. Hoping it's just a (long) phase:)

So in general, I think it's really just one of those "nice to have if you have the space and the budget" type of items.

[WatchingThemGrow]

There is one at our consignment sale (not open for shopping yet) for $75.

[TwinFoxes]

There is one at our consignment sale (not open for shopping yet) for $75.

I would buy it. You'd be able to sell it for that much if it bombs in your house. I bought ours for $80.

I think it's easier to fall off a regular chair. Plus our chairs are counter height (as is our table). I've mentioned here before, DN fell off her chair while helping my MIL in the kitchen and broke her arm in two places. I'm no longer the crazy DIL with the fancy stool!

[WatchingThemGrow]

I would buy it. You'd be able to sell it for that much if it bombs in your house. I bought ours for $80.

Oh, we already have 2 kitchen helpers. One had a bad piece and they sent us a new one :)

[BayGirl2]

We don't store ours at all. The girls use it every.single.day. Multiple times a day. We just stick it in a corner.

We don't store it either. It lives on the island and gets constant use. Now we have a tabletop easel there for drawing. We used to have play doh there. Now that DS is into climbing it's the one piece of furniture I feel safe about him climbing on alone and kind of serves as a mini jungle gym. He's up and down probably 10 times a day. I would not be ok with him standing on a chair, they are fabric covered and feel more in the way if they're not pushed in at the table.

[essnce629]

Point well taken. I was thinking about LT vs. nothing. If you can find another chair/stool/stand that allows DCs to participate in kitchen time, that's wonderful. Unfortunately, my DS isn't coordinated enough to keep his feet on a chair or a stool so the LT has been a blessing to us:)

I feel the same. DS2 is more attached to me and always wants to be in the kitchen with me when I'm doing something. We have a gate up to the kitchen and he'll stand there screaming till I let him in. Once he was helping me and was standing on one of our kitchen chairs. I was right next to him, but somehow he managed to step too close to the edge of the chair, slipped, and fell down onto the tile floor and hit his head!!!!!!!! The Learning Tower and Kitchen Helper started looking real good after that. I won't pay full price for one though so I've still been checking on Craigslist. Right now I just let DS2 stand on a chair and then place another chair back on the right side of him and I stand on the left side of him. This is definately not ideal since it means I have to have 2 chairs in the kitchen, which takes up more room than a Learning Tower, and the chairs slide around.

[Pear]

It is in the way. I stub my tow often. I had to rearrange my cabinets into a less than logical fashion to compensate.

It is the single most valuable optional item I have bought for DD. Only her carseat ranks as more useful and essential. It completely changed my ability to complete kitchen tasks. DD is 2 and uses it at least 10 ten times a day. She loves it.

[AnnieW625]

If not seeing Elektra's makes any difference, my $30 Cosco step stool is much cheaper!

[kochh2]

I have no reasons :)

[purple]

Love our learning tower. We bought it for our 18 month old at the time, and I do wish there was some sort of bar on the sides. When she's older I know it will be good to climb up and down on her own , but she's too young now but wrigglt enough that I worry about her falling sometimes.