What is a kitchen helper tower?
Most toddlers love helping out around the house. A kitchen helper tower – also called a learning tower – is a great way to get your little one involved in cooking, cleaning, and other practical life activities at home!
Essentially, a kitchen helper tower is a child-safe stool that allows children as young as 18 months to reach the kitchen counters and other hard-to-reach areas. Because kitchen helper towers promote accessibility, independence, and freedom of movement, they’re a popular choice among Montessori families.
Although kitchen helper towers are an amazing tool for toddlers, they’re still an investment. That’s why it’s a good idea to look into several different options to help you find the perfect learning tower for your child. So, if you’re ready to check out some of the best kitchen helper towers for toddlers, keep reading!
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What are the benefits of learning towers?
- Safety – Unlike a typical stool, a learning tower has a “cage” to help keep your child safe. That means you can spend less time worrying about your toddler falling – and more time teaching them your favorite family recipe.
- Independence – Toddlers as young as 18 months can use a learning tower on their own. This can help empower your child and promote their budding independence.
- Practical life skills – Learning towers invite children to get involved in practical life activities, like cooking, cleaning, and more. Practical life skills are valuable for little ones to learn and fun to practice!
- Fine and gross motor skills – Climbing up and down the learning tower is good gross motor practice. Once your child can reach the counter, there are also plenty of opportunities for fine motor work, like tearing herbs, stirring ingredients, or kneading dough.
- Quality time together – With a learning tower, time spent prepping dinner or washing dishes can turn into quality time with your little one! Who says you can’t have it all? 😉
What is the best age for a learning tower?
Most children are ready for a learning tower around 18 months. Some children can safely use a learning tower even earlier, sometimes as young as 12 months. Please note that your toddler should be a confident walker and relatively steady on their feet before they start using a learning tower or kitchen helper tower at home.
As per usual, refer to the manufacturer’s recommendations for the best info. That being said, most kitchen helper towers can be used by children up to 3-6 years old. A high-quality learning tower should be sturdy and last you several years, making it a great investment for your child – and any future little siblings!
Here are the best learning towers & kitchen helper towers for toddlers…
The magic of kitchen helper towers
A kitchen helper tower (or learning tower) is one of the best Montessori tools for toddlers out there. Learning towers allow little ones to get involved in everyday life, gain independence, learn practical life skills, and – of course – spend more quality time with Mama and Daddy.
For more info on introducing practical life activities to your toddler at home, check out this post! And as per usual, feel free to share your thoughts or questions below.
Talk to you soon!
♥ Meg
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I LOVED Happy Tower http://www.happytower.eu
Thanks for the recommendation, Tina! Their learning towers look great!
I noticed many of these are plywood construction. Would they not be susceptible to warping if water gets on the cut ends? (and with a toddler, slobber and water is a given!) Thanks!
Hi Jessica, I did some digging for you! In general, the plywood used for these kitchen helper towers is birch plywood, a more durable and warp-resistant type of plywood. Some sellers, like Sprout Kids, use an even more durable type of plywood called Baltic birch plywood. (You can read a little bit about it here on Sprout’s website if you’re curious.) I’m sure any seller would be happy to answer any questions about the materials they use, too!
For the record, I didn’t come across any negative reviews about quality or durability, even from families whose toddlers use their kitchen helper towers multiple times a day, so it looks like they should all stand up to regular use. Of course, some warping is possible with any kind of wood, so you would want to follow normal care guidelines, like avoiding outdoor use, limiting humidity as much as possible, and wiping up any spills as soon as you can. I like storing a few dish rags where little ones can reach, so they can start taking care of their own spills, too 🙂
If you’re interested, there are also a few kitchen helper towers made with a combo of real wood and birch plywood, like this one from Etsy (affiliate link). Hope you find the right option for your child!
You should check out the audwell Oslo Tower! https://audwell.com/products/the-oslo-tower