My youngest is very into helping mommy, and he wants to do everything by himself, of course. I would love to let him start doing more, but our current step stool is just not cutting it. I feel like he is going to fall down every time he uses it and I simply cannot be there to monitor his every move. Even if I am in the same room, he could easily fall off. And he is a jumpy kid!
Has anyone ever use d the ktichen helper from one step ahead? It is expensive, but I am wondering if it might be worth the peace of mind. It has high sides and a back so kids cannot fall off of it.
http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId...
ETA: My little guy is 2 if that matters! Plus - the sinks and stove, counters, etc are all pretty high - not sure the standard step stools will reach. The one we have now is pretty high (two large steps up) and it still doesn't reach the bathroom sink very well (standard sink) or anything in the kitchen - like the one Victoria suggested in her link wouldn't reach anything in our house.
Definitely overkill and a waste of money. Standing on a two step stepstool without falling off is a pretty good skill for a child to be practicing, and really, if they do fall off they are only falling two steps! My kids use a two step step ladder in the kitchen and a rubbermaid step in the bathroom.
Looks fine (but a little like overkill) to me. :)
It definitely would be the better choice over standing on a chair. But I just use/d the same step stool they used in the bathroom. The plastic kind with rubberized step and rubber grips on the feet. It was fine.
I just tried to google it, and it seems they have changed the design a little since we got ours (ummm about 9 or 10 years ago?). Ours is more rectangular, but the features are really pretty much the same. Sturdy. Slip resistant (both the standing surface and the feet of the stool itself). Easy to clean. Small, lightweight. Holds up to 150 pounds.
Heck, even though my daughter is almost 12, we keep it in the kitchen these days. I have even used it myself to reach high shelves in our bedroom closet! :)
http://www.kidsii.com/p-298-my-little-step-stool.aspx?Pri...
Seems a bit excessive if you ask me. My Mom made my kids' wooden stools by hand, and they are awesome. That's all we've ever used. They've never fallen off of one (they are 9 and 6).
Any sturdy step stool should be fine. We had a plastic non skid one from Ikea for the bathroom and a basic wooden step stool from Target for the kitchen. Both were super cheap and the kids were using them as young as two, probably younger.
I never used an enclosed one like that. All our usual stepstools are just the one step and if DD needed to stand at the counter in the kitchen, we just used a sturdy kitchen chair. We don't let her anywhere near the stove. Many things she can also do at the table vs on the counter. I will say I have been happy with everything we bought through One Step Ahead.
If you have the money, I'd say, do it! I bet you could sell it when you are done with it. I remember the days of trying to catch them before sudden disaster. I might have to book mark this for future grandkids!
I haven't used something like this myself but I think it's a brilliant idea and I've always wanted one...I think it would give you peace of mind. Go for it, if you think it would get lots of use!
Have not used this one but it looks safe.
We have a sturdy wood 2 step stool that he moves around to help him up
where he needs to be. If you can afford this one, it looks safe. If not,
you could buy a smaller wood two step stool cheaper.
But truth be told, I love thie one. Seems safer!!
