Cooking with Toddlers: Learning Tower Options

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My number one recommendation to purchase for cooking with toddlers is a learning tower or sous chef tower. These are a classic in the Montessori world because they allow toddlers to become more active participants in cooking. This item is, without question, our most loved baby item behind possibly the baby wrap.

While it is not a necessity by any means it definitely does make cooking with a toddler so much easier. It is far more secure than using a chair, a regular stool, or having them sit on the counter. It lets them be more involved than bringing everything down to their level on the ground or a low table. It is an investment I definitely recommend if you are able. To help you find the best one for you I have gathered several options at different price points that might serve different people.

Our Favorite: Sprout Kids (discount code OnTheWay10)

When my son was 9 months I began researching learning towers and after a lot of comparisons decided the Sprout Kids (code OnTheWay10) one was the best one for us. We have a decently sized for New York City but small for the rest of the country kitchen so I wanted something with a smaller footprint. I went back and forth about buying a folding one instead. Ultimately I decided folding didn’t make sense because I am someone who tends not to put things like that away. Getting one with a smaller footprint rather than a larger one that folds made more sense. I am glad I made that decision because we use the tower dozens of times every single day and folding it would have been unrealistic. The other thing I like about the Sprout one is the closed sides. While a toddler still can find a way to climb on the counter from it, this makes it less likely. It also reduces the risks of them falling out. They also now sell a full plate back for older babies and young toddlers which makes it pretty impossible for them to fall out. Even without the full back plate though the small footprint and the closed sides make it feel pretty secure.

It did take my son who was always a big climber awhile to climb up it the first time. He was able to climb up our other learning tower that we have at my parent’s house significantly earlier. That said, once he learned that was no longer an issue.

The tower has a nice minimalist look which I like in our kitchen. It comes in finished birch or white. The Sprout Kids tower is pricey at $239 dollars (use code OnTheWay10 for 10% off), but for us, it was worth the investment.

Favorite Folding Tower: Piccalio

This tower was previously gifted to us around a year ago. This post is my own opinions and is not related to the gifting. When we were first looking into towers I was definitely considering a folding option. Though we decided not to go with folding and I am glad since we use the tower so often I believe folding can be a great option for smaller spaces. We have this tower at my parent’s house. This allows my son to cook there and for them to fold it up and put it away when we are not there.

The Piccalio learning tower folds away easily. The material is high quality and the tower has an attractive look. The footprint is larger than the Sprout tower which means when open it takes up more space but it also might be able to fit two children which the Sprout one definitely could not.

I find this tower to not be quite as secure as the Sprout Tower for me. It does have a leather safety net you can put on but I didn’t find the net particularly helpful. In some photos they have it on the inside which I guess would prevent climbing. On others they have it on the outside but it would need to be added each time. That said, I still feel totally safe with him in it. He was able to climb it earlier than he could climb our Sprout tower at home. One thing to keep in mind is the directions for assembly are a little confusing. We had something on wrong at first and the tower seemed to not go all the way up to the counter. We fixed this issue after several uses and found it a lot safer after that.

The Piccalio tower is also pricey at $229+.

Most Affordable Option: Core Pacific Kitchen Buddy 2-in-1 Stool

If you’re looking for an affordable option this one fits the bill. It is made of plastic unlike the others on this list but it is only $49, a much better price point than any others. It can also come apart and turn into a step stool While we have not used it ourselves I have heard from others they find it to be secure and to work well. The height is not adjustable like most of the more expensive models which means it might not have as wide of an age range for use.

Affordable Wooden Option: SDADI Kids Kitchen Step Stool with Safety Rail

If you’re looking for a more affordable option that is wooden this one is a great option. It is built similarly to many of the DIY options I have seen but does not require DIYing. The reviews are incredibly positive, including saying it is sturdy. One warning with this one is the sides look incredibly easy for a child to climb onto the counter from since they are a ladder-type arrangement. While of course you always want to supervise your child using any tower I would be particularly concerned about that with a design like that. I know many people with towers like this also put some sort of ties around the back to close off the back and prevent falling. A downside on this one is the height is not adjustable like other options.

This one is more affordable than other wooden options at $89.99 (though currently on sale for $10 less).

Double tower: RAD Children’s (Discount code HomeAway)

If you have twins or two littles very close in age this is a great one! It is designed for two children at once. If I’m being honest I have not yet figured out what we will do when my younger child is old enough for the tower since two towers would not fit in our kitchen. This tower is probably smaller than two individual towers but it is definitely a large one. If we had more space this would be a possible option, though I have a couple of hesitations. One hesitation would be whether it would work with two children almost two years apart like my children since, generally, you adjust the height as the child grows. That said, given that some learning towers do not adjust, it would likely still work. The other tradeoff is if you envision your children wanting to work in different parts of the kitchen (or them not getting along sharing a tower).

RAD also has an individual tower. The double tower is $250 and the solo tower is $225.

DIY Option: IKEA Hack

IKEA hacks and Montessori at home just seem to go together! This learning tower option uses the IKEA Bekvam step stool that sells for $30 (or $50 on Amazon). It can definitely make a more affordable product with a little effort! Personally, this was very much not the method for me, but if you enjoy a project it can be perfect. The one downside this one shares with many of the other more affordable options is that it is not adjustable.

Cool Multi-Use Product: Weco

This is a pretty cool product: it becomes a learning tower, a table with built-in bench, and a slide. I considered getting one like this when I was researching towers because they look pretty awesome. The main reason I opted not to, in the end, was because the seat on the table did not have a back, meaning it wouldn’t be useful in infancy (there are some with backs but they are larger as a tower). However, that is a small concern being that timeframe isn’t so long. That said, this would not have been the best option for our family since we use the tower SO often. If you anticipate wanting to switch between different modes this is definitely a fun way to go! Another potential downside though is that it is not adjustable. Without the slide the price of this learning tower is $169.95, with the slide it comes to $242.62.

Some other options:

Little Partners: This is another tower with a smaller footprint, possibly even smaller than Sprout. It is a bit more affordable than many of the other options at $159.99. It is adjustable and the step to climb up folds in making it pretty compact. The brand is also eco-conscious. I have a friend who has it and loves it. The reviews are positive, including everyone reporting it is sturdy. They also sell a larger one. In trying to decide what tower to get next for us when my daughter also needs a tower this is one I am considering.

Guidecraft: This one also folds up. In fact, it folds up smaller than the Piccalio one (though reviews note that the feet are larger than the rest preventing it from storing in some places). However, the footprint when opened on this one is quite large. I knew that would not work for our kitchen. It has a safety net you can put on to reduce the chance of falling. That said, I have heard people say their child used the shape cutouts that are on the side of their most popular tower to climb the counter from this one. They have some models that don’t have shape cutouts on the side though. Because of that concern I would opt for one that doesn’t have the shapes. It is adjustable and they also sell a double one. Many people love this tower and it has positive reviews reporting it as sturdy. It is $199.

Closing Thoughts

There are several things to consider when deciding which learning tower will be best for introducing your toddler to the kitchen.

First, consider how much space you have. A few on this list are smaller than others but some of the others fold. With folding, you want to consider whether you will realistically fold it regularly (I wouldn’t) and whether you have a place to store it folded (we don’t). For this reason, we opted for a smaller-sized tower that didn’t fold but that I liked the look of for our kitchen.

Consider how important it is to you that it is adjustable. This seems to be a big difference between any of the more affordable ones and the pricier ones. The adjustable ones all seem to be over $150. Adjustable probably means it will be useful longer but that might not be necessary.