Toddlers love to be involved in absolutely everything their parents are doing. They want to learn, explore, and experiment. Being only 29 inches tall does not serve Hannah well in this regard. Most of the time, I am on the floor exploring with her and teaching her how the world works. Unfortunately, there is this thing called "having to eat." Any time a meal needs preparing, or a dish needs washing, Hannah freaks. She literally wedges herself between my legs and the counter and pushes with all her might while screaming. I try to be as quick as possible. I sometimes sit her up on the counter, which buys me a little time, but then it just turns into a game of me cooking with one hand, and preventing serious injury with the other.
Then came the step stool.
We went to Ikea a couple weeks ago and picked up a nice sturdy, wooden, and most importantly tall step stool. This thing has completely changed our lives. Not only am I able to actually cook dinner, Hannah is now involved. The stool has replaced horrible, screaming fits with wonderful learning experiences. She stirs things for me and pours ingredients in bowls. She loves standing at the sink and pouring water from one cup to the other, splashing, and "doing dishes." She is head over heals in love with her stool. This is a child who has never had anything hold her attention for more than 3 minutes in her whole 16 month long life. Now, she will stack spice containers for 15-20 minutes (!) If you have a toddler, and you don't have a stool, go get one NOW!
If you don't have an Ikea nearby (I don't see the stool online), look into buying a Learning Tower. They a re pricey new, but you can sometimes find them on craigslist. If you're handy, here are some plans to build your own.
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| Stacking spices is actually a really great activity. The way the caps and bottoms are, they fit nicely on top of one another without falling. Hannah easily stacks 3-4 all by herself. |
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