Children’s 1 and 2 step stool designs; fun and funky decorated wooden stools; hand painted styles, personalized and padded items; bedside stools and kitchen folding ones; Kitchen Helper and Learning Tower kitchen step stool by Little Partners; unique ways to elevate your kids to the height they need to be part of the family, or to be independent – at Kitchen Bar Stools we know where to get those special little items that instantly make children grow taller….
It’s an hour before dinner. Everyone’s hungry and a little cranky. Daddy’s not home yet. Suzy’s doing her homework at the kitchen table. Little Michael’s been asking for pizza all week….and you did promise…..so yesterday you bought tomato sauce and cheese….but you know that right in the middle of kneading the dough Michael’s going to start asking if it’s ready yet…and then when you’re slicing the salami and pepperoni and dicing the olives and mixing the spices into the sauce and trying to grate the cheese, Michael’s going to tug on your pant leg and ask again and again if the pizza’s ready yet…and then he’s going to start to cry…..if only he could help…if only he were tall enough to kneed a little dough, spread it on a pizza pan, choose his toppings and sprinkle the whole mess with cheese….if only….
Now Michael can do all that and more. And when Suzy’s finished her homework and daddy walks in the door, instead of finding a very frustrated mommy with a crying Michael tugging at her, he finds Michael working and laughing on the Kitchen Helper or the Learning Tower while he sprinkles the last few shreds of cheese onto the extra special little pizza he’s just created (wit a little help from mom). But what is a Kitchen Helper (if it’s not a lady that comes to help)? And what’s a Learning Tower (if it’s not a place where naughty princes are sent when they refuse to learn)? In fact both are kinds of really well designed kids step stools that are sturdy and stable and allow for children to participate in whatever is going on at a higher elevation than what their little legs naturally allow.
Many parent’s are finding that allowing their children to help prepare food, wash windows, clean the sink, wash dishes and other routine tasks is a pleasure for children, a means to get closer to each other, a way to teach and have fun. It’s frustrating for a child to be excluded from almost all activities due to height issues. Cooking, cleaning, washing, drying, mixing and helping isn’t work until they reach 12 or 15 years old; until then it’s a forbidden pleasure. Include your children in activities like cooking, making cakes and cookies, planting seeds in window pots or even washing dirty windows by bringing them up to your level. The Guidecraft Kitchen Helper is sometimes difficult to order online due to backorders, but the Learning Tower is easy to find at places like My Step Stool and even at online shop.
Why is the Little Partners Learning Tower a kid’s step stool that has parents excited? Because it allows joint working situation and independence without worry. The layered birch construction is made in such a way as to not tip over, and the wood is finished with a non-toxic coating, and it’s easy to wipe clean.
It’s designed so that when a child is standing on the step they will be about the right height to work at an average counter, with the top of the step being flush with a kitchen counter design. But if it’s not just where you need it, the platform where the kids stand is adjustable. And let’s hope that no one has a 500lb toddler, but just in case the whole family wants to climb aboard, the unit can withstand that much. Have twins or triplets? Then let them stand on the step two by two…..and afterwards let them turn the step stool into a playhouse, dollhouse, chalkboard, fort, simple bedroom chairs, or anything else that they can imagine. This complete unit…so full of possibilities and opportunities costs about $200 no matter where you choose to shop. By the way, it comes in a zillion colors….just pick one!
Fun and Personal-Personalized Step Stool Ideas For Kids
Bedtime and teeth brushing time is a bit different. Large stools like the Learning Tower and Kitchen Helper are ideal kitchen step stool options, but when it comes to small bathroom spaces and getting into bed you’ll still need a little stool for your Michael or Suzy or Noah…as the case may be, and there’s nothing quite like a personalized stool with your very own name on it…. in this case your child’s name, not your own, since we hope you are tall enough to reach your sink, brush your teeth and get into bed without a stool….. Anyway…if your little Noah is into Harley Davidson, or you hope he will be, then try personalizing the Harley Davidson Flames Step N’ Store kids step stool that sells for just under $40 at My Step Stool and other fine online shops.
The other idea is the Puzzle Step Stool that can also be a personalized design, like the wooden ones where the letters of the name are the puzzle itself. For about $60 you can have the puzzle, wood stool, and an engraved message on the underside of the stool. My Step Stool offers this service, but you have to think in advance if this is to be a birthday gift because these are custom made pieces that take about 5 weeks to make and ship to your address.
For both girls and boys, but especially girls, wooden hand-painted designs are winners. Just take a look at adorable bed step stools like the Ballet Step Stool made of Birch with a lacquer finish that’s ideal for little girls that are about 3 years old.
And the Magic Garden stool or the Princess and Frog motif that’s sold through My Step Stool are so cute and cost just $60 and $70. Perfect gifts from anyone to a child who they love.
For race loving boys there’s also a race car step stool that’s also hand painted, and it has so much detail that it naturally costs a little more, about $99.
Cheap Rubbermaid Step Stool Solutions
If you love all these great ideas, and wish you could afford them but really have such a tight budget that anything over $20 would be too much, then you may want to try the Rubbermaid stepping stool styles that are not specific for children but can be a quick and handy option if the kids need to get at the bathroom sink or wash their hands or reach a shelf in their room that’s too high.
The best ones are the basic flat square designs that have a non-skid surface and are sturdy. These cost just under $10 and are sold almost everywhere that Rubbermaid products are sold, including here and most department stores.
The 2 step stool or the folding varieties are more expensive, and for kids they are less stable. Although the commercial design of the two-step model, which costs about $33 is a good design and would work for older children. However, folding step stools in general are not recommended for kids because they an get their fingers pinched and if they’re not opened properly can be dangerous. If you really want a cheap Rubbermaid design as a toddler step stool then we suggest sticking with the white roughneck step stool that costs about $22.
Kik Step Stool From Cramer
The Kik Step brand stools are ideal for everything, including librarians and children who want to wash their hands. They’re stable, but they get their funky name from what happens when you kick them…they roll. But….for safety all you have to do is step on the stool and it gets locked in place and doesn’t move. That’s what makes these stools so fantastic and popular….aside from the really cool colors they come in, and now a new one that’s all stainless steel.
These modern, funky and very practical one step step stool innovations by Cramer are reasonably priced at about $65. They can be bought online at places like Crate & Barrel, JC Penny, Target and other authorized shops.
Plastic
We don’t feel it’s necessary to devote much time to talking about plastic step stool models that are good for children, mostly because you can pick up really cheap plastic ones almost anywhere if that’s what you’re after, and the high quality ones that are heavy duty, non-skid, built with grommets for grip and safety railings and stack and are still lightweight enough to carry about, cost about $70 and are made for industrial purposes. Since they’re not exactly cheap, and they’re not fun or innovative in themselves, they don’t excite us and don’t excite most parents either. That’s why they aren’t found on the websites that feature products for training toddlers to use a potty or in the shops that specialize in children’s step stools as lifestyle aids. However, if safety is foremost on your mind and design is secondary, then you may appreciate the heavy duty stools that are sold through Global Industrial.
A Long Time Ago
Remember that a long time ago, before we consulted the Internet about the best products available, before we shopped online, before we were so safety conscious, and before we became inundated with phrases like non-skid-, non-toxic, non-slip and safety-approved ….there were children who helped their parents make pizza (even in Italian ovens) standing on apple boxes, old wine crates or barrels, laughing, helping and learning without ever thinking once about skidding or slipping or getting intoxicated by anything other than a bit of wine.
So if you don’t want to buy a stool, find a sturdy wooden crate, a used barrel, an old wooden apple box, a plastic milk crate or anything that can be stood on, and have fun making the stool and then using it about the house.
Practical and Fun Kitchen Stool Ideas
If you would like more information on other home furnishings for the kitchen, then you might be interested in counter height bar stools and even vintage style step stool chairs that kids can use to do their homework at the kitchen counter, or retro swivel bar stools to create your own 1950’s soda or ice-cream shop theme for the children to enjoy at home. You might also appreciate information on folding chair designs that are practical for the whole family, especially when a birthday rolls around. At Kitchen Bar Stools we offer lots of suggestions on how to make your kitchen a more practical, personal and fun place to share with your children, extended family and even adult friends who might love to sip a cocktail (without the kids) while sitting atop a funky set of stools.
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