Our favorite toddler item in our house is hands-down Little M’s learning tower/kitchen helper. I can gush for hours about this thing; it’s so great!

I learned about learning towers when Little M was a baby. By eight months old I knew we needed one and were willing to sacrifice the space in our small house to accommodate it. I asked Little M’s grandpa if he and Mr. Stroller could make one for us. By 11 months I NEEDED it. Like all young toddlers, Little M wanted to be part of the action, right up at counter height. I begged Mr. S to make one with his dad. He told me they’d “get around to it.” Little M hung off my legs while I cooked and I begged daily.

At exactly 12.5 months, during our Christmas #2, we ripped into a present that was the platform for our new tower. Grandpa then hauled the contraption into the living room and presented us with: The Tower.

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Nearly 14 months have passed since The Tower found its way into our home and we’ve used it every single day.

 

Little M eats his breakfasts nearly exclusively at the counter in his tower while I prep my breakfast, clean the kitchen and get ready for our day. He eats his lunch at The Tower on most days too, if we’re not eating together.

For seven of the eight months that our house has been under construction we didn’t have a table, so Little M ate every single one of his meals at the counter in his tower. It was the only constant in the ever-changing landscape of the kitchen — we may have a plywood wall one day, plastic the next and no wall a few weeks later, but the tower was always there.

We carved pumpkins in the tower.

And counted our “happy” (happy Halloween candy) in The Tower.

Little M uses The Tower to do the dishes, to play with Play Doh, to color with crayons, to help mummy cook, and to open birthday presents.

It’s a fort, a hiding spot for toys and a great spot to practice climbing.

Little M’s grandpa used these plans from Ana White to build The Tower, opting to add the hinges so it can fold for storage. We’ve never had the opportunity to store it because we use it so much! If anyone asks you what you need or what they can build for your toddler, I highly recommend asking for a learning tower.

Are you a big fan of The Tower too?