My Duckling focuses on the kids wood furniture, especially for children aged 1-6. The Adjustable Learning Tower Range is designed to accompany children through each stage of their growth. Helping them enjoy learning in their most pivotal developmental years.
Having a toddler who wants to be a part of everything that goes on in the kitchen can feel a little overwhelming. Because they are too short to see anything that’s going on up on the bench they get frustrated and if you are holding them up it’s impossible to get much done. We’ve always encouraged our little one to do things for himself or help out with what we are doing, so introducing a learning tower to our home when he was just 12 months old came very naturally to us.
When we first got our tower he couldn’t climb in himself but we would lift him up so he could see what we were doing and from day one he has loved it. It’s saved me so many times when I would have otherwise had a grumpy, clingy toddler. It’s made baking, cooking and even washing up something he can join in on. Sometimes I even set him up at the sink with water, bubbles and some toys and he loves doing water play while I get other things done in the kitchen.
Now that he is two he can climb up and down from the tower himself. He loves the independence it gives him and I love the freedom it has given us. He will often help with cooking, pretend to cook next to us or even play with play dough or read books up in his learning tower.
But I don't just love that it gives him some independence, I also love that we can do more things together that would otherwise be very frustrating for us both. If he wants to see what’s happening in the kitchen he can climb into his tower and take a look without needing me to help him. He can then choose to stay and get involved or decide that he'd rather do something else and hop down himself.
One activity in particular he has really taken to is making a daily smoothie and this has become a special little ritual for the two of us. He helps gather the fruit, yogurt and milk and brings it up to the bench. I do all the blender operating to keep things safe (and he very quickly learns what he can and cannot touch up on the bench). He can scoop the yogurt, pour the milk and place the fruit into the blender all on his own now. I’ve loved watching as each time we make a smoothie he masters a new skill. After I’ve done the blending he goes and gets his favourite smoothie cup from his kitchen drawer (we have one down low with all of his dinner wear in it). Then together we pour our smoothies and drink them together up at the kitchen bench.
We also really love the My Duckling 3in1 Learning Tower because it also has a smaller stool that pulls out from underneath and a magnetic white board attachment. The little stool is going to be so handy once our younger son is able to start using the tower – so they will both have somewhere to stand and can even stand next to each other.
The magnetic whiteboard adds another level of functionality to the learning tower because it’s something my toddler can play with while still being close when we are cooking or cleaning up in the kitchen. He loves taking magnets from the fridge and sticking them to the board and he also uses his Connetix tiles (something else he is obsessed with) to make pictures and patterns.
I’m really looking forward to seeing what the next year will bring for our time in the kitchen together and what he might be interested in next. As he gets older I think he will love to get a bit more involved with baking and preparing meals and this is something that we can do happily and safely with our My Duckling 3in1 Learning Tower!