1. Snack Trap
Once you add treats (i.e. Cheerios, dried cranberries, raisins, etc.), your toddler can stick his hand into this container and pull out a handful of his favorite treat. If the bowl turns upside down, the soft plastic top is designed to avoid spillage, and thus, no worrying about your toddler picking fallen raisins off of the mall floor.
2. Chair Booster
Although dinner time in our house is always crazy, it is the only time we have together every day as a family. It’s really important to us to be able to relax, eat and hang out for as long as possible during dinner. For those of you with toddlers, you know that the only way to possibly have a toddler sit in one place for more than 2 minutes is for them to be comfortable. Our KABOOST chair booster helps our daughter sit in a “big girl” comfortable chair, yet still reach her food.
3. Bedrails
The Summer Infant Double Bedrails are sturdy (I’ve tested them with my own body weight) and will keep your toddler inside her “big girl” bed. Our daughter has been in her Queen size bed for 11 months with these bedrails and has never fallen out.
4. Baby Bjorn Potty Seat
After trying and rejecting a 2-in-1 potty (the kind that you can attach to the toilet or sit on independently) we had been placing our 2 year old daughter directly on the potty for a few months. I noticed that she was having a hard time holding herself up on the toilet. When I stumbled across the Baby Bjorn seat in Babies-R-Us, I decided to give it a try. With a small step stool, our daughter climbs up to and down from the toilet by herself. This seat won’t clutter your bathroom, is ergonomically correct, and has an elevated front to prevent urine from hitting the seat, regardless of your toddler’s sex. And, your toddler will be begging you to “go potty.”
5. Baby Gates
I never thought I’d succumb to gates all over my house. However, nothing gives you more peace-of-mind than knowing that your toddler will not fall down a flight of stairs, or that you won’t be chasing a toddler all over the house while making dinner. Although we have several gates, our favorite is an extra tall and extra wide gate that is similar to this one. The gate can be very tricky for newcomers to figure out. However, once you get the hang of it, you can use one hand to open/close.
