From around 10 months onwards, My Munchkin started becoming extremely curious and interested in what I did in the kitchen. She’d often crawl over to me, pull herself up and start tugging at my clothes for me to pick her up. It would get quite difficult to manage carrying her around and work in the kitchen one-handed. It wasn’t always the safest thing to keep her on the kitchen tabletop. I sometimes wonder how our mothers would manage!
At the same time, I wanted her to be involved in what I did. To be able to give her the opportunity to develop her skills and participate in simple activities. I often read about the Learning Tower / Kitchen Helper but it was extremely expensive to order these to India.
My husband and I finally decided to get My Munchkin one made locally and we had this done somewhere after her first birthday. It did not come cheap however we made sure it was safe for her to use and her safety in the kitchen was our first priority.
The main reason I choose to get this for My Munchkin was Safety. Of course, they can use a chair to access the kitchen table or a step stool for that matter. However, I wanted her to have something that she could use without having to worry about balancing. At the same time, I wanted something that I knew if she was on, I did not have to worry of her falling off and could continue with my work.
As Maria Montessori quoted, “To assist a child, we must provide him with an environment which will enable him to develop freely.”
I looked up various designs of Learning Towers and Kitchen Helpers and we finally decided to make our. Some basic features we included:
· It is extremely sturdy and made of pine wood so that My Munchkin does not cut or hurt herself by any
part of the tower when using it.
· It has a wide enough step for her to use to access it. From the beginning, she could independently get
in and out of the tower.
· It has a wide base for her to stand on comfortably. It also has railings on all four sides. She uses this to
access the kitchen at least two to three times daily.
· The height is adjustable so we can lower it once she becomes bigger. So she reaches the kitchen
tabletop height.
· It is easy to clean, as it does get messy very often.
· It is not light in weight so will not topple over. At the same time, it can be easily moved around in the
kitchen.
Every time I am in the kitchen cooking or finishing some household chores, My Munchkin climbs up on her Learning Tower to make sure she does not miss out on the action.
She is still a little young to help with many things but she usually does transfer the vegetables into the water, remove them from the water into a strainer and simple tasks like these. She makes sure to have a little snack too choosing what to munch on from the veggies or fruits being cut. I try to talk to her as much as possible about what I am doing as well.
I am sure when she is a little older, we will have a lot of fun trying to cook and bake together. Till then, My Munchkin can use her tower to be up there with me, observe and even participate.
How does your Munchkin access the kitchen? Have you thought of getting a Learning Tower yet?