HOMCOM Kids Standing Platform Review

The HOMCOM Kids Standing Platform is a toddler kitchen helper which allows young children to safely reach worktops. Children can climb onto the step themselves and once in place a safety bar stops them from falling. It can be used for allowing children to join in with cooking, baking and play, and a way of keeping your child secure while you are busy in the kitchen or bathroom.

The product can be adjusted so that the platform stands at 30cm, 40cm or 50cm from the ground making it ideal for longevity of use. We asked parent-of-two Annabelle to put it through its paces. Here are her thoughts.

The market for standing platforms has exploded in the past few years with many brands bringing out similar designs. Coming in at £71.99 on Amazon, The HOMCOM Kids Standing Platform is at the lower to mid end of the market from a price point of view. Wooden versions can come in at double the price. Newer MDF versions are also available for between £50 and £100.

I have a toddler and I was hoping to use the standing platform to do baking with her, and let her watch while I’m preparing food. When the product arrived she was very excited to try it and be ‘up high’.

Overall the product offers decent value for money (especially as it is often available at a reduced price of just over £50), it’s sturdy and did the job I need it to. It is bulky though, and takes up quite a lot of space. And as it is made of plastic it’s not as visually pleasing as a lot of similar products are.

Testing the HOMCOM Kids Standing Platform

I am a journalist living in Gloucestershire. I have two children aged five and two. I was primarily testing this product for my toddler but actually my five-year-old enjoyed using it too – particularly when he realised he could use it to reach the snack cupboard!

I tested the step stool over a period of three weeks. In that time, my daughter and I did baking using it, she watched me make dinner on a few occasions and I used it to keep her near me safely while I cooked most nights. We also used it for daily hand washing (this was so useful as we don’t have a sink in the downstairs toilet so have to use the kitchen sink). The fact it's so lightweight means they can move it as they please (a good and a bad thing!)

The product was well-packaged on arrival in a large cardboard box. The instructions weren’t very clear, and contained no words, just pictures, but luckily assembly was fairly easy to work out for yourself. It took about 15 minutes to assemble, and you can do it alone. The one thing I found a bit annoying was that it comes with a plastic device to tighten the screws, which is very flimsy and easy to lose. It does the job, but it isn’t the best tool and looks very cheap.

My initial thoughts after assembling and choosing the height of the platform was that adjusting it means taking the whole thing apart again (and therefore trying to find the key!) You wouldn’t need to do it often with one child, but if I want to switch between using it for my five-year-old and two-year-old it would be a hassle.

The product is sturdy and fits well together, but it does look a bit cheap once put together – especially compared to some of the stylish options now available on the market. The product is also quite large and isn’t collapsible, which means storage when not in use is a bit of a pain. I would only recommend to those with space in their kitchens or a large cupboard to store it.

Once we started using it, I was pleasantly surprised by how much my daughter enjoyed being able to ‘help’ me with cooking. It was also nice to keep an eye on her and know she’s safe while I’m busy in the kitchen. The safety bar is a huge bonus, although I was concerned by the size of the holes on each side of the step. My daughter didn’t attempt to escape but I think a younger child might. The safety bar is a slight niggle as you need to take the whole thing off to let your child in and then refit in. A bar on a hinge would be more practical and is a feature on the more expensive models.

I found the fact that the step stool is made of plastic helpful for cleaning. It was easy to clean and when my daughter spilt a tomato sauce onto it, it wiped straight off. It doesn’t need daily cleaning either.

Overall, I found the standing platform met my expectations. It did the job I needed it to do and my children loved the independence it gave them. My criticisms would be that it’s bulky which makes storage more difficult, and it’s not the most attractive item to have in your home.

Final verdict

The HOMCOM Standing Platform is a sturdy, practical toddler towel that is great for those on a budget. The product is well-built, and my children found it easy to get on and off.

I really liked the fact it’s lightweight and easy to move around – it’s an advantage and disadvantage that children can move it themselves! I would recommend anyone buying to have a decent bit of space to store it as it doesn’t collapse and isn’t very streamlined.

I would recommend this product somewhat, the large holes in the side of the tower mean smaller toddlers could slip or crawl out. I also felt like the product is a bit plastic-looking and not the most aesthetically pleasing. Nonetheless, it is a practical and sturdy option - and half the price of the expensive wooden alternatives.