Stepup Baby Toddler Tower review

Inspired by Montessori teachings, the Stepup Baby Toddler Tower was created by mum-of-two, Emma Robbins. Also known as a learning tower, this clever piece of furniture helps to encourage little ones to interact, learn, and play. Incorporating safety rails and smooth edges our little ones can use the toddler tower to take part in cooking or baking, washing hands or washing the dishes.

Not only is it functional, it's a neat bit of furniture that comes in four different colour options keeping it looking sleek in the kitchen. It has an adjustable step, with three different height options, is easy to assemble (super easy in fact), and while it may be on the higher end price point wise, its features and capabilities are worth it, if budgets allow.

The Stepup Baby Toddler Tower key features

Safety: Not just a step to encourage and inspire through Montessori-style learning, this toddler tower has got integrated safety rails and round edges.

Adjustable step: This toddler tower can grow with your child or children with a step that has three adjustable height options.

Counter compatible: Another useful feature of the Stepup Baby toddler tower is that it tucks neatly under most kitchen counters. This ensures that aren’t any gaps, and toddlers can be as close to the kitchen counter as possible when helping out.

Wipe clean: The Stepup Baby toddler tower is coated with a non-toxic paint and is easy to clean.

Testing the Stepup Baby toddler tower

I have two toddlers, a 2-year-old, and a 4-year-old – both who love helping out in the kitchen. When my eldest's curiosity started to grow as he neared two years old, he would perch on a standard kitchen stool. While I was always there to support him, there was always a fear he may accidentally fall back.

So when we first received the Stepup Baby toddler tower we were excited and relieved. It was super easy to set up, I’m not very handy around the house, so I was proud that I could put this together with an Allen key, which Stepup Baby provide.

After three months of testing the toddler tower, it feels sturdy and secure and without any loose movements. It nestles up against my kitchen counter, yet due to the handles on my kitchen cupboards it doesn’t quite get under the kitchen counter. One of the features is that it is compatible with most counters, and while it’s not flush with mine, there isn’t much of a gap between the toddler tower and the floor.

Both my toddlers enjoy spending their time climbing into the tower. My 2-year-old wants to mainly stand in the tower and showboat that she successfully climbed into the tower alone. Although my eldest is the main user of this product, he climbs in and out with ease. The safety rails keeps him in place and stop him from falling back, giving me peace of mind. This makes for a better experience all round.

I combined the toddler tower with a wooden toddler cutting knife, and he happily stands the entire time with myself or my husband when we're cooking or baking. Most days my son asks to bake, and insists to grab the toddler tower and bowl. Having a piece of furniture in the kitchen that my toddler can call his own has given him the independence and confidence to participate with everyday tasks.

When I am cooking, especially evening meals when everyone is home, the toddler tower is also a nice reason to get my toddler away from a screen. I made up a pretend game, where we call the toddler tower ‘the space rocket’ and my toddler then “goes on a mission to the moon”. Having this accessory in the house has encouraged an already quite independent toddler to flourish with confidence. He gets excited that he’s high up, he’s excited by the make believe stories and I can tell he gets so much satisfaction out of helping mummy. He has become so good at chopping and has even now started to pop veg in a pot to get lunches ready too.

Final thoughts

If you’re looking for a functional piece of kit to keep in the kitchen and encourage your toddler to help out, the Stepup Baby toddler tower is a great addition. It comes in four different colours which means it can mesh in with other household furniture and is coated with a non-toxic paint that’s also wipe clean – handy when grubby, explorer fingers are around.

The safety rails and round edges ensure toddlers are safe when in and around the tower. Some competitors on the market include an additional safety rail that can be slotted in once a toddler climbs onto the step, and while that’s a good feature, we didn’t need this here. Our toddlers both felt very secure.

The step also has three adjustable heights to grow with your little one, which we’ve seen come in very useful with our tall 4-year-old. Assembly was very quick, and if we had to change anything it would be to just have the option to fold it away. It can feel quite bulky in smaller spaces or when the four of us want to cook/bake together, however this is a small price to pay for a piece of furniture that truly makes kitchen time together more pleasant.

The toddler tower allows our little ones access to not only just helping cooking, but washing their hands and picking the spice jars. My eldest can easily move the tower from one part of the kitchen to the other – he tends to now just push the tower in place and ask to join in with cooking, prompting this inclusive nature. It’s wonderful to see my 4-year-old make suggestions to have family time and the toddler tower is a contributing factor to his evolving independence.

Stepup Baby toddler tower specs

Dimensions: H 85cm x W 42cm x D42cm

Material: Engineered wood, coated with non-toxic paint

Colours: White, grey, natural wood, varnish