The Power of Up – Safely Boost Toddlers to Your Level for a Powerful Change in Perspective

For any grandparents considering a kitchen renovation, I highly recommend extra wide drawer pulls. They make the best ladders so grandkids can reach the candy jar all on their own. A little nutritional note, my grandson needs a new Reese’s Piece to put on each bite of his Poptart. I’m so proud of his creative cooking talent (just don’t tell his mother!).

A friend of mine posted this caption with a video of his grandson scaling the kitchen island in search of a treat.

So why are children so attracted to kitchen countertops? It’s true that children love to get their hands on the cookie jar, but it’s also true that they just want to be where the action is. It feels powerful to be high enough to see what was invisible from their previous point of view. Young children show a clear preference for being held upright from early infancy. Friends of mine have even reported finding their baby standing upright in the crib, fast asleep while holding onto the rails. Once they begin to cruise along the edges of furniture, they pay attention to little else.

Climbing is good for young children because it allows them to develop and strengthen eight senses. You are probably familiar with five of them, but there is also:

• Proprioception or Kinesthesia – Our sense of movement, action and location with input from our muscles and joints
• Interoception – The awareness of internal states like muscle tension, excitement and fear
• Vestibular System – Our sense that contributes to the sense of balance and spatial orientation

When climbing, a child uses both sides of the body at once, building physical coordination. Small muscles in the fingertips and toes are seeking places to grip, while larger muscles in the arms and legs are lifting the body.

Young children also have the urge to climb to satisfy their curiosity and to feel the power of accomplishment. Using a Kitchen Helper, children can safely achieve this at home while also connecting with the rest of the family, like adults and older siblings who are working on elevated surfaces like desks, tables, counters and islands. The Kitchen Helper is lightweight enough that it can be pushed across the floor by a toddler, allowing them to independently reach the treats they were searching for and be part of the moments of family togetherness.