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Let’s be honest. Life with a toddler can feel a bit chaotic.
You’re constantly busy and very likely exhausted or stressed out. Now that your toddler has a little more independence and a whole lot more mobility, his or her potential to make a mess has exponentially increased since just a few months ago.
And while it’s true that it’s only a chapter of parenthood and things won’t always be this way, why not look for ways to make life with a toddler just a little easier?
Let’s Simplify
As someone who constantly looks for ways to simplify and as a mom to twin two-year-olds, I regularly depend on a variety of items to help me survive mom life. I’m talking about those products that make life with a toddler (or two!) just a little bit easier – a little less chaotic – and perhaps even help me keep my sanity.
I should not have been surprised then, that when I set out to write this post, that the same thing would happen as when I wrote a post about 12 Essential Items to Simplify Life with Baby (or Twins!).
I had a list in mind of what things I thought were crucial, and I just naturally assumed that other moms would suggest similar items.
Not exactly.
I asked ten people (myself included), to suggest about five items that they felt simplified life with a toddler. What did I end up with? A spreadsheet of nearly 50 different suggestions! It seems that what simplifies life for one person isn’t necessarily important to someone else, even though you are in a similar stage of life.
Since we all have different personalities, priorities, budgets, family dynamics, and struggles, it became clear to me that it would be hard to come up with a one-size-fits-all kind of list. However, I still think it’s valuable to share ideas with other moms, so I went ahead and put together a list and tried to keep it as universal as possible.
Toddler Must-Haves Criteria
Before deciding on the final list below, I came up with some criteria to help me sort through all of the great suggestions I got. Each item included must simplify some task or process by making it easier, faster, cheaper, less stressful, require less clean-up, offer versatility (practical) or make your toddler happier. I did not include items that are seasonal or weather dependent, as well as items that depend on mom or toddler’s preference (pacifier, for example). I also didn’t include non-negotiables like furniture, clothes, or car seats.
Drum roll, please…
13 Toddler Must-Haves to Simplify Your Mom Life
#1 360 Degree Style Sippy Cup
A good sippy cup was, by far, the most highly recommended product from my group of friends. Nearly everyone recommended a 360 degree style cup, the kind where you can drink from any part of the lid. Our twin girls use the Wow Cup for Kids 360 Sippy Cups, and as one of my friends pointed out, these are especially great because they are so easy to clean since they don’t have a ton of pieces or tiny crevices. Even if you decide on a different brand of sippy cup, make sure you consider if it’s dishwasher safe, the number of pieces it has, and whether it will fit in a standard size cupholder.
Bonus Sippy Cup Item – Personalized Labels
These Inchbug Orbit Personalized Labels are perfect for sippy cups or baby bottles, greatly simplifying the task of making sure your child’s cup has their name on it for when you drop them off at daycare, preschool, church, or wherever. I mean, how many times have you written your child’s name in a permanent marker on their cup, only to have to rewrite it after a few runs through the dishwasher?! These non-adhesive, reusable labels come in a four-pack, and they are dishwasher/microwave safe and cannot be easily removed by your child. Problem solved!
#2 Convertible Booster Seat
We downsized our Space Saver High Chairs for Fisher-Price Healthy Care Booster Seats when our twin girls turned two. While I love the Space Saver High Chairs, and I think those are ideal for infants, we have absolutely loved the booster seat for the toddler years. They are so versatile because you can use them with the tray on, or you can pull them up to the table. They also fold up easily and compactly, so they are perfect for travel or meals at restaurants or other people’s homes.
#3 Plastic Suction Plate
When you’re ready to transition your toddler from eating off their high chair tray to actually eating off the table, but you’re afraid they’re going to throw their plate across the room, then it’s time to purchase a First Years Inside Scoop Suction Sectioned Plate. Although not perfect, I think these plates are pretty awesome! They stay suctioned to the table for the duration of the meal, and they’re relatively hard to pull off if you don’t know where to release the suction cup. I also love them because the walls of the plate are high enough to help your toddler scoop their food without pushing it over the top. They are also dishwasher safe, which is always important!
A very similar product to consider is the ezpz Happy Mat, which my cousin highly recommended. It’s an all-in-one placemat plus plate that is dishwasher safe and comes with a reusable bag, ideal for meals out. They also make a smaller version, the mini mat, for infants.
#4 Plastic Bibs
Plastic bibs are, by far, my top recommendation for both baby and toddler must-haves. I recommended these in my Essential Baby Items post, and I believe they are just as useful for toddlers, perhaps even more since toddlers almost exclusively self-feed, but they tend to be just as messy.
My favorite plastic bibs are the Tommee Tippee ones because they are less rigid than some of the others, and you can roll them up to fit in a diaper bag. They also have the pocket that will catch some of the food that doesn’t quite make it into your toddler’s mouth. This type of bib far exceeds the vinyl or cloth ones because of the ease of cleaning and drying them, and they don’t have crevices that can get moldy over time. Speaking from experience on this one…
#5 Snack Catcher Cups
I love the Munchkin Snack Catcher cups because they help minimize the amount of goldfish casualties on the floor or in the car or wherever. While my kids have still found ways to spill their snacks, these cups certainly help, and they are essential for snacks on the go – in the car or at big sib sporting events. Before I started online grocery shopping, I would always bring these cups to the grocery store as well. The flexible lid really does help keep your toddler from grabbing a fistful of their snack, and of course having a lid helps with spills too.
#6 Hand Wipes
I almost didn’t include hand wipes in this list because it is such a basic item, and it’s not really toddler gear as much as a consumable, but since I believe they greatly simplify life with a toddler, I chose to include them anyway. I really hate holding a toddler over the sink to wash their hands. It’s so awkward, and it seems like the counter or the floor (or me) always end up getting wet, so we used hand wipes all the time until our girls were tall enough to easily reach the sink on a stool. And when you’re at a park or somewhere in public where it’s not quite as convenient to wash your toddler’s hands, it’s so much easier to just pull some wipes out of your bag, wipe them down, and be done with it.
#7 Sound Machine & Toddler Alarm Clock
I paired these two items together – one for helping the toddler fall asleep and stay asleep, and the other item for letting them know when it’s okay to get out of their bed. Sleep is crucial, and when mom or toddler aren’t getting quality sleep or enough sleep, nobody wins. At our house, we have always used a sound machine/projector to help our young children fall asleep and also to provide white noise in their room, so we didn’t have to worry as much about making noise throughout the house.
There are quite a few sound machine/projectors on the market, and I would imagine that most of them work just fine, but I can personally recommend the Munchkin Sound Asleep Nursery Projector and Sound Machine with LED Nightlight, which has worked great for us.
Although I have not used an Okay to Wake Alarm Clock, I have many friends with early risers who swear by them and refer to them as “game changers.” Once you convert to a toddler bed and your toddler has the newfound freedom to get up on their own in the morning, you might start to lose your sanity if they are coming into your room at 5 a.m. every day.
With the Okay to Wake Alarm Clock, it will glow green at the time you set it, which lets your toddler know it’s okay to get up and leave their room. The moms I know who use them say their toddler will either go back to sleep or they will play quietly until the alarm turns green. Everybody wins.
#8 Video Monitor
This is also a repeat necessity from my previous post, but I can’t tell you how much I appreciate having a video monitor over an audio only monitor. When we got pregnant with the twins our audio monitor bit the dust, and we upgraded to a Motorola Comfort 50 Video Baby Monitor, which I highly recommend for the quality you get for the price you pay.
Being able to see what’s going on in your toddler’s bed is incredibly helpful, especially when you don’t want to risk being seen when you go to check on them. And now that our girls are getting older, we use the two-way talk feature to tell them to lay down, stop jumping, or whatever, instead of having to walk up stairs to their room. Total time saver.
#9 Toilet Seat with Built-In Potty Training Seat & Potette Travel Potty Seat
“If I had only known…” Do you ever find yourself saying that? Well, I didn’t know about the existence of toilet seats with built-in potty training seats until my second child was almost fully potty trained. Oh my, how much grief this wonderful invention could have saved me had I known about it sooner! So… perhaps I can save some of you some grief by encouraging you to invest in one (or more) of these for your home.
We really struggled to get one of our older children to transition from the floor potty to the actual toilet. It was incredibly frustrating, but I am convinced that if we could have used one of these from the beginning, it would have made a huge difference in speeding the process of potty training and also helped get them comfortable sitting on the real potty without the fear of falling in.
Bonus Potty Training Item – Travel Potty Trainer Seat
And on a related potty training note for when you’re not at home, I absolutely recommend the Kalencom Potette Travel Potty Trainer Seat, especially if you have a girl. This awesome device was an absolute life saver for driving from Minnesota to Texas with a potty-training toddler! You just flap out the wings and set it on top of the toilet and set your toddler on it. It folds up compactly, which makes it ideal for travel. You can also use it with a disposable bag when your toddler really needs to go, and there’s no potty to be found.
#10 Waterproof Car Seat Protector
Still on the subject of potty training, is not one of your greatest fears your child peeing in the car seat when they are no longer wearing a diaper or pull-up? It was for me! Having to disassemble and clean a car seat is like a form of cruel and unusual punishment! As a result, those first few trips leaving the house during potty training can be pretty nerve wracking.
But you can put your mind at ease by simply putting a waterproof car seat protector into your child’s car seat, which will protect the car seat from getting wet if your child has an accident. It is very easy to get it in and out of the car seat, and it is even machine washable! You can also use them in strollers. If you want to save yourself time and sanity, definitely plan to purchase at least one of these!
#11 Step Stools
Although you probably already have a step stool, I wanted to include it in this list because sometimes the seemingly obvious can be overlooked. Plus, it’s a good reminder to make sure caretakers or grandparents have some in their home, or at least one in the bathroom. Stools are instrumental in toddlers being able to wash their hands, brush their teeth, get on the big potty, and reach things (for good or bad) that are out of their reach. Stools are a very simple, yet very necessary toddler must-have. I don’t think the brand really matters, but be mindful of the fact that stools come in various heights, and you’ll want to buy one that is appropriately sized.
#12 Children’s Table and Chairs
Purchasing a kid’s table and chairs for our play room has been one of the best purchases we have ever made, with regard to kid stuff. I can’t even tell you how many hours our girls spend coloring and playing there (both our twins and our 5-year-old). It’s great for puzzles, having pretend meals, or playing with anything small like Little People.
Unfortunately, we didn’t buy the table until my son was five years old, so he only used it for a couple of years before outgrowing it, but we have gotten more than our money’s worth out of it. It is now completely banged up and covered with coloring marks, but it has been instrumental in helping keep our kids busy and happy.
If we had room in our kitchen, we would put it there because these tables are also great for crafts and snack time. We purchased the Sundvik set from IKEA, but here is a very similar set on Amazon. Whatever you do, do not purchase an expensive set because I can promise you it’s going to take a beating. Go for something inexpensive or used.
#13 Safety Products
Now that your toddler is mobile and learning independence, it’s not reasonable to expect to have an eye on them 100 percent of the time. There will definitely be times when they are in a different part of the house than you are, and so it’s imperative to make sure your house is toddler proof.
You want to be able to have peace of mind knowing that your toddler is roaming around in safety, which is why you need to purchase and install things like doorknob covers, cabinet locks, and baby gates, just to name a few. Every home is different, and you will need to assess your space for what you need, but taking the time to toddler proof your home will definitely reduce the likelihood of your child hurting themselves, which in turn, will make things easier on you.
To Sum it Up…
I love finding products that make the details of life easier, and I genuinely hope that you have found at least one item on this list that will help you simplify mom life through the toddler years. Please leave comments below with your thoughts on this list, as well as suggestions of other life-saving toddler products. And if you have found this post helpful, I would love it if you would share it with others on social media.
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