Babies are big business, with a bamboozling array of products to cater to them. Here, five families with young children share their shopping regrets, and the items that actually helped
Photograph: D-BASE/Getty ImagesPhotograph: D-BASE/Getty ImagesA bottle warmer? A baby food maker? A breast pump? If you’re preparing to welcome a baby into your life, it can be overwhelming to know exactly what items are worth buying., in Australia the market size of online baby product sales has grown almost 8% annually over the past five years, with the industry estimated to generate $1.6bn in revenue in 2024.
But instead of feeling lost amid the baby product marketing, we’ve turned to the tried-and-true experts – current parents of young children. Here, five families tell us about what baby goods you should definitelyThese usually set you back at least a couple of hundred bucks for a particle-board version, while some high-end, solid timber ones can cost upwards of $700. Yet they were one of the most recurrently named regrets for parents.
Any high chair with a cushioned fabric or leather seat is not your friend, unless you like spending hours scrubbing spew and mashed banana out of every crevice. Ditto high chairs made out of materials that will readily show wear and tear, given the amount of time you’re going to need to spend hosing and scrubbing the whole thing down.
“waste” and her bottle warmer “ended up collecting dust pretty quickly”. “ took more time to plug in and get ready than just letting the bottle bob in boiling water,” she explains. “ was not fussed on wipes being cold, when someone offered to buy me a wipe warmer I said I was touched by the thought, but it was unnecessary.
The conflicting advice can contribute to overwhelm, and as my mum taught me, there’s much to be said for learning by experience.When I was pregnant with my first child, and commuting to and from work on Sydney’s trains, I watched parents using prams with interest, often soliciting their advice on what they liked and loathed about their prams, and if they’d shop differently given another chance.
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