Clever products to make the most mundane chores more fun for children, less stress for parents

Help your toddler to....

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• Eat their greens

  Let him play with his food and create a masterpiece with this clever Mr (or Ms) Food Face Plate from Fred and Friends. A pile of yucky peas becomes a pucker top hat, slimy green beans are transformed into delicious eyebrows, and mashed potato is moulded into tasty hair. It’s much better fun eating a moustache than a pile of mush, Mummy…The Food Face Plate is £10 from www.johnlewis.com

  Source: John Lewis

• Brush their teeth

  Getting them to brush their gnashers can feel like pulling teeth, right? Capture their interest with these ‘interactive’ toothbrushes from Arm & Hammer. The MyWay is a battery powered toothbrush which comes with 141 decorative stickers so children can personalise their brush – with their name, robots, dinosaurs, fairies or flowers. Tests showed children brushed up to 38 per cent longer with these little magic wands. They’re available in pink and blue, £5.99 from Boots and Tesco.

  Source: Boots

• Get scrubbing

  The bath’s not just about splashing, sorry! Encouraging your little one to actually wash instead of just getting wet can be a dirty business. The clever Play, Wash & Learn™ collection of bath toys from Brother Max has been developed with cognitive therapists to help encourage little ones to learn how to wash themselves. The toys incorporate a flannel or sponge in the design so at least there’s a chance they may associate the toys with getting clean! Try the Wear-Me Bath Rattle which includes a flannel he can slip his hand and arm through for washing. It costs £4.99 from selected Tesco and Jo Jo Maman Bebe stores and kiddicare.com.

  Source: Kiddicare

• Brush their hair

  If she shies away, ducks for cover or runs screaming around the house like a mad banshee (complete with mad hair) whenever you approach her with a hairbrush, then this Magic Flowerpot Brush from Tangle Teezer could help smooth the waters, and stop tangle tantrums in their tracks. It has specially shaped teeth that allow painless detangling – no pulling, yanking or tugging. The easy-to-hold flower will encourage her to brush her own hair, and it sits in a fluted pot where she can stow away her bands and baubles. That’s a hundred brushes a night, Mummy? No problem! It’s £13.26 from www.tangleteezer.com

  Source: Tangle teezer

• Drink more water

  We all know sugary drinks play havoc with their pearly whites, but steering them away from prettily packaged pops and juices can be thirsty work. Kent-based drinks manufacturer Silver Spring were alarmed by the fact that only 6% of children drink their recommended daily allowance of water, and so recently joined forces with HiT Entertainment to create cute little bottles of British spring water, featuring Angelina Ballerina, Thomas the Tank Engine, Bob the Builder and Fireman Sam. They’re available from Boots and Asda, priced 49p each or £2.49 for a pack of 6.

  Source: Boots

• Take their medicine

  If they’re under the weather and need medicine fast, messing around with spoons (which inevitably spill the sticky stuff down their fronts when they turn their faces away just at the crucial moment) is a disaster waiting to happen. Step in Ava – she’s a sweet-talking Elephant dispenser that makes a game of taking medicine. Just fill the dropper with the recommended dosage of liquid medicine – and your little one gets to take the medicine through Ava’s trunk. She’s battery powered and even gives word of encouragement and praise to your poorly little patient. “One, Two, Three…Open Wide. Good job!”

  £14.99 from www.avatheelephant.co.uk

  Source: Ava the elephant

• Wash their hands

  The most boring task ever becomes squeaky clean fun with these cute musical and talking character soaps from Baylis and Harding. Push down the pump dispenser and the Thomas The Tank soap plays a tune or the Mr Men soap chats away while your little ones scrub-a-dub-dub and sing along. They're priced £3.50 each  - visit www.baylisandharding.com for stockist details.

  Source: baylisandharding

• Use the toilet (and boys don't miss)

  Having too much fun playing with their toys to get off their bottoms and go to the toilet when nature calls? Max On-Target Toilet Training Balls make going to the bathroom a game. Place one of the smiley faced balls in the toilet ball and as it bobs around, encourage your tot to enjoy a little target practice. Aim, release and fire! They’re £6.49 for a pack of four from www.goontarget.com

  Source: goontarget

• And finally.......do some housework!

  If your tots just aren’t pulling their weight around the house, get them reading this book – Clean It! From the Helping Hands series published by www.childs-play.com, £4.99. It’s all about how wonderful it is to be helpful and how doing a few chores encourages a sense of responsibility. Then get them to do the drying up with this tongue-in-cheek towel, £10 from The Child Labour collection at www.twistedtwee.co.uk Slave drivers? Us?  

  Source: twistedtwee

• Get out of the bath

  He’s been splashing happily in that bath for eons – and is fast in danger of turning permanently prune-like if you don’t get him out soon. But he doesn’t want to shift, which means some grabbing and grappling of said slippery toddler is required…Step in this clever colour-changing bathmat…neon funky footprints appear like magic when his hot little feet land on this mat. He won’t be able to resist stepping out of his bubble pit to this.

  It’s £19.99 from www.cuddledry.com

  Source: Cuddle dry