Baby products you need
Parents’ 10 most useful baby products
This is an article from Which? who surveyed thousands of parents on what were the most useful products for baby.
There are so many baby products designed to make life easier for new parents, it can be hard to know which will help and which will be a waste of money. To help you find the baby products most likely to make your life easier, we asked 2,005 parents to tell us which products they bought and whether they found them useful or useless.
Besides the essential baby products, such as pushchairs, child car seats and cots/cotbeds/cribs/Moses baskets, we’ve rounded up the 10 most useful baby products as rated by our parents.
If you’re in the process of buying a pushchair or child car seat, make sure you take a look at our pushchair reviews and child car seat reviews to find the safest and most comfortable for your child. If you’re not yet a Which? member, you can sign up for £1 and unlock hundreds of reviews across the site.
Most useful baby products
1 Stair gate
Stair gates were rated as the most useful baby product, with more than 70% of the parents we asked saying they owned one. If 
you’ve got stairs in your home, or a kitchen that you want to keep young children out of, a stair gate can be a safety essential.
Stair gates can range significantly in price from around £15 to £100. But a higher price doesn’t always mean you’ll get the best. See our stair gate reviews to find out which we rate as Best Buys, and check out our guide to buying the best stair gate.
2 Baby changing bag
You could use any old bag to carry around your baby products when you’re out and about. But the advantage of a specifically designed baby changing bag is that it usually has different compartments to help you find what you need quickly, and many come with a foldaway changing mat. The parents we surveyed certainly appreciated theirs.
You can spend as much as you like on a baby changing bag. Prices start from under £20, but you could spend over £250 on a designer one.
3 Audio baby monitor
Audio baby monitors allow you to hear your little one when you’re not in the same room as them. There’s a wide range of baby monitors available, from basic sound-only monitors to video baby monitors (also in our top 10 list). Audio ones can cost anything from under £20 to over £60.
We’ve tested both audio and video baby monitors on sound quality, range, battery life and ease of use. Find the best one for you with our baby monitor reviews.
4 Electric steam steriliser kit
Using an electric steam steriliser kit can be a quick and easy way to sterilise your baby’s bottles, whether you’re using formula or expressing milk. Typically costing around £30 to £100, they are quick and fairly easy to use.
To find out more about baby feeding products, from bottles to bottle warmers, take a look at our guide.
5 Microwave steam steriliser kit
As well as electric steam steriliser kits, microwave versions are also popular. Microwave steam steriliser kits are more compact and tend to be cheaper than electric ones. They typically cost around £20 to £50.
6 Video baby monitor
Video baby monitors are more sophisticated than simple audio monitors – not only can you see your baby, but some also have night vision and can be hooked up to your PC, TV and/or smartphone as well.
We’ve got plenty of advice on choosing a baby monitor in our guide how to buy the best baby monitor, plus you can find out which models we rate as Best Buy baby monitors.
7 Baby sleeping bag
Baby sleeping bags are ‘wearable blankets’ designed to be worn by your baby at night, instead of using traditional sheets and blankets. They typically cost between £10 and £20 and will last until your baby is around 18 months old.
Take a look at our guide to find out about baby bedding and other safe sleeping tips.
8 Digital ear thermometer
The ear is considered to be the most reliable place to get a consistent reading of internal body temperature. A digital ear thermometer can give you a quick temperature reading for your child, and help you identify signs of fever.
They typically cost between £10 and £40. Read our reviews and advice on buying the best ear thermometers.
9 Baby bouncer chair
A baby bouncer chair allows younger babies to experience a seated rocking motion, and some models are even suitable from birth. They typically cost between £20 and £70 and were much more popular with parents than door baby bouncers (which can be found in our top 10 least useful baby products list).
For buying advice and safety tips on play equipment for babies and toddlers, read our guide.
10 Travel cot
Travel cots can be folded up, placed in a bag and taken with you if you are travelling with your baby. They can cost anything from £20 to over £100 and can also be used as a playpen.
If you’re thinking of buying one read our guide on how to buy a travel cot.
Our research
We surveyed 2,005 GB parents aged 18+ with children aged under five. The survey was conducted online in February and March 2014. We asked parents to rate each of the baby products they’d bought on a scale on 1 to 10 for usefulness. These are the 10 baby products that were ranked as the most useful overall.
What do you think of this top 10 list? Are there other baby products you couldn’t live without? Let us know on Twitter, @WhichHome
If you would like to have your say on anything from baby products to bank accounts and help us with our research, join the Which? Connect panel. It’s open to all Which? subscribers.
More on this…
Make sure your baby is safe with a Best Buy child car seat
Choose the best pushchair for you and your baby with a Best Buy pushchair
Find out all you need to know with our guide to having a baby: what you need and when
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Don’t forget to enjoy your day.
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