Splurge-Worthy Products To Make Parenting a Little Easier

Parenting isn’t an easy job, but we’ve found certain products make the physical and mental load more bearable. There are plenty of affordable items for easing the lives of both parents and kids, but occasionally exhausted parents just need a win that comes in the form of a splurge-worthy purchase. Whether you’re buying for yourself or spoiling a parent in your life, these products have ease, convenience, and a touch of beauty as their common themes.

_{Prices are accurate as of November 19, 2024. Subject to change.}

For Cutting Your Trash In Half: Reencle Gravity Home Composter

A growing family can end up with a lot of food scraps. With the Reencle Gravity Home Composter, you don’t have to add those scraps to your trash can — make it into usable compost instead with the help of microorganisms. You can dispose of 3.3 pounds of food scraps each day, from things like vegetables, fruit, rinds, cooked eggs, and pizza crusts. Then, every one to three months, empty it into your garden or on houseplants to help them grow and thrive.

For Visualizing the Invisible Load: Skylight Calendar

As families grow, schedules become more hectic. Parents need a calendar system that works for them, which could be a whiteboard in the kitchen or a shared Google calendar, but we love Skylight’s Calendar for keeping track of busy schedules. This smart calendar organizes practices, PTA meetings, and appointments, but also includes meal planning and chore charts. With color-coding, it makes it easier to keep track of events, and the ability to manage the calendar through mobile devices means no one can ever say they weren’t aware of a schedule change.

For Easy Transport: Wonderfold W2 Elite Wagon

If you’re moving children from one place to another, you need the ability to do so with ease and efficiency. The Wonderfold Wagon makes that possible. This line of all-terrain stroller wagons never leaves you wondering how you’re going to get from point A to point B. They come in two or four-seat configurations and there is a wide range of accessories available, including weather covers and snack compartments so you can customize it to fit your family’s needs and function. The very expensive Volkswagen edition even has functioning lights.

For Better Coffee Breaks: Ember Mug 2

It’s a running joke that parents drink their coffee cold from all the morning distractions, but it doesn’t have to be that way. The Ember Mug makes it possible to drink your coffee (or tea!) at exactly the temperature you like without sacrificing your regular morning tasks. You’ll need the app to set the temperature or a tea timer, but it’s worth the extra step for a perfect sip every time — or at least for 80 to 90 minutes, depending on the size you get. There are pretty new colors like lavender and powder blue, too.

For Easier Dinner Clean-Up: Le Creuset Dutch Oven

If you find yourself spending more time in the kitchen preparing meals for family and friends, then you might as well feel like a celebrity chef doing so. This Le Creuset Dutch Oven is the creme de la creme of cooking essentials. It comes in a variety of colors to match your kitchen aesthetics, and the enameled cast iron makes heat distribution perfect for any meal. It will be durable for years (and generations) to come. The cookware is made in France and is also, surprisingly, dishwasher-safe, making cleaning up after a braised roast or slow-simmered sauce a breeze.

For Fancier Serving: Noon & Moon Elena Painterly Dinner plates

Now that dinner is ready in your new Le Creuset, it’s time to serve, and just because you’re a parent doesn’t mean you can’t have nice plates to eat from. These beautiful dishes from Noon & Moon add some pizzazz to your normal style. Both microwave- and dishwasher-safe, the plates are made from reinforced porcelain and hand-painted with bright, cheerful colors. The dishes will make any meal — including chicken nuggets — feel special. But feel free to reserve them for stay-at-home date nights too.

For Uninterrupted Sleep: SNOO Smart Sleeper Bassinet

One of the hardest parts of parenting — especially in the beginning —  is maintaining sleep for your child and yourself. The pediatrician-developed SNOO Smart Sleeper Bassinet is a big investment, but it helps add an hour or two of sleep per night by automatically responding to cries and rocking baby back to sleep with gradually increasing movement and white noise. Most importantly, the included swaddle is secured to the bassinet, which means SNOO provides a safe space for your baby to sleep at night on their back.

For Me Time: Sonos Ace Noise-Canceling Headphones

Sometimes as a parent, you just need a little peace and quiet to calm frayed (or tired) nerves. The Sonos Ace Noise-Canceling Headphones help give parents that little bit of reprieve to listen to a favorite podcast, album, or audiobook. They work with both Android and Apple devices and are equipped with “Aware mode”, so you can hear what’s going on around you if necessary. Thirty hours of battery life means you aren’t constantly having to remember to charge them either. But keep an eye on them, because your older kids will want to use them too!

For Travel: BabyQuip Rental Service

Traveling with kids can be stressful and trying to remember all of the equipment and things your little loves need can make vacations not as enjoyable as they should be. BabyQuip makes traveling a bit easier, offering rentals of everything from car seats and strollers to cribs and play mats. Kind of like Airbnb, individual users list their products — which means there are items in nearly every major destination you can think of — and BabyQuip conducts background checks and training for safety and cleaning. Long gone are the days of squeezing every accessory into your car or checked bag.  

Feature Image Credit: Ketut Subiyanto/ Pexels