IKEA

This week I’m going to do something a little different with my review. I won’t review just a single item, or even a single store, so much as a concept – and that concept is IKEA.

Now, you may think their furniture is cheap, the design aesthetic too mid-century for your taste, the store experience a little too rat-in-a-Habitrail, but permit me to say that no matter how you feel about IKEA in general, you must admit to two things:

(1) They are kid- and family-friendly to an incredible degree (e.g., their family washrooms, Smalland kids  play area, baby-and-kid food in the cafeteria, the toy section in which kids are allowed to play with, ride on, and otherwise test out the toys, etc.); and,

(2) Their meatballs are delicious.

Now, even if you don’t have an IKEA near you (poor souls!), you surely have a friend or relative who does. Call that person up and ask him or her to buy you some bibs, specifically the Barnslig Rand bibs. These bibs are akin to haircut gowns but with long-sleeved arm holes. They’re like tiny little straightjackets, and they keep baby’s shirt cuffs clean. They are fabulous. And they are $4 for two.

Call now.

Other recommendations: children’s utensils (plastic and stainless steel), bedding, furniture (every time I am there I see swarms of little tots, exclaiming over the bedroom displays) and accessories (bed tents, rugs, night lights, etc.), and – one of our favorites from the toy section – indoor swings. Our son, H., loves to swing, and you can find lots of indoor swings at stores online especially marketed toward autistic kids or other kids with sensory issues – at a cost upwards of $250. The IKEA swing we purchased for $35. H. uses it every day. It is machine washable. Praise ye, IKEA!

In looking at how IKEA caters to families with kids, and how successful this model is all over the world, I wonder why so few other stores (especially department stores) have adopted their ideas. In many cases, you are lucky to find a changing table in the bathroom – let alone a suite with room for nursing moms.

But don’t go there on a Saturday. Seriously. Even for the meatballs.