Baby equipment you need Parents’ 10 most useful baby products

There are many gadgets and items of baby equipment designed to make life easier for new parents - and some of them really do help. To help you find the ones which are most likely to make your life easier, we asked more than 1,000 parents with children under the age of three to tell us which products they have found most useful.

Below you can find the 10 products that they said were most useful (not including core baby products – pushchair, child car seat/booster, high chair and cot/cotbed/crib/moses basket). The 10 below are ranked according to the proportion of parents who found each item to be one of their most useful baby products.

To see which products many parents said they didn’t actually need, see Parents’ 10 least useful baby products.

Most useful

1. Stair gate

2. Baby sleeping bag

3. Baby monitor

4. Changing mat

5. Baby change bag

6. Dummy/pacifier

7. Electric steam steriliser kit

8. Travel cot

9. Microwave steam steriliser kit

10. Digital ear thermometer

1. Stair gate

44% of all the parents we surveyed (and 57% of those who actually owned one) said their stair gate was one of their most useful baby products.

If you’ve got stairs in your home, or a kitchen that you want to keep your young children out of, then a stair gate can be a safety essential. Stair gates can range significantly in price from around £20 to £80.

See our stair gate reviews to see which we rate as Best Buys, and check out our guide to the best sites for stair gates if you’re considering buying online.

2. Baby sleeping bag

40% of parents overall (and 55% of those who actually owned one) said their baby sleeping bag was one of their most useful baby products.

Baby sleeping bags such as the Grobag are ‘wearable blankets’ designed to be worn by your baby at night, instead of using traditional sheets and blankets. They typically cost around £10-£20.

3. Baby monitor

38% of parents overall (and 52% of parents who actually owned one) said that a baby monitor was one of their most useful baby products.

There are a wide range of baby monitors available, from basic sound-only monitors to video baby monitors with night vision which you can hook up to your PC and TV. These can cost anything from £20 to £160.

We’ve got plenty of advice on choosing a baby monitors in our guide how to buy the best baby monitor, plus you can find out which models we rate as Best Buys in our baby monitor reviews.

4. Changing mat

33% of parents we spoke to (and 38% of those who actually owned one) said that a changing mat was one of their most useful baby products.

Changing mats provide a comfortable surface on which to change your baby’s nappy, and they usually have slightly raised edges to prevent your baby wriggling off. They typically cost around £5 to £15.

5. Baby change bag

31% of parents overall (and 39% of those who actually owned one) said that their baby change bag was one of their most useful baby products.

Whilst you could use any old bag to carry around your baby products, the advantage of a specifically-designed baby change bag is that it usually has different compartments to help you find what you need quickly, plus many come with a foldaway changing mat as well.

You can spend as much as you like on a baby change bag – prices start from under £20, but you could spend over £100 for a designer one.

6. Dummy/pacifier

28% of parents overall (and 44% of parents who actually owned one) said that a dummy/pacifier was one of their most useful baby products.

Whether or not to use a dummy is a question that divides parents, but if you decide to use dummies, you’ll find they are widely available for as little as £1 each.

7. Electric steam steriliser kit

25% of parents overall (and 53% of those who actually owned one) told us that an electric steam steriliser kit was one of their most useful baby products.

Using an electric steam steriliser kit can be a quick and easy way to sterilise your baby’s bottles if you are using formula or expressing milk. They typically cost around £30-£50.

8. Travel cot

23% of parents overall (and 37% of parents who actually owned one) said that a travel cot was one of their most useful baby products.

Travel cots are portable cots you can fold up and put in a bag to take away with you. They range significantly in price depending on brand and design, and can cost anywhere from £25 to £100.

You can find expert advice on choosing the best travel cot in our guide on how to buy a travel cot.

9. Microwave steam steriliser kit

21% of parents overall (and 50% of those who actually owned one) said that a microwave steriliser kit was one of their most useful baby products.

Microwave steam steriliser kits are more compact and tend to be cheaper than electric steam steriliser kits; they typically cost around £15-£40.

10. Digital ear thermometer

17% of parents overall (and 39% of those who actually owned one) said a digital ear thermometer was one of their most useful baby products.

The ear is considered 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 £30. We’ve got some top tips on what else to stock in your baby first aid kit in our guide to baby safety essentials.

Want to know which baby products you should think twice before buying? Check out Parents’ 10 least useful baby products.

Our research

We surveyed 1,005 GB parents aged 16+ with children aged under three. The survey was conducted online, in January 2011. We asked parents to tell us which of the baby products that they acquired they found most useful.

What do you think of this top 10 list? Are there other baby products you couldn't live without? Join the debate on Which? Conversation.