A bottle warmer? A baby food maker? A breast pump? If you’re preparing to welcome a baby into your life, it can be overwhelming to know exactly what items are worth buying.
After all, baby products are big business. According to Ibisworld, in Australia the market size of online sales has grown almost 8% annually over the past five years, with the industry estimated to generate $1.6bn in revenue in 2024.
But instead of feeling lost amid the marketing, we’ve turned to the tried-and-true experts – parents of young children. Here five families tell us about what baby goods you should definitely not buy – and two essentials that are worth your money.
Don’t bother with …
A baby change table: These usually set you back at least a couple of hundred bucks for a particle-board version, while some high-end, solid timber ones can cost upwards of $700. Yet they were one of the most recurrently named regrets for parents. Unless yours converts to a chest of drawers you’d want to keep long-term, they are, as a father of three, David, says, a “waste of space”.
A fancy high chair: Any high chair with a cushioned fabric or leather seat is not your friend, unless you like spending hours scrubbing spew and mashed banana (or carrot – babies don’t discriminate) out of every crevice. Ditto high chairs made out of materials that will readily show wear and tear, given the amount of time you’re going to need to spend hosing and scrubbing the whole thing down. As a Sydney mum, Sarah, put it: “Ikea [plastic] high chairs for the win!”
Bottle sterilisers and baby food makers: The “worst offenders” of the many unnecessary products marketed to new parents, according to a mother of two, Jenna. “We literally already have items that perform these functions, we don’t need specific ones,” she says. “You can sterilise anything by putting it in a pot of boiling water for five minutes. You can make baby food using the exact same devices and utensils you make adult food with. It’s all become so performative and like a measure of how well you’re parenting, when it just adds to the overwhelm and overconsumption.”
Bottle warmers, wipe-warmers, and feeding chairs and pillows: Another lot of products that people were adamant about, given that you could substitute them for whatever you have at home. Emily, a mother of one, says her wedge pillow was a “waste” and her bottle warmer “ended up collecting dust pretty quickly”. “[It] took more time to plug in and get ready than just letting the bottle bob in boiling water,” she explains. “[My baby] was not fussed on wipes being cold, [so] when someone offered to buy me a wipe warmer I said I was touched by the thought but it was unnecessary.”
Nappy bins: You know convenience consumerism has gone too far when we spend money on an item that’s designed to limit how frequently we walk to a garbage bin. Unless you’re living in a high-rise with no elevator, nappy bins are a waste of your money on a longer-term basis, because according to two mothers, Natalie and Antoinette, “the bag refills aren’t cheap” and you’re better off doing a “bag and dump” with cheap supermarket nappy bags.
Books on birthing and breastfeeding: “Every book provides different advice,” says Banjo. “Everyone’s birth, baby and breastfeeding experience is different.” The conflicting advice can contribute to overwhelm, and as my mum taught me, there’s much to be said for learning by experience.
But spend your money on …
A good, lightweight pram: When I was pregnant with my first child, and commuting to and from work on Sydney’s trains, I watched parents using prams with interest, often soliciting their advice on what they liked and loathed about their prams, and if they’d shop differently given another chance. Their answers were always the same: skip the fiddly, bulky prams and go for the lightest pram that has the features you need (mostly a bassinet that you can replace with a seat when the baby is old enough to sit, usually about six months old). Three children and 10 years later, this advice has never failed any parent I’ve passed it on to.
A breast pump: “I know it’s a controversial one because some people prefer to bottle feed, but a breast pump is good for convenience,” says Laura, a mum of four from Brisbane. “It means others can help feed the baby while you rest, but it can also help with supply issues if you’re having them.” She wasn’t the only one either – working and non-working parents alike recommended breast pumps.
