For my studio class we met with a company that gave us the assignment to design a product that would get kids interested in helping their parents in the kitchen or help families eat healthier by making healthy eating easy and/or fun. My final three products were the kid's salad spinner, a strawberry rose slicer, and a family timer.
Sketches
The kid's salad spinner allows a young child to help in the kitchen. While parents are cooking, they can set their kid up with the spinner filled with lettuce and other veggies. This allows them to cook while watching their child play. This could have a suction cup base to keep it stuck to the counter so it doesn't tip over.
This strawberry slicer adds a bit of fun to every day healthy snacking. With a single press one can make any strawberry into a rose. Parents can do this for their younger kids, or older kids can do it for themselves. It's a fun way to make any strawberry into a flower without having to individually make each slice with a knife.
As a hostess and waitress I have noticed that when a family goes to a restaurant and is handed a pager for waiting, the child of the family usually takes it. As soon as it flashes and buzzes they jump up and down excited to eat dinner. This timer allows kids to get involved and excited for dinner. When the timer goes off, flashing lights and music/buzzing plays. The buttons also help kids learn colors and addition; it's as easy as pushing multiple buttons to add up time. So a parent can tell their kid, "Press the red button and the blue button" in order to get twenty five minutes on the timer, or "Make twenty five" and have the child figure out what numbers added together make twenty five. There is also a clear and enter button by the timer.
