The high chair can seem like the perfect spot to confine your baby or toddler while you’re eating a meal or trying to get some dinner prepped in the kitchen. Throw a few Cheerios on the tray and everyone is happy. But the high chair is also one of those things that parents of little ones use so often that your safety measures can become lax over time.

When you become a parent, you are initiated into the weird world of modern baby products. There is something out there to "solve" every issue (and trust me, mums and dads navigating the messy terrain of new parenthood encounter a lot of issues).

But how do you separate the truly world-changing innovations from the gimmicks? What items will you be singing praises for when you're feeding your infant at 3 AM, and what will you be dragging to Goodwill the moment you chug your next cup of coffee?

As a first-time parent with a obsession with product ratings that I realise should be questioned, I spent an absurd amount of my pregnancy researching baby gear. I needed the most reliably secure swaddles, the perfect newborn bathtub and a musical mobile that was guaranteed to change my life.

Infant walkers, those wheeled contraptions that give babies who can’t yet walk the sudden ability to walk, are bad. This has been long established. But parents keep using them and so paediatricians are renewing the call for a ban.

It’s hard to know what sizes you need to keep a baby properly clothed. Maybe you’re a new parent who doesn’t know, well, anything; maybe you’ve had a bit of a gap since the last kid and you need a refresher. Or you’re a childless person who is about to go to a baby shower with half a dozen newborn-sized ball gowns. Put them down and read these tips for picking out baby clothes first.

Video: You can't exactly blast your favourite tunes when you're supposed to be listening intently to the baby monitor. This custom build from popular DIYer Ben Heck will let you listen to your music until your little one starts to make noise.