My Cocomelon-binging two-year-old shrieks for attention as I dare to take a phone call from Munchkin CEO Steve Dunn. The toddler’s protest causes my two dogs to bark uncontrollably. I can barely apologize for the household cacophony before Dunn brushes it aside and offers: “Being a parent is very stressful.”
Yeah, no kidding. The “Chief Munchkin” (yes, really) means it as empathy, but for his Los Angeles-based children’s products company, it’s really more of a mantra. In the 33 years since Dunn founded Munchkin, the company has become a fixture in caregivers’ homes for products that add a dash of clever to the common. Its colorful White Hot spoons blanche when they touch food that’s too warm for an infant to eat. Its UV Sterilizing Diaper Pail disinfects the interior when you close the lid. Its Milkmakers lactation cookies boost milk supply. Its Miracle training cups are so popular that Munchkin estimates there are two for every toddler in the U.S.
