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A lap desk gives kids freedom to set themselves up anywhere in the house to get their homework done, rather than being tethered to a desk. Compact and portable, lap desks allow children the flexibility to work in their beds, in their favorite spots around the house, in the car, or even sitting outside at the local park.
When shopping for the best lap desk for your child, you will want to think about how important certain features are to you, such as a cushioned base, adjustable legs, built-in storage, or handle to make the desk easier to carry. Before you shop you’ll also want a rough idea of how big a lap desk you want. It should have enough surface area for your child to comfortably work on school assignments (or balance a laptop computer), but not be so large as to be cumbersome or too heavy for a little lap.
If you have younger children or a child who enjoys displaying his or her individuality, be on the lookout for lap desks with decorative designs or patterns that aren’t as staid as the standard lap desk aesthetic. Whether your kids will be happier with patterns or plain wood, they should be happy to use one of the products listed below.
Our Top Picks
These top-rated lap desks were chosen because of their quality, price, and customer satisfaction. Also factored in were size, comfort, design, versatility, and beneficial “extras.”
Best Overall
Lavish Home Laptop Lap Desk, Portable
Designed for older children, this lap desk from Lavish Home has a soft, fleece-covered base filled with foam microbeads. It will rest comfortably on kids’ laps without sharp edges or constraining table legs. The lap desk weighs just 2 pounds and has a handle sewn into the fleece base, making it easy to carry the desk from room to room.
This lap desk has a few built-in features that set it apart from similar products, including a pen slot that prevents pens from rolling off the desk, a cup holder, and a removable desk light that can be adjusted to illuminate the work area. The surface of the desk measures 19 inches by 15 inches, giving your kids ample space to get their homework done. It should be noted that the beads inside the lap desk are harmful and should not be ingested or burned if at any point they leak from a rip or tear in the cushioned base.
Best Bang for the Buck
Sofia + Sam Mini Memory Foam Lap Desk
While this Sofia + Sam lap desk is only 2.5 inches thick, it has a pliable memory foam base that conforms to the surface it’s placed on, ensuring that it’s as comfortable as possible while in use. This affordable lap desk weighs just 2.5 pounds, allowing you to easily tote it by the attached carrying handle and store it in a variety of spaces around your home or in your car.
The surface of the desk measures 12.5 inches by 17 inches, which is just enough space for kids to work on homework assignments, color, draw, write, or play on a laptop or tablet. This desk comes in pink, silver, blue, or black, which is great for parents with multiple children. If everyone is assigned their own color, sibling fights over which lap desk belongs to which kid will be a thing of the past.
Best with Storage
Basicwise QI003253P Kids Lap Desk Tray, Portable
Younger kids can quickly turn a flat desk surface into a mess, which prevents them from continuing to play or easily changing their activity. This lap desk solves that problem: Your kids can store their toys in one compartment, enjoy a snack from a second compartment, and use a third to organize their markers, crayons, and other art supplies. The durable plastic material is easy to clean, so you won’t have to worry about stains from spilled food or drinks.
This Basicwise lap desk uses the compartment on either side as support legs. The height of 8 inches allows your kids plenty of space for their legs to fit underneath. It measures 23 inches wide by 12 inches deep and comes in pink and green. While the lap desk doesn’t have a carrying handle, it does weigh only 2 pounds, so it’s easy enough for an adult or an older child to move around.
Best with Design
LapGear Lap Pets Lap Desk for Lil' Kids
Kids thrive on creativity. Instead of giving them a plain black or white lap desk, invest in this colorful product that’s available in several animal designs including unicorn, puppy, cat, llama, and panda. Each design features the selected animal with pop-out felt details that are soft to the touch, plus fabric additions, like a unicorn horn or panda ears, that extend out from the top of the lap desk.
LapGear’s desk surface area measures 14.5 inches by 11.3 inches, giving your kids enough space for their homework, a quick snack, a tablet, or even a small notebook-size laptop. The base of the lap desk has a thick cushion that conforms to the surface it is resting on, allowing your kids to comfortably rest the lap desk on their legs. It weighs just 1.4 pounds and has a reinforced handle that makes it easy to carry around.
Best for Bed
Sorfity Laptop Bed Table Lap Desk, Foldable Lap Stand
Snow days, sick days, and plain lazy days are semi-regular occurrences in which we find our kids completing homework while snuggled on their beds. This lap desk is big enough that kids won’t struggle to fit the desk over their blanket cocoon. The W-shaped legs are sturdy on the soft bedding instead of sinking in and tipping over, which often happens with a four-leg design.
The lap desk has a surface that measures 24 inches by 16 inches and is 12 inches high when the legs are unfolded. With a built-in slot to prop up books, phones, and tablets, children will still have plenty of flat desk space on which to work. The lap desk weighs 7 pounds and comes in four different colors including pink, black, blue, and a natural wood finish.
Best for Floor
ECR4Kids – ELR-15810-GN The Surf Portable Lap Desk
Your children won’t have to worry about sitting on wet grass or a dirty floor when they have this lap desk. Its durable plastic seat is attached to a flat desk surface that sits at about 1 foot in height. It weighs only 3.5 pounds and, if you have more than one, they can stack together for easy storage. The desk surface measures 14 inches by 10 inches, and the 14-inch by 14-inch seat provides ample room for sitting. It’s certified Greenguard nontoxic, too.
The way The Surf works is that your child sits on the plastic seat and their weight holds the desktop in place. While this design makes the desk compact and easy to both carry and store, it also can limit the age range of children who would use it. Some users report that very young children sometimes send items flying off the desk when they stand up.
Best Travel
Lusso Gear Kids Travel Tray
Traveling with your kids can be stressful—kids get bored in no time and more often than not, they play with things they shouldn’t play with or bother their siblings. This lap desk from Lusso keeps their attention on arts, crafts, toys, or even a tablet. Its 16-inch by 12-inch dry-erase whiteboard doubles as a smooth, flat desktop when they aren’t interested in drawing.
This lap desk comes with a strap that attaches to both sides of the desk and wraps around the car seat or booster seat to keep it secure as you ride. With six zippered pockets for toys, snacks, and art supplies, as well as a built-in tablet stand to keep devices secure, there’s plenty here to entertain the littles while you focus on the road.