Who knew that such a small being could need so many different things? Your home is now full of bottles, onesies, and bibs galore thanks to that amazing gift of nature that you can’t help but love with all your heart. Along with strollers, cribs, diapers, and wipes, a high chair is another thing you’ll be wanting to spend some money on to properly care for your growing child.
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Top 8 Best High Chairs
1. Graco Blossom – 6-in-1 Baby Seating System Review
The name says it clearly, you get one high chair that is suited for the various stages of development your child will go through. There is an infant feeding booster setting, the classic high chair, a toddler booster seat, and a chair setting for young children.
The safety harness is convertible, meaning you get the option of both a 3 and 5-point harness. You get a lot of options to accommodate your children, such as a reclining seat and adjustable footrest.
If you have two children, one younger and one older, then you can use both the high chair and the booster seat at the same time. You essentially get two chairs in one with this system.
The padding and safety straps provided are machine washable for your convenience. The feeding tray is removable and the high chair has wheels for easy mobility. Some drawbacks are that the high chair is not foldable for storage or portability and some may find it to be bulky.
2. Inglesina – Fast Table Chair
The Inglesina Fast table high chair is less than 5 pounds and conveniently clamps at the end of almost any dinner table. This makes it extremely portable, unlike the last high chair we mentioned.
Enjoy the back pocket for storing napkins, wipes, bibs, and other useful items. A carrying bag provides even more portability to take this chair to restaurants, grandma’s house, vacation, etc.
The seat cover is removable and machine washable. The seat is padded and has a high backrest to provide your child with as much comfort as possible. Because the seat is small, its weight capacity is only up to 37 pounds. It can’t fit onto tables that are more than 3.5 inches in thickness, though that leaves most tables and counters compatible.
3. Tripp Trap Chair & Baby Set by Stokke
The Tripp Trap Chair brought to you by Stokke is a high chair that can easily double as home decor. It features a sleek and modern design, made out of wood that is coated in a layer of non-toxic paint. Instead of having a food tray for your child, this chair is meant to be placed at the table so everyone can eat together.
Both the seat and footrest are adjustable to accommodate your child’s continuing growth. You can also purchase add-ons if you like. They include a removable tray attachment, infant seat, and padding to add more comfort for your baby.
It’s recommended that you don’t use this high chair until your baby can fully support themselves sitting up (approximately 6 months+). An amazing feature of this chair is that it can support up to 300 pounds, meaning this chair can be used well into childhood.
4. IKEA – ANTILOP High Chair
IKEA’s ANTILOP High Chair is an extremely affordable option coming in at under $30. It’s basic and straight to the point for those whose motto is “no frills.” The plastic surface is super easy to clean with a good wipe-down. Crevices have been minimized to keep this chair as clean as possible. This model is extremely lightweight, making it easy to move the chair around and easy to store it as well.
Thanks to the compact design, this chair doesn’t take up too much space. It’s very minimalistic and can be used from 5-6 months until your child’s toddler years. Some downfalls include the fact that there is no footrest, some parents found the food tray very difficult to remove, and how the safety strap secures low around the waist. On the plus side, if you would like to provide your child with more comfort, you can purchase a machine washable seat cover for the seat.
5. Boon Flair Pedestal – Baby High Chair
The Boon Flair Pedestal high chair has a very cool, modern look with a large circular base and one leg supporting the chair itself. With a smooth chair design, there are no weird nooks or crannies for food to get trapped in and drive you crazy. All you need is a wipe-down, and the removable tray is also dishwashable.
The footrest can be adjusted according to your child’s current height to provide maximum comfort. Since the chair was designed to sit your child straight up, you’ll have to wait until they are around 5 months or able to support themselves before using this chair. The seat, unfortunately, doesn’t have an adjustable recline, which may be unpreferable. You can comfortably use this chair until your child reaches 50 pounds.
6. Fisher-Price – SpaceSaver High Chair
Fisher Price is one of the most popular child brand names that we all love and adore. They bring us the affordable, SpaceSaver high chair that can be strapped onto just about any dinner table chair in your home. It can be converted into a toddler booster seat by simply removing the tray and bringing your child up to the dinner table.
Thanks to the 3 provided reclines, this high chair is okay to use for newborn babies up to a maximum capacity of 50 pounds. Since you attach this to a regular chair, the SpaceSaver does save space in your home. Its size also makes it very portable for traveling. While the seat fabric is machine washable, it’s not that easy to wipe clean. You’ll need to machine wash it regularly, which might get annoying with time.Â
7. OXO Tot Sprout – High Chair Review
A useful feature of the OXO Tot Sprout high chair that parents love is the way the tray stays flat when removed and placed on the counter. Also handy are the 5-point safety straps, which, along with the durable build quality, ensure that your little one will be safe in this high chair.
What’s nice is that your child can grow into this chair since it can convert into a chair suitable for children as old as 5 years old. Padding is provided for the seat to make sitting down to eat more comfortable for your baby. That being said, you should be careful to make sure food is cleaned out from underneath the padding every day. Weighing in at around 30 pounds, this high chair is not too heavy, though it isn’t by any means portable.
8. Joovy Nook – High Chair
The Joovy Nook high chair is another very straightforward high chair that we’ll be reviewing. It provides full high chair functionality while being economical in terms of space-saving. It can fold down to be completely flat, which is excellent for storage as well as bringing the chair on trips outside or to grandma’s house. Being under 16 pounds, it is very lightweight, considering this is a full high chair setup.
You get a 5-point harness and machine-washable padding on the seat. While the food tray is removable, it can also be removed on one side and swung open to sit your child down easily. It’s also dishwasher friendly to make cleanups that much easier. Since the seat has no recline functionality, you won’t be able to use this high chair for younger babies who can’t support themselves.
Why You Need a High Chair
While a high chair is not completely necessary, you’re going to get a lot of benefits from having one around. Feeding a baby or toddler is a very messy ordeal. Not to mention, you’re going to want to be sure they are safe while eating as well. High chairs offer a safe place for your baby to sit and eat while at the same time being generally easy to clean. You’ll be glad you got one.
When to Start Using a High Chair
Since newborns are only going to drink milk until about 4 months of age, they aren’t quite ready to be propped up in a chair. Younger babies also don’t quite have a grasp of properly supporting themselves yet. Depending on your child’s development pace, they may be ready to sit in a high chair as soon as 4 months old, or closer to 6 months of age on average. Whenever your child can sit up confidently with only a little bit of help, they are ready to start sitting in a high chair.
Your baby must be able to properly hold its head up if they’re going to sit in a high chair. Notable features that mean your child isn’t ready yet are if they learn forward or slump forward while being seated.
How Many High Chairs?
You might be wondering why you would even consider getting more than one high chair. In many cases, it’s unnecessary. But if you’re going to be dropping your baby off at Grandma’s house regularly, then it would make sense to have an extra high chair on hand for her to use.
Another solution to this situation is to get a high folding chair or a portable high chair that will fit in your car. It would be much cheaper than purchasing two separate high chairs.
How to Choose the Right High Chair
Choosing the right high chair is going to depend on several different factors. There are many kinds of high chairs to choose from, each one has its benefits and drawbacks. Depending on your situation, the best high chair for you may be different than the best high chair for someone else. Read on to learn about the different types of high chairs available.
Metal or Plastic
Metal or plastic high chairs are the most common, often being a mix of the two materials. These high chairs are usually in the more inexpensive price range. Many of these chairs will also have a folding feature that allows them to be stored away. A downfall with many of these high chairs is that they can be a little more difficult to clean.
Decked Out High Chairs
Some parents want it all when it comes to their baby gear. Decked-out high chairs will have a ton of features that make your life a little bit more convenient and provide some more comfort for your child. If you want one of these chairs, it’s going to cost you more than the default feature sets. On the other hand, these high chairs have high-quality builds that are made to last and are multi-purpose.
Wooden High Chairs
Wood is one of our favorite furniture materials. It’s organic, natural, and easy to clean compared to plastic. The one main drawback of wood is that it weighs more, making these chairs heavier.
“Hook-On” High Chairs
Hook-on high chairs are chairs that you can attach to the edge of your dinner table. They take up less room than the typical high chair, making them a great choice for families living in apartments or tight quarters. Hook-on high chairs are also more affordable and portable. Take note that these high chairs aren’t universal and may even scratch table surfaces depending on what chair you choose and what table you have.
Other Factors to Consider
Since this is going to be an item that you and your child will be using daily, you’ll want to consider all of the following factors before making your decision on what high chair you want. High chairs are used from 4-6 months until the age of 2-3 years, sometimes even 4 years of age, if the chair can convert into a booster seat.
- Durability –Â You’re going to want a chair that can last as long as your child is going to use it. You shouldn’t have to spend money on another high chair once you get the first one. That being said, it’s worth spending more money on a chair that is of higher quality. You also never know if you’ll be needing that high chair for another child shortly.
- Removable Tray –Â Some high chairs have removable trays or trays that slide forward and back. Removable trays are easier to clean in the long run.
- Ease of Cleaning –Â You’ll want to avoid high chairs that have a ton of nooks and crannies that can get food stuck in them. Many high chairs offer padding that is washable in the washing machine, which is a big plus.
- Multi-Purpose Use –Â Convertible high chairs help to cover multi-purpose uses. It’s extremely convenient to get a high chair that can be converted into a booster seat once your child is too big for their high chair.
- Comfort –Â Padded seats will add to your child’s comfort. A place for your child to rest their feet is also an excellent feature to keep a lookout for.
- Child-Safety Belt –Â No matter what type of high chair you choose, you’re going to want a safety belt to keep your child from standing up or jumping out of the chair during meals. The best safety belt is a 5-point harness, though a 3-point harness works just fine as well.
Conclusion
There is a huge variety of different high chairs on the market for you to choose from, and not all of them are made equal. While there isn’t one universal recommendation on our list, we trust in all products shown here, leaving your final choice up to your situation and needs.
The most well-rounded high chair on our list would be the Graco Blossom 6-in-1 since it has all the basic and multiple more advanced features to prolong its lifespan and give you the least amount of headaches. Again, this is not the best choice for everyone, so keep in mind the tips and factors mentioned above to make an informed final decision on which high chair is the best for your little one.
