If there is a childcare gadget that I consider necessary but annoying to buy, it is the highchair. That I really enjoy buying anything for my children, and I have a great time researching it, but the question of which choose a highchair to buy has always seemed very difficult to solve. And all to end up buying a piece of equipment that you are going to use a lot, true, but which is still a piece of equipment … which you will probably want to get out of your dining room as soon as possible.
Precisely because it is junk and because you are going to use it for a long time, it is worth spending a few hours to investigate the options that are and what best suits your needs.
With the experience of three children and have used at least five different highchairs, I will tell you what I have learned with the intention of saving you a little time if you are looking for the best high chair for your baby.
What To Take Into Account When Choose A Highchair For Baby?
To begin with, I would wait until your baby was about to start complementary feeding to make any decisions. Sometimes we can be impatient, especially if a family member or friend wants to give us a birth gift, but buying so many months in advance can lead us to screw up since we really don’t know what we need.
Evaluate and measure well the space where you are going to put it. Above all, do not forget about the legs. Many times a highchair seems to us to be collected and we do not fall into that the legs take up much more space since they are necessary to give it stability. In small rooms like ours, this is a headache because the legs can become a nuisance when passing near the table and can be a nuisance when it comes to bringing other chairs to the table.
If you are thinking of a folding high chair, think if you are really going to have it folded. Think that maybe you will have to open the high chair while you carry your baby in your arms and that will not be easy. Remember also that the vast majority of folding highchairs have poor balance when folded so they are a danger once your baby crawls or walks.
The ease of cleaning is a key factor. Find a high chair that is easy to clean. Forget about those that have many joints because their food accumulates a lot. Believe me, you will find food in places that a priori you would not even imagine.
Although it may seem silly, I would pay more for a highchair if I like it aesthetically a lot. Because if you are going to have it in a very busy place in your house (be it the kitchen or the living room) that means that you are going to be seeing it every day of your life at all hours for a few years. Buy something you don’t hate in the second month of life because it won’t be easy to get rid of it.
Do you need a tray? Assess whether you are actually going to use a highchair tray. For the beginnings of baby led weaning it is very good because you can put your finger foods there, directly, without the need for a plate or anything. Sooner rather than later, you will want it to sit on the table and then you will stop using the tray.
Any tray or armrests will make it very difficult for you to bring the highchair to the table.
In relation to the above, make sure that you can adjust the high chair to the height of your table or you will find that you cannot bring your baby to eat with you. Do not forget this point when you value which highchair to buy.
Types of Highchairs
I would say that there are two large groups of high chairs: those designed to be used with very small babies, who are beginning to hold themselves seated, and those designed for babies who are already feeling well, and who can even raise and lower themselves. The former gives them more support and the latter is almost like a high chair. The former tends to be very bulky and the latter much lighter and more aesthetic.
In between are the evolutionary highchairs, which in theory contemplate that they can be used in both stages. In addition, I say in theory because then in practice, it is not always like that.
Finally, there would be the folding high chairs and the travel ones.
Senior Highchairs
I call first-age highchairs that you can use with a very small baby, from 5-6 months. They are high chairs whose seat can be reclined in various positions and are highly padded to support the baby.
I cannot recommend you in any way to put your baby down prematurely if it is not supported just because it is not good, but it depends on the high chair you choose, the position can be better or worse and it can do a little work for you. Theirs would be to sit the baby when he is already supporting himself, although he needs good support since the first months after achieving this milestone are still unstable.
The main drawback that these high chairs usually have is that they are usually quite hulking. And that it is usually difficult, or outright impossible, for the baby to be able to go up and down on his own once he is older. In many cases, we will end up buying a high chair or high chair for the second age so that the baby/child can sit at the table comfortably and independently. Which is something we don’t always think about but it ends up happening.
Second Age Highchairs
The Tripp Trapp second age is designed for babies who have very good postural control and do not need the chair hold them because they no longer feel unsteady.
They are less bulky, lighter high chairs, usually more aesthetically consistent with any room and, above all, they usually allow the child’s autonomy. In some cases, they can be converted into an evolutionary high chair like the famous Stokke.
Evolutionary Highchairs
Some evolutionary highchairs like the famous Tripp Trapp or the modular Steps, also from Stokke, are cool and have a long lifespa. You can even put a newborn baby by incorporating a kind of hammock and it allows you to use it for many years. Now it ends up putting on a peak.
We are not very fans of evolutionary high chairs because we believe that it is difficult to combine both stages well, which are quite different.
Keep in mind that the first-age highchair does not last long. In less than a rooster crows, you will have a baby that walks and sits freely, so consider whether you really need a bulky highchair.
Folding Highchairs
My experience with the Chicco Polly highchair was not good.
A huge, uncomfortable, and hot thing that, in addition, did not make sense when folded because it also took up a lot and, in addition, it was a danger due to its instability.
Before deciding on a folding highchair, think carefully if you are really going to have it folded and if you are going to be able to unfold it with one hand while carrying your baby with the other. Because that’s going to happen and you might end up swearing in Aramaic about the inventor of the highchair.
Convertible Highchairs
Mind-blowing: some turn into a table and chair for when babies get older.
They are quite a junk… and I don’t like them aesthetically. However, there will be someone who will do their trick.
Travel Highchairs
Classified as travel highchairs there is a whole universe of small and light highchairs, many of them quite nice and that can make us a great deal.
Some are attached directly to the table and others are attached to a normal adult chair. We used one as a first-age highchair for the Medium, as he got old enough to use the Ikea high chair without a problem. And it was a success because it was a high chair that picked him up very well, the tray could be easily removed and put on and the cover washed great. In addition, as it folded in a second it served us if one day we were going to eat at our grandparents’ house. And it was not expensive at all.
Do I Need a High Chair with Many Accessories?
I see more and more accessories for high chairs. When I bought the one for my Third I have been amazed at everything they have invented.
In my experience, they are used many times a day but not for long. What are we going to do, my children are to eat in 5 minutes and get off immediately.
Therefore, I don’t know if it’s really worth buying accessories or toys for the highchair.
What’s more, I bought a cover for our current highchair and ended up removing it because it was always stained and I got bored of washing it every night.
Cheap High Chairs or Expensive High Chairs, Which is Better?
When I was looking for information to buy an Antilop highchair, I was very curious to find many articles saying that this or that was the best highchair on the market.
This seems to me like baby carriers, which depend a lot on the needs of each baby and each family.
Even if it is repeating myself, it is that you value well what you really need and look for the high chair that most closely resembles that idea you have in mind.
I usually run away from very cheap things because cheap has always been expensive for me. But you don’t need to spend the buck that Stokke’s highchair costs if you don’t feel like it.
We bought the Graco high chair for the girl, which is quite expensive, taking advantage of a super offer that allowed us to get it for less than half its usual price.
Stay tuned because it is easy to find discounts on baby high chairs. You can save yourself a good peak.
Of course, invest in security. The high chair has to be solid and stable. Large legs are usually a nuisance, as is weight, but beware of high chairs that weigh little and have four legs of nothing because babies are much grosser than they seem.