Shopping for the best high chairs?
Well, you’ve come to the right place! Our team spent over 40 labor intensive hours reviewing and choosing the safest, sturdiest, and, of course, most fashion conscious high chairs for you to learn about. NOTE: We did not review any of the following high chair choices on behalf of or for the benefit of any manufacturer.
Also–We desperately wanted to review “The Top Ten” High Chairs that fit our criteria, but we simply couldn’t find ten with the right mix of safety, ease of use, and…style. So here we are with the “Great Eight Baby Chairs For Style Conscious Parents”. After all, we are truly tired of all the common cheapo brand high chairs that look like little plastic prisons for runaway hamsters and we though you might be too.
So we thought: “Why can’t parents have a high chair that also happens to look like a piece of art or a beautiful home decor accessory when not in use?”
In the end, we chose the Stokke Tripp Trapp High Chair as having the best mix between safety record, style, expandability, and cost.
- Stokke
- Mima Moon
- Oxo Tot
- Micuna
Stokke Tripp Trapp High Chair – See Full Review Here
- Beautiful Simple Elegant Look
- The Swiss Army Knife of High Chairs
- Timeless Modular Design
- Safety Engineered Into The Design
- Nearly Unlimited Adjustability
- Heirloom Quality Design – Lasts Forever
- 100% Birchwood – Super Simple Clean-Up
Mima Moon High Chair – See Full Review Here
- The 3-in-1 Includes Baby Seat, High Chair, and Child Chair
- Awesome Styling
- Fits Well With Modern Decor
- Safe and Adjustable
- Easy Clean-Up Except For:
- Straps: Kinda Hard To Clean
- Full Bundle Is A Tad Pricey $$$
OXO Tot Sprout Wooden High Chair – See Full Review Here
- Can Change Padding To Fit Decor
- Simple Sleek Styling
- Fits Well With Wood Decor
- Safe – Tool-Free Baby Chair
- Grows With Your Child
- One of the Easiest To Clean
- Not For Newborns
- Chair Will Outlast Cushions – Will Replacements Be Available In 20 Years?
Micuna Ovo High Chair – See Full Review Here
- Killer Easy Clean Straps
- Limited Editions Provide Nice Style Choices
- Fits Well With Modern Decor
- 5 Point Safety Harness
- Useful For Kids 6 mo To 6 Years Old
- Not For Newborns
- Not Quite as Adjustable As Competitor Models
- Bloom
- Abiie
- svan
- keekaroo
Bloom Fresco Contemporary High Chair – See Full Review Here
- Super Adjustable High Chair and Child Chair
- Remarkable, Slick Contemporary Styling
- Fits Extremely Well With Modern Decor
- Safe and Adjustable
- Good For Newborns Too!
- Lookout For Food Trapped In Hard To Reach Places
- This Kind of Style is…Well…Pricey $$$$
Abiie Beyond Wooden High Chair with Tray – See Full Review Here
- Well Designed High Chair and Child Chair
- Modular Forward Thinking Design
- Safe and Adjustable
- Easy Clean-Up Except For:
- If Using 2-Step Tray – Could Get Messy
- Will the Wood Finish Last 20 Years?
Svan Signet Wooden High Chair – See Full Review Here
- Really Nice Looking, Attractive High Chair
- Sleek Natural Bent Wood Design
- Mixes Well With Modern Decor
- Safe and Adjustable
- Not For Newborns
- Some Assembly (And Skill) Required
Keekaroo Right Height High Chair – See Full Review Here
- Includes Bumbo-Like Baby Seat Booster and High Chair
- Simple Sustainable Styling
- Fits Well With Most Decor
- Safe and Adjustable
- Easy Clean-Up –Just Hose It Down…
- Straps: Bucks the 5-Point Harness Trend for 3-Point
A Guide To Finding The Perfect Highchair
It was a Monday morning and the Johnson family was in a rush. The mother had put the baby down in his highchair and went to grab something in the refrigerator. In an instant she heard the baby crying. She turned around to see that her baby had managed to flip the highchair over and now was between the highchair and the floor. She quickly moved the high chair out of the way, and scooped the baby up.
The baby was not injured, but badly shaken. The baby would spend weeks associating highchairs with this experience and cry when it was placed in one. The mother was also upset, and would never trust putting the baby in the high chair again. She realized that she had not checked to see if the baby was securely in place. Would it have made a difference? The high chair was a gift given by a friend, but she hadn’t thought too much about how safe it was before.
Highchair safety is important. It will keep meal time a happy, stress-free time between mother and child. When thinking about what highchair to choose there are three aspects you should consider, safety, durability, and features.
Safety Is A Big Deal In Highchair Choices
A certification by the ATSM International {formerly American Society for Testing and Materials} or by JPMA {Juvenile Products Manufacture Association} can help you find a highchair that has meet certain safety standards. It’s not always a guarantee so it’s important to do your own inspection.
One important safety feature is the restraint harness. This harness will keep your wiggly baby from wiggling out of the chair. ATSM recommends at least a three-point harness, but experts at consumer reports suggest the harness be a five point. The harness should be adjustable to correctly fit a small or large child. The button to the harness should be secure enough that your baby can not accidentally hit it and escape, but still be easily operated by an adult.
Another important feature is the passive crotch restraint. This is a fixed center post between the tray and the chair. Its purpose is to keep the baby from sliding out. Even in a harness they could slide down, and dangle from the harness like a mini Spider-man.
If the highchair has wheels, then the wheels should lock to keep the baby from rolling away. If the highchair could fold it needs to lock so the chair dose not fold when the baby is inside it. A highchair with a wide base is more sturdier and less likely to flip over with the child. It’s also important to look for any rough edges or small parts that could come lose on the highchair. It’s important to make sure that the chair will be able to properly support the baby’s weight.
Another thing to consider is secondhand highchairs. It is best to always buy a highchair new. A new highchair will have all the appropriate safety precautions in place. An older model highchair may have weathered with time, and no longer be able to hold the baby’s weight.
Durability
When it comes to durability a wooden type of highchair is often seen the best way to go. We agree. This is because the material is often sturdier and can hold more weight. These types of chairs can grow with your child throughout their life.
A Tripp Trap chair for instance can grow with a child that is three years old all the way into adulthood if it was needed. There are other types of wooden highchairs that are usable for infants. These types of highchairs are usually on the higher end when it comes to price but are worth it when you consider they are likely the only chair you will have to get for your child.
Another reason that wooden highchairs are more durable comes down to ageing. When plastic ages it is prone to get brittle and more likely to break. Wooden highchairs do not have this problem. Wooden highchairs can have ageing problems as well. The screws in this type of chair can loosen over time causing problems if they are not checked.
A wooden highchair may take up more room than other types of highchairs. To keep their durability, many do not fold. The chairs are meant to be pushed up to the table though and treated like other chairs. It might be perfect in your kitchen, but a headache to take along on trips with you.
Another item that these types of chairs lack are some of the amenities that other highchairs offer, or you must pay extra money to get them. In the end what it boils down to is are you willing to pay more for durability or is convince more of what you are looking for in your highchair.
Features To Be On The Lookout For In A Babychair
When thinking about amenities for highchairs there are a lot to consider. From the color of the highchair, cushion type, feet rest, recline ability, and trays. When thinking about cushions you should consider if the cushion makes the baby comfortable. A baby is going to get cranky in a seat that’s uncomfortable.
It also needs to be easily to take apart and clean, infants and toddlers are notoriously messy eaters what they eat today could hang out as stains and crumbs in the cushion. The tray also needs to be easily removable and washable. Some highchairs like 4moms use magnets to help keep the plate of spaghetti to stay on the table and not fly across the floor. (That’s pretty slick, really.) A lot of chairs that have more features are also created to fold up or take a less amount of space.
One of the highchairs with the most customization is the line of bloom highchairs. It comes with an array of colors and cushions available. It also has a three-point reclining system. This highchair has been backed by celebrity couples including Kourtney Kardashian and Conner McGregor.
Again it comes down to what you want to use the highchair for, as to what kind of features you may want. Some of these options are completely cosmetic, while others are a matter of convenience. The ability to recline the seat is awesome if you want to put an infant in it. It might not be needed as much for a toddler.
If you are using it for multiple children the ability to adjust the seat is a must since the children will most likely have different needs. Graco is another company that is known for its customizable options. We didn’t review them because their styling is just “Uggh…” However, they do have highchairs which are made to be used with different children at the same time, or are adjustable to grow right along with the child. So there is that…
When it comes to what highchair is best, it comes down to personal choice. When do you want to put the infant in a high chair? What features do you like? What works best for your family?
A higher end highchair might be more durable, and have the newest features, but a cheaper one could work just as well if you just want a quick portable chair for your infant to sit in during meal time.
When it comes to safety, the safest highchairs on the market right now run the gambit from the lower to higher end of price range. With a bit of research you can find what highchair would work best for you.
Safety…Again…
All of the high chairs in this review have solid safety records with only one receiving mention in the government recall database at cspc.gov – The Mima Moon. However, the recall was limited to a very small and specific occurrence so we kept this chair in the review.
According to www.safekids.org the real concern regarding how safe a high chair is centers on the potential for your child to fall out of the chair:
Many parents assume the high chair they use for their child during meal time is safe. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Our new research shows that every day in the U.S., an average of 24 children are treated in an emergency department for an injury related to either a high chair or chair booster seat – that is one child every hour. The majority of injuries are the result of a fall – either because the safety restraints were not used or because they were too loose.
Falls from high chairs can be dangerous because high chairs are usually used in kitchens and dining areas which often have hard flooring such as tile or wood. If a child falls head first onto these hard surfaces, serious injuries can occur. When used correctly, however, high chairs and booster seats can be great tools to help meal time go smoothly. The following tips can help make meal time safe for all.
If you don’t think this is a serious threat, please think again. This story relates just what a nightmare the wrong chair or an improperly used high chair can cause:
In this excerpt from Today, they relate a story that absolutely no parent ever wants to face:
Kelli Waggoner of Waxhaw, N.C., mom to 3-year-old Harper, got a scare last year when Harper flipped over in her booster seat, which was attached to a kitchen stool. Harper was strapped into the booster seat but used her legs to push off from the island kitchen counter.
“I went to go cut peaches for her and then I heard this boom. She had flipped over, and I grabbed her and unstrapped her,” Waggoner recalled. “I felt the bump [on her head] come out and I knew that was a good sign.” But when she noticed that Harper was acting strange, Waggoner drove her to the hospital and, on the way, noticed that her daughter was passing out in her car seat.
“I kept my cool until I got to the hospital and then I lost it,” she said. Harper had a hairline fracture on her skull but has fully recovered from it. These days, however, Waggoner doesn’t let her daughter out of her sight when she is eating in her booster seat and keeps her pushed out further away from the kitchen island. “I never would have thought she could reach that island to push off,” she said.
Smith understands that families often push a high chair close to a table so that their child can feel like part of the family during meal time. However, in addition to using the table or kitchen counter to kick off from, kids can also get hurt by reaching for hot liquids and sharp objects. Mostly, parents need to make sure they use the high chair’s restraining system properly. This includes using safety straps and not just using the tray as a restraint.
7 safety tips for high chairs
The best way to keep your child safe is to use the three, or more preferably, five-point harness system that comes with the chair. They may not want to be strapped in at first because babies want to be free, however, without this bit of safety it is very likely that your baby could fall, and nothing is worse than hearing the sound of your baby hitting the floor when you only turned your back for a second. Believe me.
*Make sure that the crotch strap is well secured so that your child sits snugly and is not wriggling around in the chair. *Establish a routine of using the high chair only for meals. Do not let it be used for playtime.*Use the restraint system that comes with the chair. The lap table is not an effective restraint.*Don’t leave your child unattended in the high chair.*Don’t allow your child to stand or climb in the chair.*Make sure the high chair is far enough away from counter tops and tables so kids can’t use their legs to push the chair over.*Before and after buying a high chair or toys, periodically check for recalls.
“How Can I Make Sure My High Chair Is Safe?”
- Discourage toddlers from climbing on chairs; use them for mealtimes and teach your child they are for eating, not playing. This can be hard with the chairs that spin.
- Move high chairs away from tables, walls, and other furniture to minimize the chance an infant kicks themselves over.
- Test chairs in a showroom ahead of time if possible and see how your infant reacts. Squirmy infants make all chairs less safe.
- The Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA) and American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTA) conduct safety testing and make sure a high chair meets voluntary safety standards.
- Check for recalls (http://www.parents.com/product-recalls/high-chairs/)
- Use the crotch and harness straps or use an insert so that younger children are not able to wiggle in their chairs
- Never leave your infant alone in a high chair.
Hey-Why Shouldn’t I Just Buy A Bumbo? Aren’t They Good High Chairs?
Bumbo Versus High Chair?
Lots of parents like the convenience of feeding baby in an easy-to-wipe, easy-to-move, low-risk Bumbo chair.
The fact is that Bumbi (or Bumbo) high chairs are generally not thought of as a long-term safe replacement for a high chair for a wriggly, writhing child who may be more interested in running about than eating.
Also, there’s no comparison between high chairs and a Bumbo chair for feeding baby. The Bumbo has fast become a popular item for baby, but it’s simply not a substitute for a high chair. Here’s why:
- Bumbo is supposed to last a short time. It fits infant legs and requires that your baby has good head control, but can’t yet sit upright.
- This may be great for some babies (especially with reflux!) but just doesn’t accommodate meal-eating babies very long before their legs get too big.
- The time that seems to happen is right around when baby starts eating solid meals. Hello? We’re still waiting for a “jumbo Bumbo” to fix this problem
- Most high chairs (without newborn inserts) take over at 6 months old and last through early childhood. By that time, Bumbo will be gathering dust or accommodating dolls and their feedings.
- Bumbo is not to be used on tabletop surfaces from which infants can fall. It’s not convenient to sit on the floor to feed the baby at every meal, either.
- You’ll have to sit on a hard surface every time you feed your infant and wipe down the floor. This gets old, fast.
- You can strap baby to a regular chair in a Bumbi – but this just seems…wrong.
- Looking up to everyone at the table from way down on the floor isn’t the same as sitting with them, being part of the conversation that happens around the family table.
- Bumbos are nice, but they don’t fit any decor that I’d want in my house.