Highchairs.. pappa or mamma?

[Xariklia]

I can't decide between the prima pappa and the chicco mama, please help

[JElaineB]

Why not consider the Fisher-Price Healthy Care High Chair or Deluxe Healthy Care High Chair. It has great features and is around half the price of the ones you mentioned. Check out the reviews at Amazon, you might find the FP chair will be everything you need. After all, this is a "baby bargains" message board! :)

Jennifer
mom to Jacob 9/27/02

[August Mom]

Is your child born yet? If so, take him or her with you to the store and try out these chairs. See which one fits the best. I found that with my DS, the tray on the Prima Pappa was too high and the tray on the Chicco Mamma was too far away. The FP Healthy Care and Combi Deluxe Easy Glider fit DS the best and had trays that could adjust close to his chest.

[lukkykatt]

I love, love, love my Chicco Mamma chair. I've had it since 2000, and am now using it with my second child. No complaints whatsoever.

When I bought mine, I compared it side by side with the pappa, and preferred it for the following reasons: the seat was wider, the bar between the legs was on the tray instead of the seat, it folded up much more easily. All my friends who got the pappa said that they preferred mine. The tray is a little far from the seat, but there is an insert thay you can use during the first few months that lifts your baby up and also puts him/her closer to the tray.

I agree with everone else that it is much easier to see what seat will work best once you sit your baby in them. I also looked at a less expensive seat and DS was almost too big for it at 6 months.

[jal]

I would have to recommend the mamma for the following two reasons.

1. Seems easier to clean. Just looking at the pappa, it seems to have all sorts of nooks and crannies for food to hide in. The mamma doesn't seem to have so many difficult to reach places for food to hide.

2. E X C E L L E N T _ C U S T O M E R _ S E R V I C E
I don't know about the makers of the pappa, but here is what I can tell you about our experience with the mamma.

We liked the mamma for home so much that we bought a second one to keep at grandma's house. Despite what was shown on the box (and on sheets inside) regarding the pegs to store the tray on the back of the chair (pre-puzzle tray models), our chair lacked the required pegs. I called their customer support and told them of the situation (that we have purchased two identical chairs, but one of them lacks the storage pegs). They asked for a shipping address and sent us a new one without hasseling us for receipts or charging a credit card or anything. They have only requested that we box up the old one in the box the new one is shipped in and call for a return authorization.

A few days later, I called again because for the 2nd or 3rd time, the recline part of the chair had suddenly fallen from the middle to bottom postion for no apparent reason. When I relayed the issue to customer service, they admitted that they have had this happen before, but that most of the time, they had gotten the customer to check that the chair was locking, and most customers would find out they were not letting the chair lock correctly. I simply explained the normal procedure we follow to place the chair in the middle position, and she agreed that our procedure should indeed lock the seat and once again asked for our address.

So far, I can tell you that the first replacement chair has already arrived. After swapping with grandma over the weekend, I'll call Monday to setup a return authorization.

Despite the "troubles" we have had with the chair, we still love it, and think their customer service is fantastic. I truly believe the issue of the "dropping recline" was just a fluke (besides, it's more of a startling issue than a safty issue, its just not that much of a drop). As for the issue with the pegs, I think they are dropping the pegs because they have this new "puzzle" tray (there is a puzzle on top of the tray for your baby to play with that is covered by a plastic liner to also use the tray as a normal feeding tray). I'm guessing the tray too easily falls to "pieces" if you fold the chair up and store the tray on the back of the chair. They just seemed to have made the mistake of stopping the installation of the pegs before starting the installation of the new tray.

I have also heard a story of a parent that had a similar issue with lack of pegs. I think their story of contacting customer support at least resulted in the company shipping a "puzzle" tray free of charge. (I think we got a whole new chair because I brought up the fact that we already owned one with the pegs and expected pegs when we bought the second one.)

[Rachels]

Neither! I love the FP chair and the Combi.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[ATJ71]

I love the chicco mamma high chair.....it is SUPER easy to clean, I like the fact it has the straps for keeping little ones in place. I purchased it, because of the ratings baby bargains book gave and have not regretted it since. I opted for the model with the removeable tray with toys underneath....in hindsight I would of gotten the cheaper one, as all the books and articles I've read say that only put your child in the highchair for food, not for play. oh well, another story. Still I have friends who have the pappa and complain bout cleaning it.

[brubeck]

I love my Chicco Mamma. It is wider, easier to clean and folds up better than the Pappa. Their customer service is excellent. i had a problem with the tray on my Mamma. It was the old style where all you needed to do was pull the lever to release it. Well when my daughter was about 13 months old she learned how to shove her foot against it and pop the tray off in the middle of a feeding. When I called Chicco they sent me the newer style of tray (where you have to press a button AND pull the lever to release the tray) for free. So now I have 2 trays. There was no argument, no problems, they just did it. I have never heard anyone say anything bad about the Chicco customer service.

I also love having the post on the tray instead of the chair, which is another reason I like the Mamma. Of course this is a personal preference and there is another discussion about that issue.