High Chairs.... vinyl or cloth??

[JAMEPM]

I really prefer the look of cloth chairs (i.e. Baby Trend), but I'm wondering if I should just suck it up & buy a vinyl one instead (i.e. Fisher Price) because of cleaning issues. What is everyone's opinions? If you have a cloth chair, how often do you find yourself washing it & is it really a PITA??

THANKS!!!
:)

[jk3]

I definnitely prefer the cloth look as well but opted for the vinyl. I only have one friend who opted for the cloth but requested a vinyl replacement from PP once her DD started on solids. I would think cloth would be a major PITA to keep clean. I would also recommend lookinf for a highchair that has darker trays. The white can be impossible to keep clean as some foods seem to stain - lasagna with sauce, etc.

Jenn
DS 6/03

http://lilypie.com/baby2/030603/2/5/1/-5/.png

[amp]

I think cloth would be a major pitb, but if you don't mind washing it all the time, go for it! We have a vinyl one and still end up washing it periodically, but at least it washes off easily most of the time. We have to wipe it down w/ a cloth most meals, so if it were cloth, it would always be dirty!

[TaChapm]

Jackson's second high chair was cloth and TRUST me...you don't want it! It was OK when he was still on Jar food but once he started eating solids it was a disaster. I had to wash it 3-4 times a week and it still smelled like old food. We ended up using it without the cover half the time because we had to air dry the cover. It was a total PITA. I finally went out and bought a FP healthy care chair and am soooo happy with it. Granted it doesn't look quite as nice as the cloth but a dirty smelly chair isn't that appealing either.
Tara
Mommy to Jackson 11-10-02
Tyler William EDD 6-28-05

http://lilypie.com/baby3/021110/2/8/1/-6/.png

http://lilypie.com/days/050629/3/0/1/-6/.png

[Jen841]

I am the minority, I love cloth! I can't imagine sitting Jude on vinyl especially in hot weather. I hate the feeling of vinyl on skin.

We have an Evenflo chair and 2 covers (ordered a second b/c DH tore the first one slighly which I was able to patch.) It washes perfectly and I can wipe it with a damp cloth for light messes. i never dry it in the dryer, until accidently doing it last weekend and it did not cause a problem.

It has never smelled. I wash it less and less now as he is perfecting his utensil skills.

[carolines mommy]

I love the vinyl on our chair. Hubby and I were even commenting tonight while wiping mixed veggies off of it how much of a PITA it would be if the cover were cloth. Vinyl is so much easier to keep clean and nice looking. I have enough to wash, I don't need to add anything else to my laundry!!!


Erika
Mommy to Caroline Nov 03 and Chelsea due April 05

[mom2aidan]

I have vinyl too and it's so easy to clean. I can't imagine having to clean a cloth chair everyday. My DS makes a lot of mess when he eats and he's probably going to get messier so it makes my life easier with the vinyl covers.

[Twin Mom]

I would say get vinyl. I borrowed high chairs from one of my friends who also has twins and she had cloth seat covers. By the time we got to solids, I was regretting not buying my own high chairs but it didn't seem worth buying them so late. Washing the cloth covers everytime they made a mess (which was often) was a total pain. By the end of their time in high chairs, we weren't even putting the cloth covers on anymore and were just letting them sit on the vinyl pads and them wiping them off.

Actually it probably wouldn't have been such a problem if the highchairs were a better design - the problem was that the tray was too far from the seat of the high chair so my kids always made a mess because of this. I think this is something the Fields talk about in the BBB so just be aware that this makes a huge difference. Of course I couldn't really complain since I didn't pay for the high chairs :-)

[jawilli4]

You might want to look into Baby Trend's Glen Rock high chair. It has cloth on one side and vinyl on the other.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/baby/B0000YGDVQ/qid=1109531009/sr=2-2/ref=pd_ka_b_2_2/102-2182336-9112142

[parker10302]

Another minority here. We have the baby trend with cloth cover, and I didn't find it to be that much of a hassle. DD seemed very comfortable in it, and truthfully, I didn't wash it very often. I usually just used a damp cloth to spot clean. I have to say though, that my DD isn't very messy, she did a good job at keeping her food contained to the tray!

HTH,
Nicole

[hellosmiletoday]

I'm still feeding DD baby food, and the only finger foods she's eating are cheerios, but thus far, I have no problems at all with the cloth cover of my eddie bauer wood chair. The cloth is comfortable. I put a burp cloth under her and a blanket behind her back, and that pretty much contains the mess.

Mommy to baby girl 5.8.04

[stefani]

Although I like the look and feel of cloth better, I do think it will be a PITA for a high chair. My DS is 18 months old, and he still eats about 4 - 5 times a day (breakfast, lunch, 1 or 2 snacks, dinner). Some days it feels like all I am doing is feeding him and cleaning the high chair when he is home all day. He loves to "experiment" with his food and drink (put things into his open cup and then drink / eat it) and is the independent type who doesn't want to be fed most of the time, therefore he does make quite a mess at times. Also, he does eat things that have sauces, etc, so it increases the messiness.

HTH.