Good, inexpensive, non-hideous high chair? Or just a booster?

[Canna]

We are considering whether to buy a highchair or just save money and space by going with a booster. I'm wondering whether it's common for babies to be in the high chair other than just for eating...while you're cooking, for example, so there might be some purpose to toys attached to the high chair? For the most part that seems unnecessary, though. Our dining room is right in the middle of our apartment, so we'd like something non-hideous too, if possible. I don't know why so many highchairs are so ugly...:(

[mommyj_2]

I hate the look of plastic high chairs, so we went the Eddie Bauer one. I also wasn't a fan of the big Eddie Bauer logo on the plaid chair pad (which I also didn't like), so I bought the cute velvet chair pad at Ikea and used that instead. The chair blends right in with our furniture, and most people don't even notice it's a real high chair. My DS sits in there to roll his home-made play dough, color, and fingerpant. I didn't buy a high chair until he was almost one, but have ended up getting a lot of use out of it anyway. The booster chair is also a good option, though. I liked the tray a lot when he was first learning to eat, but I can also see advantages of just skipping the high chair.
Um....sorry if that confused you even more.

[new_mommy25]

I think you would do fine with either a hook on chair or a booster.
The Fisher Price Healthy Care booster is an awesome seat. We used it exclusively from about 8 months to 13 months. We now use the Fisher Price high chair but only because Grandma bought it for us. We also have a hook on chair from One Step Ahead for days that DS boycotts the high chair. I have heard good things about the Me Too hook on chair as well. We keep the Fisher Price booster in the car for restaurants without high chairs.

If I had to do it all over again I would get a hook on chair and then go into the Kinderzeat. We do like our highchair but it isn't "necassary" and it takes up quite a bit of room.

[amp]

Lots of people do get by with just a booster, so certainly you can try that to see if it works for you. You can always go out later and buy a HC if you need to.

We debated the same thing, and we ended up buying a HC, and I am really glad that we did. I liked the dishwasherable trays, the 3 trays, the adjustable heights (depending if we were eating at the table or in the living room, etc), the recline (for when he was smaller and just sitting with us, and for the larger tray area. Our booster just wouldn't have cut it. That's just my experience. And I know many have survived happily on just a booster.

ETA: whoops. Meant this to be a reply to the originaly poster. Sorry about that.

[KrisM]

We have a booster from The First Years. So far, it's all we've needed. DS is only in it to eat, not to play. I like it because it slides under the kitchen table and is out of sight during the day.

Boosters are pretty cheap. We figured if for some reason it didn't work as we thought it would, we could always go and get a high chair.

[aim]

We used a first years booster seat with tray for the first 13 mo and then bought a kinderzeat - I always hated the look of high chairs and we never missed not having one and now the kinderzeat works great and looks good in our dining room. Oh and I never used the seat as a place to hang out or play wiht toys - if I was in the kitchen (which is not that often) I just had DS in a sling

Amy
DS Bennett 1-14-04

[sadie427]

We have only had the booster, never misssed the high chair. One advantage is that you can detach the whole thing and wash it down in the shower--very easy to clean. You can also take it with you to a friend's house. We never used it other than for eating--maybe some babies would tolerate being strapped in there other than for eating, but definitely not mine.

[helaina]

We recently ordered the Deluxe FP Healthy Chair high chair: http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=2002&e=closeup&selCat=bgh&pid=31323 from target.com, though it hasn't arrived yet. It turns into a booster seat and the fabric is a dark brown/black/tan gingham that I find non-offensive. So many high chair fabrics are just so hidious. I'll let you know how we like it when it arrives.

[M_and_M]

We just got the Fisher Price Healthy Care chair in the Urban Jungle motif. Most FP chairs we did not like because of the ruffled look to them. The Urban Jungle does not have the ruffles and is a blue color.

[hellosmiletoday]

I also have the EB wooden chair and am very happy with it (as is DD). I put a receiving blanket over the back of the chair to hide the plaid fabric (easier to clean too). The EB chair is similar in price to the plastic chairs, esp. with BRU coupons.

[Judegirl]

We have the FP booster seat and now need to go and get a high chair, because dd is too rowdy to be stable in the seat. While it may pass, we're starting to doubt it. This weekend she was in a high chair at her aunt's house, and she was so much more comfortable, and safer, so we've decided to get a high chair. It's a bummer; we liked the booster seat a lot, and it's great for travel. I'd get it and wait and see whether you need to move to a high chair; I suspect lots of babies are fine in the booster for the long-term.

HTH,
Jude

[C99]

IKEA. I really like their highchairs because they are simple, inexpensive and they often fold down. We did use a booster chair for awhile for my son, but found that he really wanted to be at the same level as the table, which the Safety 1st booster we had did not allow.

My son rarely asks to go in the highchair now -- he just prefers to sit or kneel in a chair -- but he did use our IKEA chair for about a year. Not only for eating, but I found it useful for playing w/ playdough, drawing, etc. We have the highchair shown here + the tray (not shown):
http://www.ikea.com/PIAimages/24131_PE109005_S4.jpg It is the TUFFING series and the chair + tray were $30 total.

[julierobin]

I had a similar problem... Dining room right in the middle of the house for all to see and did not want a hideous high chair. I went with an Eddie Bauer booster chair and have been happy with it. I like the booster becasue it goes right on a dining room chair and I like that it is a wooden seat, not plastic. The seat looks nice with and without the seat cover. I even had a wooden high chair, but got rid of it after I knew I would use the booster exclusively. DS has been in a booster since he was 5 months (first booster was a Safety first which i liked but was a bit too colorful ;-)).

Your DS would probably do just fine with a booster. Here is a link to the EB booster.

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=201156425&SearchEngine=Froogle&SearchTerm=201156425&Type=PE&Category=Toy&dcaid=17379

Julie, Mommy to Ben 8/7/03
and Maggie 1/15/05

[darby24]

Another thumbs up to the First Years 4 in 1 booster. Everyone in the family has one (my sister actually has two.) My sister has never missed having a highchair and nephew J at coming 3, still happily sits in the seat with tray.

We've never used the recline feature, but really prefer the FY because of the A) large lip tray, B) little "lump" between legs and C) easy harness buckles.

HTH

[Eloise36]

We have never used a high chair either. We used a hook-on seat till DS was 13 months and a Kinderzeat since. I ended up consigning the high chair. You can definitely get by with a booster seat or a hook on seat :)