Highchair Help

[Lydia]

I am looking for a very sturdy highchair that my 14 month old daughter can't knock over. We have a booster seat that attaches to a chair. It is great except that my daughter loves to rock back and forth/jump in the seat (even though she is strapped in tight) and it is frightening becuase the chair rocks too. I like the Safety 1st All-in-One but I can't seem to find any reviews on it. Also, the base is very wide. Of course, that means the whole thing is huge which is why I didn't want a higchair to begin with. I would appreciate any suggestions on sturdy highchairs (easy to clean would be a bonus). Thanks.

[brittone2]

are you open to something like a Kinderzeat? We started using ours when DS was around 15 months. The base is very very heavy and the design is such that it would be extremely difficult to tip over backwards. My DS hated the regular high chair once he was about a year old, but we never had him jumping around. If she's still unable to sit relatively still, you might also want to look at the Tripp Trapp (same idea, but has a 5 pt harness and the option to add a baby bar).

No tray on that particular model, so I'm not sure if that would be easy to clean for you or not since she'd be eating from the table. However, the seat itself is very easy to clean (we don't have cushions for ours and DS never complained).

They are expensive, but DS sat so much better when we transitioned him to his KZ. He's approaching 3.5 years old, and he still likes his chair. It is one of our best purchases. There are a ton of old threads on it if you want to read more. There are many people who have kids that still use them at 5, 6, 7 years of age or even longer. They can hold an adult, and several people have mentioned using them as computer chairs for their kids as their kids got older. If you look at the cost in terms of the number of uses the chair will get, IMO they are a great deal, and the resale on craigslist or ebay would be very good as well.

I also just picked up on an amazon.com sale a Kettler high chair. The base is heavy and set up similar to the KZ, but it also has sides to it. It can be pulled up to the table or used with a tray (personally, I don't think the tray is all that practical, but for the price, I am happy to defer using it until DD is a little older). They had a few sales on it ranging from under $100 shipped to just over $100 shipped, so you might want to watch for one of those.

The Svan is another similarly styled chair.

Some of the less expensive knockoffs do not have the same stability as the KZ, Svan and Kettler chairs.

[Lydia]

Thank you so much for the suggestions. I just looked at the Tripp Trappe on the internet and it is pretty cool. My husband would be open to the desgin and the colors. I just like that it is stable and I can use it for a long time. I think the baby bar and harness will be especially useful. My fear with a highchair is that it would not be very useful in the long run since she is already 14 months old. Also, they can be expensive so I might as well put the same money towards a chair I can use longer. I will also check out the Svan and Kettler models. I really appreciate the help.

Lydia

[Lydia]

Thank you so much for the suggestions. I just looked at the Tripp Trappe on the internet and it is pretty cool. My husband would be open to the desgin and the colors. I just like that it is stable and I can use it for a long time. I think the baby bar and harness will be especially useful. My fear with a highchair is that it would not be very useful in the long run since she is already 14 months old. Also, they can be expensive so I might as well put the same money towards a chair I can use longer. I will also check out the Svan and Kettler models. I really appreciate the help.

Lydia

[mom2lm]

One other chair that's out there is the hipposmile, which my 2.5 year old daughter loves. She started calling it her "Happy Chair" on the day we got it and we have to bring it with us when we visit relatives. I think it's an exact knock off on the Kinderzeat (old version of Tripp Trapp but without shoulder straps) chair. I haven't directly compared them side by side, but my dd's occupational therapist has a real Tripp Trapp and I can't see a difference between the two except the shoulder straps. I bought mine from their store on ebay. The whitewash color is surprisingly nice in real life and it comes with free pads.

http://cgi.ebay.com/HIPPOSMILE-HAPPY-HIPPO-HIGH-CHAIR-WHITE-WASH-COLOR_W0QQitemZ140126395582QQihZ004QQcategoryZ2986 QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

I emailed them and asked if they had scratched chairs for a discount. They did at 20% off the regular price. I ended up buying it new, but wanted to pass on that info. They said they will start selling more colors in August or September.

We also have a 12 month old and she does fine in the hipposmile with just the waist straps. Until her sister sees her and starts yelling "Maggie high chair, Lucy happy chair!!"

HTH
Amy, mom to Lucy and Maggie

[mom2lm]

One other chair that's out there is the hipposmile, which my 2.5 year old daughter loves. She started calling it her "Happy Chair" on the day we got it and we have to bring it with us when we visit relatives. I think it's an exact knock off on the Kinderzeat (old version of Tripp Trapp but without shoulder straps) chair. I haven't directly compared them side by side, but my dd's occupational therapist has a real Tripp Trapp and I can't see a difference between the two except the shoulder straps. I bought mine from their store on ebay. The whitewash color is surprisingly nice in real life and it comes with free pads.

http://cgi.ebay.com/HIPPOSMILE-HAPPY-HIPPO-HIGH-CHAIR-WHITE-WASH-COLOR_W0QQitemZ140126395582QQihZ004QQcategoryZ2986 QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

I emailed them and asked if they had scratched chairs for a discount. They did at 20% off the regular price. I ended up buying it new, but wanted to pass on that info. They said they will start selling more colors in August or September.

We also have a 12 month old and she does fine in the hipposmile with just the waist straps. Until her sister sees her and starts yelling "Maggie high chair, Lucy happy chair!!"

HTH
Amy, mom to Lucy and Maggie

[hazel]

We had a phase where DS liked to rock in the booster seat, probably around the same age, (ours strapped to the chair also) but it passed. We just firmly said "no rocking!" and held his shoulder for a while and it did stop after a few weeks. He is still in the same booster at 17.5 months and we are happy with it... I really didn't want a big high chair taking up space! We have the Fisher Price Healthy Care booster.

[hazel]

We had a phase where DS liked to rock in the booster seat, probably around the same age, (ours strapped to the chair also) but it passed. We just firmly said "no rocking!" and held his shoulder for a while and it did stop after a few weeks. He is still in the same booster at 17.5 months and we are happy with it... I really didn't want a big high chair taking up space! We have the Fisher Price Healthy Care booster.

[Lydia]

Thanks! I would never have known about the Hipposmile chair. It looks great and is a much less expensive option. Looks like I have some shopping to do. Everyone has been so helpful. This is a great resource.

Lydia, mom to Caroline

[Lydia]

We have a First Years booster seat and it is great, except that one of the latches on the side of the tray broke. So now DD can rock back and forth AND take the tray off (and throw it). Anyway, I have resorted to putting the booster seat on the floor until I purchase a new seat. I am working on saying "No rocking" and I try to put my hand on her back to slow her down. It is nice to hear that my baby isn't the only one into highchair gymnastics!