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This is the first of two high chair articles I'll be doing this week. In the next, I'll be comparing top-selling high chairs.
Do you really need a high chair? Nope. What you do need is a safe and sanitary place for your baby to eat. My son had his first bite of mashed banana while in a Fisher Price Hop n Pop. Other babies take their first bites in a Bumbo. My friends skipped the chair in favor of a booster with a tray.
As with so many other "must-have" baby products, it's surprising how short-lived a high chair is in the household. Before you know it, your toddler will insist on eating at the table with the family. If you're like me, you'll be glad when that day comes so that you can get rid of the giant lump of plastic that's been taking up way too much room in your kitchen or dining room. We eventually did buy a chair, but I think we had it less than a year. Skipping one altogether is definitely worth a thought.
There a few practical alternatives to a traditional high chair. One of them is the hugely-popular, highly-rated Space Saver chair by Fisher Price (left). Expect it to run about $50. The Space Saver High Chair
Or how about going straight to a booster seat with a tray? The FP Healthy Care Booster Seat is a well-loved model. The Rainforest Healthy Care Booster Seat
For slightly older kids, you might also consider one of those high chairs restaurants use. The great thing about Lipper High Chairs
Hook-on chairs hook directly to your dining table. You may have seen folks using them at restaurants. The Graco Travel Lite Table Chair
Shopping Tip: Look for used models at consignment stores, consignment sales, garage sales, Freepeats.org, Freecycle and Craigslist. Just make sure all the safety straps are there.
Apr 3, 2008
Save Money. Skip the High Chair.
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34 comments:
I love my hook on chair-we have this one: (we got it for way cheaper though)
http://www.amazon.com/Regalo-Diner-Portable-Hook-Chair/dp/B0000A1O7P/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1207256802&sr=8-1
We actually got a $10 high chair off of craigslist, too, but we have used it one time & we use the hook on chair every day. We just take it over to mom's house when we go; it's so easy!
Forgot to say-the high chair we got off of craigslist was missing the straps but they failed to mention that...and they had hidden this fact under the pad (they had CUT them off for some reason!) and I just ASSUMED they would be there! So yes, definitely check to make sure the straps are there!
And we feed my 12 month old DD everywhere during the day-on the boppy, on the floor, wherever we land! But we do love the hook on chair...
We got the $18+ Antilop highchair from IKEA - it also pulls up to the table if you want - and it's got a really small footprint - the legs even pull off for storage.
I was just also going to comment on how much we like the Ikea highchair. It is around $18 with an optional tray attachment for maybe about $5. You can pull it up to the table without the tray attachment. The legs are detachable so it is fairly easy to store. The tray is large, but small enough to fit in a dishwasher. The only problem I've had with this chair is the difficulty in attaching and adjusting the safety straps.
The IKEA high chair is actually $19 with a $5 tray attachment. And it's not horribly ugly, puffy, and odd-colored like most of the expensive high chairs out there. Considering my daughter only used hers for 6 months before insisting on sitting at the table with us, $24 was the perfect amount to spend. Love it!
I toatally agree with skipping the High Chair. We never bought one for our DD. She has always been in a booster with a back and a tray. It is so nice that she has always sat at the table with us.
We got our Space Saver High Chair for $12 at Target! And we LOVE it. Baby doesn't fit in Bumbo and I would not want to feed him in the Exersaucer because of how messy he gets. But I would have spent $50-15% (Babies R Us coupon) easily.
The FP Healthy Care Booster Seat kind of thing MIGHT have worked -- but as a first-time mom (and a baby who, when we got the high chair, was not sitting up yet on his own), I like the "plushness" and reclineability of the Space Saver.
At this point I am completely NOT comfortable putting my baby in a hook-on chair. It just feels too dangerous to me.
High chairs are also easily found on Craigslist -- though in our local area I found them not that economical. (Ie people wanting too high a percentage of new price)
Angie you have perfect timing! My son will be starting solids soon and I've been thinking that high chairs looked so expensive and big. Thanks for the info and conversation!
We've enjoyed the FP Space Saver for almost 2 years now. It converts to a booster, which is the stage we're at now. Before DD could sit upright, the high chair had a recline feature that I really liked, so she could be at the table with us at mealtimes (even before she was on solids).
I purchased the First Years space saver high chair (looks almost identical to the FP that my friend has, I actually prefer the one I have because of the design of the straps) for $30. I wish I had done the same for my house, we had a friend purchase a high chair for us and it does take up SO much room. We just had an IKEA open up about 15 minutes from us, I'm going to have to check out their highchair when we stop there!
We have the Fisher Price Space Saver chair and we do love it. I especially loved the 5 point harness on it since my son loved to rock at meal time, which made feeding him difficult if he wasn't strapped at the shoulders. But once my daughter was old enough to start solids, my son was still using the booster seat part of the seat so we ended up getting an Evenflo high chair ($50 at Walmart). We thought about buying another space saver seat but we realized that it takes up another chair so if we have people over, we loose seating for adults. There are so many options out there!
We got the Fischer Price Healthy Care Booster seat that was recommend to me by a friend and love it. Its similar to the other more expensive boosters but w/o the padding which imo is more practical. The plastic is easy to wipe down after a meal. Its also convenient to travel with. It looks like its currently on sale at BRU for only $17.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2265272
I would have skipped the high chair, but one that was FREE and matched our furniture came my way. So...we've got a great one! Free is best in my opinion.
Interesting post- we just sold our high chair this week! I had a Graco that reclined and the height could be adjusted. It lasted through all three kids and I personally enjoyed using it. However, had I known 7 years ago that the Fisher-Price space saver one existed- I probably would have just gotten that one. Although, I would have had to still buy booster seats as the younger kid would have needed the high chair. My Graco high chair had wheels, which was nice, too. And when we have company we do need every chair available- so the high chair was nice for that, too. All in all, high chairs have their advantages, so I guess you just have to decide what is best for you.
I bought a high chair with adjustable height...that way I can wheel my son right up to the table or have him hanging out in the kitchen while I'm doing dishes. I thought about going straight to a booster, but my dining chairs weren't very compatible with most and with DS we needed something that could recline since he started food VERY early.
LOVE the Chicco caddy, and my parents bought a first years booster for their house. the kiddo really likes being in the action and our kitchen is too small for traditional high chairs so it works out perfectly.
We bought a Graco Contempo Highchair when my son was about a month old because every time dinner was done and we were ready to eat, he would pitch a fit, so without the highchair my hubby and I couldn't enjoy a meal together. The Graco Highchair worked out great for us since it reclined enough that at 1 month old my son was sitting at the table with us.
Now my son is 19 months old and we decided to purchase the Fisher Price Rainforest booster since I am pregnant and due with his brother in about 10 weeks we wanted him to have some time to get used the his new seat. In my opinion, the booster is perfect for a baby that can sit up on their own, but my son couldn't sit up on his own until he was around 9 months old because he was so tall in the torso that he was "top heavy".
I bought an older version of the Space Saver Highchair from a yard sale to take over to grandma and grandpa's house. I love this seat, but it had a recall on it, so I had to get new straps for it, but now it is all good.
I couldn't agree more. It is one less large bulky item to clean.
Just yesterday, I posted about living without a diaper pail (another product you can skip). See my post here:
http://kingdomfirstmom.blogspot.com
I'm one that's on the favorable side of the high chair. Our kitchen table is rather wedged into our small kitchen, so we really only have room for my husband & I to sit at the table. The highchair gives my daughter her own space to eat.
When visiting our ILs in Feb, they set up a booster seat for her, and the smaller tray made the mess of eating a lot greater than it is in our house (our chair has a nice, large tray that catches most of the mess that would otherwise end up on the floor).
I am embarrassed, however, to say what highchair we have - it was rather expensive, and this is the "Baby Cheapskate" blog. :)
Yep - we have twin boys who are now 6 months old - and we love the Fisher Price Space Savers.
We had originally purchased 2 traditional Graco chairs, but our kitchen is not very big. We also rarely have other adults over to eat dinner, so we could afford to sacrifice two chairs at the table.
The adjustability of the chairs is great. We started using them at about 4 1/2 months when we started solids, and the extra padding is great for babies who are not sitting up well unsupported. I imagine they will be great for the future phases as well.
Plus we got a great deal on them at Target - $25 each, so that helped too.
Jennifer
We just got our Stokke Tripp Trapp. I love it. It has the same footprint as a dining chair and lets the kiddo sit at the table with us. I do consider it a frugal buy (even though it isn't cheap) because it will grow with her from infancy to adulthood. The simple design is perfect.
We recently put a booster seat on a dining room chair for our toddler daughter and moved her high chair to the TV room. She eats her breakfast there while I'm on the treadmill, working off that 'baby' weight that's still lingering...
One thing I would like to make people aware of is that high chairs are designed with the bigger 'footprint' to prevent tipping. Boosters are at the mercy of whatever chair they're placed in. Our daughter has nearly pushed herself over backwards in both our dining room and at restaurants a couple of times by simply pushing on the table legs with her feet while in her booster. Thank heavens for cat-like mama reflexes!! I've caught her every time. I'd read this very warning somewhere in a book before we bought the booster, so I've always been seated next to her and kept an eye out for such shenanigans.
We have the healthy care booster seat and it's all we've ever used. We started solids at about 6m when our daughter was sitting very well on her own, so she never needed to recline to eat. I love that it's small, portable and very unobtrusive in our kitchen. I tell all my friends that are pregnant to forgo the standard high chair. Our daughter is now over 2 and still loves her chair - tray and all. She'll have to give it up in a few months when her sister starts solids, but then we'll likely just buy a booster seat.
We also bought the IKEA high chair and I also liked the fact that with the tray removed, we can pull it right up to the table. I was not impressed with any of those huge puffy expensive high chairs out there which I would then have to worry about cleaning, etc. This is molded plastic and the whole seat can be wiped clean.
Personally, I love our high chair. I wheel DS to the table when it's time for him to eat. Then I wheel him around so he can watch me while I'm cleaning up.
We also bought the Eddie Bauer hook-on chair for eating out. So far, we really like it. It even comes with a very handy bag with a shoulder strap.
Another IKEA high chair lover here. It is great.
I started feeding my little one in a bumbo seat with the tray. Worked out very well for a little while, but then moved him to a high chair. I found a Graco Easy Chair Highchair at Burlington Coat Factory on clearance for $25. I love it with two exceptions: the cover is cloth and is constantly dirty so I just never use it! and it has a reclining feature which to me is one more thing to break (though it hasn't).
i have the fisher price space saver chair. my little guy is 3 months old and he sits in it. he loves being at the table while we eat or i do bills. i would def recommend it!
We have the Chicco Polly. Definitely not worth the $130 we paid for it. It is nice b/c ofc the adjustable heights and the 3 position recline. More con's than pros: There are way too many cracks and crevaces for food to get stuck in. There are 11 screws on the bottom of the tray that you have to take out in order to properly clean it. It boasts 2 seat pads, but you can't use one with out the other. I don't recommend this chair! We also have the fisher price booster from Walmart that we use at grandma's and love!
Wow, I don't think it's nearly as convenient to use a booster. We have the Fisher Price Rainforest booster at Grandma's house, and it is really nice, but I do feel like I need to sit nearer to my son. We have a Peg Perego bought second-hand for our house, and I feel very comfortable letting my son sit in that while I clean the kitchen. He likes to feed himself and play with the food on his tray while I clean. The tray comes up a lot higher than on a booster seat. We've been doing this since he was six months old, and he's now almost a year old. I don't think a high chair is necessary, but it is nicer.
We have the Fisher Price Healthy Care booster seat, along with a full-size Healthy Care high chair. We paid full price for the booster seat ($25), but got the high chair off craigslist for $20.
Without a doubt, we prefer the high chair for day to day use. The booster seat's tray is smaller, which means more food gets dropped on the floor. Also, both trays come with dishwasher-safe tray liners, which are very handy now that my daughter eats finger foods right off the tray, but she can easily remove the tray liner from the booster seat tray. The high chair one snaps on much tighter. The high chair also has a much better restraint system -- a full five-point harness, a passive restraint to prevent slipping under the tray, and a tray that cannot be easily removed by the baby. I feel perfectly safe walking away for a moment with my daughter in it. Not so much with the booster seat, which only has a three-point harness, no passive restraint, and a smaller tray that could potentially be removed by a baby. Also, although the seat part of the booster seat is slightly easier to clean (no cracks, no pad to remove), my daughter can (and does) reach over the tray with her hands covered in food to grab the not-so-easy-to-clean chair straps.
That said, the booster seat is a GREAT buy for eating out. I recommend ours over the rainforest one you mentioned (or the Space Saver one), because it's cheaper and has a cover to keep the tray clean in transit. I also expect we'll use it at home when our daughter gets bigger. But for now, we consider the $20 spent on the high chair to be a very good investment!
We've been using our Graco highchair for a year and it's been wonderful. The tray is even with our table so our daughter has always been included while eating. The only thing I hate is cleaning it!
Thanks for the advice regarding the Fisher Price Healthy Care Booster. I actually went to BRU tonight and got two of them for $15.99 each. It's perfect for at my parent's house and she really enjoyed eating dinner in it tonight. Very easy to assemble and clean.
It will be nice to use just a regular chair at our home too, but we'll see how it goes. I think she likes the larger tray and comfort of our Graco better.
Great post!
I love the FP booster seat. Our son sits in it for his meals & it has worked out really well. The extra bonus is we don't have to figure out where to store a high chair in our apartment.
i have the space saver after doing conventional high chairs with my first 2 babies....i LOVE it...it does everything that i need from a high chair, it doesn't take up anymore of our already tight space, AND, it allows me to easily sit in our bar stool height dining room table chairs and feed my daughter...b/c she's at that exact height, too! i love this, and got it on sale at babies-r-us a few months ago. good stuff!!
~bailey~
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