Earlier this autumn, Lara and I were asked to help out with the testing for the annual Mother & Baby awards which will be announced at a glamourous awards ceremony tonight. Along with the other ladies from my NCT group, we tested out 4 highchairs. Since then we have also tried out 3 others; and so, having had experience with lots of different styles and brands of highchair, I thought I would share with you what I have learned.
The first thing I learned is that the choice of highchair is a very personal thing so the rankings I give below are my opinions only, not those of the other mums who tested with me .
The first thing I learned is that the choice of highchair is a very personal thing so the rankings I give below are my opinions only, not those of the other mums who tested with me .
Chicco Happy Snack
The Good Bits: It has a wonderful large tray and is easy to expand and collapse with a baby in your hand. It is very good value for money.
The Bad Bits: There are lots of food traps and the big storage area under the seat collects lumps of food and crumbs. Your child ends up sitting a long way from the table. The large tray is hard to store.
Price: £44.99 approx.
Buy From: The cheapest I found them this week were at Bambino Direct and Amazon
Rating: 7/10
The Good Bits: It has a wonderful large tray and is easy to expand and collapse with a baby in your hand. It is very good value for money.
The Bad Bits: There are lots of food traps and the big storage area under the seat collects lumps of food and crumbs. Your child ends up sitting a long way from the table. The large tray is hard to store.
Price: £44.99 approx.
Buy From: The cheapest I found them this week were at Bambino Direct and Amazon
Rating: 7/10
Graco Contempo
The Good Bits: A good sized tray. Your child can sit very upright in it (we found this aids eating even from a young age) but there are extra levels of recline. When folded, it hardly takes up any room. The covers were very easy to wipe clean.
The Bad Bits: We didn't like the fixed-position bar between the legs as it made strapping in difficult. The straps had a slip-in part and a clip-together part which seems like a good idea but was actually difficult to use.
Price: £85.99 approx.
Buy From: The cheapest I found them this week were at Kiddies Kingdom and Amazon
Rating: 8/10
The Good Bits: A good sized tray. Your child can sit very upright in it (we found this aids eating even from a young age) but there are extra levels of recline. When folded, it hardly takes up any room. The covers were very easy to wipe clean.
The Bad Bits: We didn't like the fixed-position bar between the legs as it made strapping in difficult. The straps had a slip-in part and a clip-together part which seems like a good idea but was actually difficult to use.
Price: £85.99 approx.
Buy From: The cheapest I found them this week were at Kiddies Kingdom and Amazon
Rating: 8/10
Cosatto 3 Sixti Spin
The Good Bits: It takes up little floor space so can remain fully assembled at all times. It looks stunning and Lara loved being in it. I liked being able to spin Lara all the way around to point towards me as I finished cooking dinner.
The Bad Bits: The gas lift didn't go quite high enough for a breakfast bar and the base prevented us getting the chair close to the table. The tray was unacceptably small – we couldn't even fit Lara's plastic plates on it.
Price: around £150
Buy From: The cheapest I found them this week were at Bambino Direct but you can also buy on Amazon
Rating: 6/10
The Good Bits: It takes up little floor space so can remain fully assembled at all times. It looks stunning and Lara loved being in it. I liked being able to spin Lara all the way around to point towards me as I finished cooking dinner.
The Bad Bits: The gas lift didn't go quite high enough for a breakfast bar and the base prevented us getting the chair close to the table. The tray was unacceptably small – we couldn't even fit Lara's plastic plates on it.
Price: around £150
Buy From: The cheapest I found them this week were at Bambino Direct but you can also buy on Amazon
Rating: 6/10
Mamas and Papas Loop
The Good Bits: The only highchair I've tried in which Lara can sit up at the breakfast bar to enjoy her meals with us. The gas lift and tilt are brilliant and I can imaging placing a very small child in it right up until they can sit unaided in a chair. The whole chair is easy to clean.
The Bad Bits: Takes up a lot of floor space and the tray, once again is simply too small – this one even struggles with bowls which is ridiculous for a product this expensive.
Price: £250 - £270
Buy From: The cheapest I found it this week was at Boots.com
Rating: 7/10
The Good Bits: The only highchair I've tried in which Lara can sit up at the breakfast bar to enjoy her meals with us. The gas lift and tilt are brilliant and I can imaging placing a very small child in it right up until they can sit unaided in a chair. The whole chair is easy to clean.
The Bad Bits: Takes up a lot of floor space and the tray, once again is simply too small – this one even struggles with bowls which is ridiculous for a product this expensive.
Price: £250 - £270
Buy From: The cheapest I found it this week was at Boots.com
Rating: 7/10
Stokke Tripp Trapp
The Good Bits: It looks great, is very sturdy and has a long lifetime to it (suitable right up to teenagers). If you use a Tripp Trapp right from the first weaning attempts, I'm sure your child would get the hang of sitting unaided soon.
The Bad Bits: At 13 months Lara was too big in the legs to get into the baby attachment and the straps offered little support. I had to sit her unaided but she was too wiggly as she wasn't used to it. The cushion and seat pad stained after just one spaghetti hoop incident and weren't easy to wash. I also struggle to understand why you would want to use a highchair beyond toddler-dom? With Stokke I think it's a case of 'love it' or 'hate it', a bit like Marmite.
Price: £120 - 140
Buy From: The cheapest I found them this week were at Bambino Direct and Kiddicare
Rating: 4/10
The Good Bits: It looks great, is very sturdy and has a long lifetime to it (suitable right up to teenagers). If you use a Tripp Trapp right from the first weaning attempts, I'm sure your child would get the hang of sitting unaided soon.
The Bad Bits: At 13 months Lara was too big in the legs to get into the baby attachment and the straps offered little support. I had to sit her unaided but she was too wiggly as she wasn't used to it. The cushion and seat pad stained after just one spaghetti hoop incident and weren't easy to wash. I also struggle to understand why you would want to use a highchair beyond toddler-dom? With Stokke I think it's a case of 'love it' or 'hate it', a bit like Marmite.
Price: £120 - 140
Buy From: The cheapest I found them this week were at Bambino Direct and Kiddicare
Rating: 4/10
No Tray Highchair by Scandinavian Selection
The Good Bits: Simple. Easy to clean. Smart and no-nonsense. The seat is spacious. We reviewed it in more detail on Mellow Mummy.
The Bad Bits: The fixed height and lack of tray is a problem in our kitchen breakfast bar but will be better when we own a dining table. Some of the other children who tried it were very wiggly in in and wouldn't stay still.
Price: £75
Buy From: Buy online at John Lewis, Amazon or more
Rating: 8/10
The Good Bits: Simple. Easy to clean. Smart and no-nonsense. The seat is spacious. We reviewed it in more detail on Mellow Mummy.
The Bad Bits: The fixed height and lack of tray is a problem in our kitchen breakfast bar but will be better when we own a dining table. Some of the other children who tried it were very wiggly in in and wouldn't stay still.
Price: £75
Buy From: Buy online at John Lewis, Amazon or more
Rating: 8/10
Baby Bjorn Appetite
The Good Bits: There are no annoying straps to fiddle with. The chair is extremely easy to use and is very compact when stored. The tray is nice and flat so easy to clean and put plates of different sizes on.
The Bad Bits: It is a fixed height and is very low (particularly when mummy and daddy are sitting at a breakfast bar). Lara is simply too big for it at 16 months. Her belly prevents the tray from clicking into place and when I force her into it her legs dangle bellow the footrests and she attempts to lift herself up and out which could topple it. More suited to a smaller child.
Price: £140 approx.
Buy From: The cheapest I found them this week were Amazon, Bambino Direct and Kiddicare
Rating: 5/10
The Good Bits: There are no annoying straps to fiddle with. The chair is extremely easy to use and is very compact when stored. The tray is nice and flat so easy to clean and put plates of different sizes on.
The Bad Bits: It is a fixed height and is very low (particularly when mummy and daddy are sitting at a breakfast bar). Lara is simply too big for it at 16 months. Her belly prevents the tray from clicking into place and when I force her into it her legs dangle bellow the footrests and she attempts to lift herself up and out which could topple it. More suited to a smaller child.
Price: £140 approx.
Buy From: The cheapest I found them this week were Amazon, Bambino Direct and Kiddicare
Rating: 5/10
