Dilemma on Best High Chair

Updated on December 17, 2009
V.B. asks from Thousand Oaks, CA
17 answers

Hello,

I have been searching for the best high chair for several days already, and the more I research, the more confused I become. I read that the best high chair was Fisher-Price Healthy Care, but some of the reviews were not favorable. I was leaning towards the Baby Trend High Chair, but I read on many reviews that the tray is too big. I was also considering the Peg Perego Mamma Mia or one of the other ones, but I read that the wheels are a pain and that the tray is sticky and also hard to manage.

Does anybody know what is indeed the best high chair? I read the previous postings on this issue, and I realized that the best high chair will be whatever works for my baby, but I'm trying to avoid making a bad purchase.

I would like a chair that has an adjustable and removable tray, adjustable height, and no wheels. I also want it to be easy to clean, sturdy and safe (five-point harness, b-bar, no loose parts, etc.)

Speaking of wheels: what is your thought about wheels? I feel that wheels could be dangerous but, if I can not find a high chair without wheels that I like, do you know if the wheels could be removed.

What about vinyl? I read that vinyl does not breathe so it makes the baby sweats. I also read in one review that it might be harmful for the baby, which I'm not sure whether it's true or not. Would a different material be better? If so, what kind?

Help! As you can see, I am very confused indeed and any advice would be really appreciated.

Thank you very much,
V.

3 moms found this helpful

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So What Happened?

Thank you all for your recommendations. My husband and I ended up getting a Fischer Price Healthy Care Deluxe. It has all I wanted (two removable trays, one-hand tray removal, adjustable heights, different reclining positions, it's easy to clean). It is supposed to be easy to store, but we keep it in our dining room all the time, so that has not been necessary. I also like the color (white and blue) and it's not very obnoxious (we got the Aquarium theme). I also like the fact that the crotch bar is attached to the seat not the tray. It does come with a toy, but we removed it and our baby plays with it when she is not eating. She likes the toy, but I didn't think it was a good idea for the baby to play while she is eating - besides, the toy is big, so it would have taken a lot of the tray's space.

Anyway, thank you all very much. I'm very thankful for all your responses and for Mamasource for giving us a chance to help one another.

Featured Answers

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A.P.

answers from San Diego on

We have the Graco Contempo Highchair & love it. Easy to clean & folds up small enough to take it anywhere! Good luck!

http://www.gracobaby.com/Catalog/Pages/ProductListingPage...

1 mom found this helpful
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C.A.

answers from Los Angeles on

why dont you just go w/ a chair that clips to the table, or a booster that straps to a chair w/ a tray? Personally, I LOVED the wheels. and then a big tray, w/ a lip, that removes easily. Nothing will be perfect for everyone. At this point, my kids had been in a high chair since 4 mos...so, maybe a booster type chair may last a lot longer for you. I loved the foamie cushie booster.

1 mom found this helpful

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L.B.

answers from Stationed Overseas on

I personally used one that just strapped to the kitchen chair. It worked with and without a tray. I personally liked my daughter to be right at the table with us so she didn't use the tray so much. There were a lot less safety concerns that way and it doesn't take up any more space than the chair already did. It's also handy if you go out to eat whether at a friend's house or at a restaurant. Just strap it to whatever chair is available.
I wouldn't stress so much. Find one that you like and think will work, it is only a high chair.
Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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J.H.

answers from Los Angeles on

Dear V., I purchased the Baby Tenda. It is a high chair that does everything and i love it. The best part was the salesman told us the style would never change and you can always get replacement parts for it, Huh what replacement parts after two childresn nothing broke or needed to be replaced.

1 mom found this helpful
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J.B.

answers from Los Angeles on

i have a fisher price space saver high chair and i LOVE IT!!!!! i used it when my daughter was a tiny baby (it reclines) and shes almost 3 and now uses it as a booster seat. i like the fact that it sets on a regular chair and has straps to secure it. its not bulky like a full size and the tray is dish washer save. also you can angle the tray if you have the seat reclined. it was a great buy for us!

1 mom found this helpful
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R.V.

answers from Los Angeles on

We use the fisher price space saver, which has been great. I'd only say I'm not pleased that the arms don't fit under our table & they don't detach. Sounds like there are some good options out there.

1 mom found this helpful
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J.S.

answers from Los Angeles on

I think you're investing WAY too much thought in to this. It's a high chair... they are all very similar. I LOVE the one I have. It's bigger than the average, but that gives my son room to grow. I have the Nature's purest high chair sold at Babies R Us. It has organic cloth on it and natural colors so it goes with most decor. It has a drop down back, an adjustable table and a pull out tray with cup holder. It's easy to clean.

As another mom said... there is no best high chair... just whatever works best for you and your daughter.

I love wheels by the way. You can more easily tote the chair around the house or even outside for meals outside during the summer :)

1 mom found this helpful
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K.R.

answers from San Diego on

consider if you want the crotch bar attached to the seat or to the tray. +/-'s: on the seat, the kid can't scoot fwd while you are trying to slide the tray on, and you can take the tray off and set it on a table w/o spilling all the food. On the tray, it moves right up to the kid so he can't maneuver his legs up and climb out.

Vinyl: MUCH easier to wipe than cotton. you can always set a towel down under his legs if it is a hot day.

Wheels: I like them because I move the chair around or turn it so I can see baby while I'm cooking. Even on tile, I do NOT think a toddler could throw his body around so aggressively as to make the chair unstable.

I have a Chicco seat and it folds very narrow for storage or just to move out of the way for when company comes. It has a 5pt harness (which I never use--the tray is tight enough for my kids) and the seat can adjust height (a nice feature so I can choose to sit or stand for feeding). It can also fit at most tables w/o the tray.

1 mom found this helpful
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P.H.

answers from Los Angeles on

I was the same way. They aren't all the same. I read about some of them collapsing with kids in them, etc. I did extensive researching.

The Fisher Price chairs get GREAT reviews mostly, but I couldn't live with the loud colors. The best one I found after reading reviews was the Graco Contempo. 5 point harness, tilting seat (good for sippy cup training), 2 removable, dishwasher-safe trays, locking wheels, vinyl/fabric combo, and lots of height adjustments. It's been great. It's wipeable, doesn't make my hot baby sweat and otherwise just fabulous. I get a lot of things 2nd hand, but this was my one first hand purchase because I'd done so much research and couldn't wait to find one on Craigslist. As the cherry on top, it folds REALLY flat for storage. I plan use this for my next child as well, so I put a lot of thought into it. It really helped us with starting solids. Good luck.

1 mom found this helpful
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S.H.

answers from Honolulu on

We had, the Fisher Price "Rainforest" highchair.
Great chair, but the problem is.... BOTH of my kids HATE high chairs. No matter what we did or tried, the high chair was useless. So the high-chair sat all new and pretty in a corner totally UN-used and so very useless.
We even had a hard time selling it and even giving it away... because no one seems to want a high-chair.

I don't think, spending a lot of money on a high-chair is useful. It also takes up a lot of room in a kitchen area.
For me/us... the most useless thing we got for our kids, was the High-chair.
Instead, what we used, and the kids DID like, was the type of chairs you attach to the table, or the dining chair itself. THESE are really good, and we like it. My Kids also liked it, because it is more "real" and actually sitting AT the dinner table, instead of being off away in a High-Chair with a big tray in the way.

All the best,
Susan

1 mom found this helpful
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M.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

personally I wwould recommend the graco blossom 4in1. It is way better then the fisherprice one. There is a demo on how it works on the babies R us site. It does have wheels and a vinyl cover. As far as the wheels on it we have two rambunctious toddlers and there have been no problems. Also for the cover we just don't use it and neither kids complains. If you want to use a cover I would stear clear of vinyl personally.

1 mom found this helpful
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C.F.

answers from Los Angeles on

I agree with some other responders that you are putting too much thought and energy into this. There is no perfect highchair. Reviews on great high chairs will always have some bad along with the good because everyone looks for different features.

I started off using the Fisher Price Health Care Booster Seat due to space issue. It works great and we are still using it. It sits on our dining chair, has adjustable legs, removeable trays and is easy to wipe down. I have twin boys and didn't want to bother with cloth cleaning. Since we moved to a bigger place, we also got two cheap Ikea high chairs. My boys have been using it for one year now. We still have the booster seats in my car for the times that we eat out and the restaurant happens to run out of highchairs or has extremely dirty ones. It's happened on multiple occassions.

Think about what your priority is for the highchair you want, and then, as another responder said, get the highchair the has the most features meeting your needs. For me and having to deal with two toddlers, it was ease of clean up, ease of use, adjustability, and portability.

1 mom found this helpful
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K.J.

answers from Las Vegas on

I also have a Graco Blossom 4 in 1 for our 9 month old daughter and I love it! As the previous poster suggested, check out the demo on the BRU website. The wheels lock, it has 3 removable tray options, cleans up easily, and it feels extremely sturdy. It has a 5-point harness, and comes with a booster chair for when they are a little bigger. Best feature in my opinion is that the top chair part pops off, you snap it to the booster and can strap it to a regular chair. So I am able to easily bring her high chair with us when we go to visit Grandma or a friend! It does not fold for storage, which initially made me hesitant to buy it, but as my husband put it, are you really going to fold it up after every meal, no we are using it 3 times a day or more we are going to leave it out. My husband is very picky and likes to buy "the best" LOL and this is the chair he picked out, and we both are 100% satisfied with our choice. Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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R.U.

answers from Las Vegas on

I bought a Graco high chair in vinyl (easy to clean-very much needed and never was hot) with wheels. I loved the wheels, which locked, because it allowed me to keep it in the corner and move it into place as needed. I never used the divided tray on top (too hard to keep clean). Ours didn't have a five-point harness, which was fine (Samantha was later able to buckle herself in). There is no perfect high chair. Just pick the one that has most of the features you like.

1 mom found this helpful
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R.G.

answers from Los Angeles on

Hi V.,

We use the Fisher-Price Healthy Care booster/high chair. For us, it was best to use one that just went on a chair and could slide right under our table. And if we need to, we can pack it up and take it with us. We've used it since my daughter was about 7-8 months (she's 22 mo. now). I love it. She does sometimes manage to pop out the back "rest", but that's usually if she was "done" and we weren't. ;) We've been very happy with it.

R.

1 mom found this helpful
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L.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

Hi V.,
I used the Peg Pereggo Prima Pappa and we loved it. I did have to use a toothpick to clean some of the food out of the edges but it was great otherwise. (Don't forget to get a splat mat to put underneath!!) I think each high chair has it's advantages. It's hard to find one that every one loves. Maybe check the latest Baby Bargains Book and Consumer Reports.com. They both give good advice. The most important thing is to have one that won't tip over easily.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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K.P.

answers from Los Angeles on

I love the FP Healthy Care Deluxe. I have two of them and have had no troubles at all with them.

1 mom found this helpful
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