Over the last few weeks, Jackson has become more and more interested in being more like the adults when eating at the table. He wants to eat food in the same form that we have it (for example, taking bites out of a burger instead of us deconstructing it for us), he wants to use silverware, and he wants to sit at the table instead of in his high chair. Almost without fail, he’ll eat for a little while in his chair, tell me he’s done, then whine to sit in the chair with me at the table. He gets very excited to sit at the table, but he’s not big enough to just sit in a chair yet and ends up standing up and trying to climb all over the place. It’s a mess!
After almost a month of dealing with this non-stop, we’ve decided it’s not just a phase and it’s time to think about getting him a booster seat. I had hoped to wait a little longer and keep using the high chair (I feel like we’ve barely used it, though at this point we’ve been using it for over a year!) but I think it’s time to move on. There are so many options out there, and it’s hard to know what’s the best one – just like with about every other purchase we’ve made so far – but I narrowed down the field to these seven options:
1. OXO Tot Perch Foldable Booster Seat ($29.99) This one was easily my favorite visually. I love the colors, the simple and modern style, and that it doesn’t look too childish. It definitely looks like a seat that would last for a long time and be able to be used until Jackson is ready to be in the chair by himself. However, there aren’t any straps to attach it to the chair, nor are there straps to keep him in the seat, so the safety concerns me since he’s still so young.
3. Prince Lionheart Soft Booster Seat ($23.78) Love the colors, love the style, but once again there’s no straps for the chair or for the kid. Next!
4. Graco Blossom Booster Seat ($29.99) This one is another extremely well-reviewed item. I like that it has a strap but my only concern with it is that some reviews stated that their child was able to easily unbuckle or escape from the straps, so I worried about how much good the straps would actually do for Jackson.
5. Summer Infant Support Me 3-in-1 Positioner, Feeding Seat, and Booster ($34.99) This one looked like a great option and has good reviews (though not as many as some of the others), but it was just a little more expensive than a lot of the other options and seemed like more than I needed – Jackson is far past the age of needing a positioner, and we had no intentions of using the tray so it seemed silly to spend the extra money on a “3-in-1” when I really just need one of the functions. Despite all that, I really like the look of the booster seat and it seemed like a good size for him.
6. Ingenuity Baby Base 2-in-1 Booster Seat ($39.99) This was the most expensive one I looked at, but it had the modern look I was going for along with the straps I feel like Jackson needs. It had a lot of positive reviews but wasn’t as popular as some of the bigger-name brands, so I wasn’t quite as confident in it.
7. Safety 1st Just-a-Boost Big Kid Lift ($19.99) Loved the price of this one, and it straps to the chair, but was missing the straps for Jackson and that worried me. This one looks like it’s designed for a kid a bit older than him, but would probably be awesome for an older toddler or preschooler!
. . . . .
In the end, we decided to go with the Fisher Price one. We almost got the Ingenuity one just because we liked the look of it so much better, but the overwhelmingly positive reviews of the Fisher Price one (and the cheaper price point) convinced us in the end. It’s on the way to us now, so I’m crossing my fingers that Jackson will be just as excited about it as I am!
When did you stop using your high chair?
grapefruit / 4584 posts
We have #4 (the Graco Blossom) for my 3 year old. Even on bar-height stools, she’s now managing to get up and down by herself. She CAN do/undo the buckle, but so far understands she needs to be still when she’s in the chair and not hop out without telling an adult. So far no major issues.
I felt like that was one of the only options that both (a) had a seatbelt (b) had belts to fix it to the chair and (c) looked like it would continue to work for an older toddler (some of the snugger seats might not fit a bigger kid)
kiwi / 584 posts
the fisher price one has lasted through my nephews and my son and my next will use it as well
kiwi / 511 posts
I think we have an old school version of the playschool one but I am not sure. It was my niece’s before it got passed to my little ones (my niece is 15) I like it (1)it straps to the chair so my kids can climb in and out (2) has a seat belt that he can do (but not yet undo) (3) has a tray that we can use for indoor eating but when we are on the deck our table out there allows the chair to fit under the table so he can be right at the table. (4) I can take the whole thing apart and put it in the dishwasher! (5) it folds pretty flat if I need to take it somewhere. (6) I like the bright blue seat and yellow chair nice bright primary colors.
For my other son we have something like #4 not sure what brand it is (again it is from my niece) but it straps to the chair, but not seat belt for the child. I am ok with that since he is almost 5 I don’t think he needs a seat belt. I think I can also take it apart and put it in the dishwasher but it doesn’t get as gross as the one for the younger so I haven’t checked it out.
guest
Not sure if you think you may have another child some dat, but I highly recommend the fisher price seat as a replacement for a high chair, even with young babies. We bought the fisher price booster when my daughter started eating solids at six months. It helped her sit up straight while she picked up her food off the large, stable tray.
cherry / 204 posts
We bought #2 for our first, then upgraded her to #3 when our second started solids. Then after a while, we got another #3 for our son. They are 3 and 5 now and both still use it daily. We passed down #2 to my nephew. Both great choices!
honeydew / 7504 posts
We got the Fisher Price Space Saver high chair. It straps to a regular chair, has a back that can be angled up as baby gets stronger, and then the back completely comes off and we use it as a booster now. For $40-ish, it’s seen us through purees, BLW, and now real table eating – it’s lasted 2 years so far and will easily last through another baby.
GOLD / wonderful coconut / 33402 posts
We have #1. She decided she was over high chairs around 21 months. Now at 26 months, she just sits in the chair without a booster to eat most days.
cantaloupe / 6730 posts
We’ve been using #2 since LO was 5 months old (never had a real high chair). It’s a great chair, easy to clean, easy to take to other’s houses. You made a good call!
cherry / 235 posts
We have #2, same as the one you bought.
Easy to clean, like that it has straps and a removable tray. Straps also come in handy for taking it when we go away for weekend trips (we travel a lot).
For my first son we used a traditional highchair, but for the second we went right to this booster. We did BLW and he started solids at 6 months, so was sitting up on his own (and BLW recommends sitting upright for eating – our old highchair seemed like they were either slouching or reclining in it).
It’s been a great purchase!
pomegranate / 3779 posts
We have #2 as a high chair for the nannyshare house and have Kaboost (http://www.kaboost.com/) for use at my parent’s house. There isn’t a strap, but we love it and are debating between it and #1 for when we have a second LO that needs a high chair.
grapefruit / 4923 posts
we always used the fisher price booster seat as LO’s high chair. when LO was a few months shy of 2 years old, he lost interest in the seat. we left it strapped to a chair in our eating area because i’m lazy, and LO sat in on top step of a folding stepladder (basically a DIY cheap stokke). now, 6 months later, LO has been asking to sit in the fisher price. weird.
guest
We have the #1 and so far no issues with slipping when the child is sitting down. It is surprising comfortable, portable, easy to clean, lightweight, looks great and has some rubber surfacing on the bottom. We used it when my older daughter was 2.5-3 because she was pretty good at staying seated.
guest
We switched to the booster section of the fisher price a couple months ago around 27 months, it lasted a few weeks, then she decided she only wanted to sit in a regular chair which she can eat from the table with and won’t fall over, but now it is impossible to keep her in the chair she runs back and forth from her chair nibbling and running around and coming back!She is adamant about eating in the adult chairs like her parents, there is no way she is going back to the booster where I can strap her in either!
pear / 1672 posts
This is so timely! Thank you!
pomegranate / 3716 posts
We have #6 which we keep at m parents’ house for when we go to visit. It’s not bad… I didn’t really do any research. I just happened to see it at Target and liked the way it looked, ha!