Living in a smaller area and eating most meals around one small table is a common scenario. For babies under six months, you might be able to use a booster style seat. The seat can clip onto your counter or attach directly to one of the chairs. Are you able to accommodate a bigger table or have multiple dining areas in your home? You might consider a separate seat with its own tray that can be moved easily from room to room. Parents don’t care about form over function, and will choose the highest-quality high chairs that suit their personal style. If you are averse to constant cleaning or getting in to nooks and corners, you might want to choose a simple, lightweight plastic model, or one that has wipeable fabric. When choosing a high chair, there are a few things you should consider: Durability. You plan to have a large family, and pass your high chair from child to child. While they may be more expensive, a wooden high chair is a good investment. Will you be using it for how long? You should think about the length of time that you plan to keep your child in a high-chair. A variety of chairs are available that can grow with your child. You could convert to a booster or adult-sized seat. Safety. When buying baby gear for your child, especially high chairs, make sure you consider safety. A seat with a 5- or 3-point harness, stability (if wheels are included, ensure they lock in position), a crotch support, and no pinching or catching on babies’ tiny toes and fingers will be a good choice. Check out this video for more information on how to choose the best high chair in your home.

It’s important to choose the right highchair for you family. Consider the following to find the best fit for you:


You need to consider how much space you have. It is important that you are able to maneuver the chair and reach it easily so your child can eat while you’re sitting there. Smaller kitchens might prefer to have a simpler model. You can either attach the portable highchair to your table, or attach boosters to your dining chair.


You can use the chair for how long. He may be able use the chair as early as infancy or even into his toddler years. It all depends on the model. Nowadays, most high chairs grow easily with babies, and can be used as an infant booster or a chair.


How easy the high chair is to clean. As your baby grows up, the high chair will become easier to clean. It’s important to have a comfortable high-chair that you can clean easily. There will always be spills, splatters, and crumbs. For easy cleaning, look for a high chair made of removable materials or parts that are easily wiped clean.


The tray type. Variable Adjustable? Are they dishwasher-safe? You want a sturdy, removable and wide option with easy cleaning.


High chairs are portable. This is especially crucial for those with small kitchens. It can be hard to store traditional models, so they will take up precious space in your kitchen or dining room. Include it on your checklist if stashability is important.


Comfort. Uncomfortable babies are less likely to enjoy mealtime. You can help your baby feel at ease with soft, machine-friendly padding.

IKEA Antilop is the best high-chair. This lightweight, functional chair from IKEA makes it much more convenient to use than other high-priced chairs.


IKEA Antilop’s weight of 7.9lbs is less than some high chairs and makes it easier to transport. It is also lighter and smaller than the majority, yet still strong, durable, comfy, and long-lasting. Its smooth plastic-and-steel construction is simple and functional, lacking the grime-collecting fabric or crumb-catching crevices that cause problems in other chairs. The chair can take slightly larger kids than others, however, this isn’t a chair kids will be able to use as they grow older. The assembly process is not difficult, though it may be more challenging to remove the tray from Antilop. The price of the chair at just $20 is amazing, however, IKEA will require you to pick it up in person or for additional shipping.


Advertisement

Taste tester: Little Emilia hard at work evaluating high chairs.


To start, I timed the two-person assembly of each of the 13 high chairs, noting any particular difficulties or frustrations. It took three hours to complete this task. Each chair was measured and I figured out how simple it would be to lift, fold or roll the chairs between meals.


After that, 26 hours was spent evaluating high chairs under everyday conditions. I tried each one for at least 2 meals. The best ones worked for several meals. I paid attention to how easy or difficult it was to get my tiny testing assistant 7-month-old Emilia in and out of each chair, and I noted how tough it was to clean up after a regular meal, including when she’d smeared avocado on all reachable surfaces. Also, I checked how Elise, my nearly-3 year old daughter fit into each chair. If the chair included the option of adjusting or converting to work for a preschooler or a bigger kid, I tried that out with her.


High chairs we love include the Fisher Price compact booster, IKEA’s everyday IKEA seat, and the more expensive but versatile Stokke Tripp Trapp. The Baby. The Bjorn Highchair (third from the left) was once available but it has been discontinued.


After four weeks’ worth of cleaning and laundry, I did some testing to determine how hard it was for each chair to be free of sticky liquids, goop and crumbs. The first step was to place a cupful of crushed Goldfish crackers (with the baby still in the chair) on each chair to check for crumbs. Next, I vacuumed the chair to determine how easy it was to clean. To make sure the chair was clean and tidy, I spread 1/4 cup grape juice on each seat. The baby was also in the seats. The resulting mess was left overnight. I cleaned the chairs the next morning with either a washer or a dishwasher depending on which method worked for each chair. Some of the chairs were difficult to take apart and put back together again for deep cleaning. The entire testing process took over 10 hours. This does not include the time required to bathe baby after each round.

IKEA Antilop is the best high-chair. This lightweight, functional chair from IKEA makes it much more convenient to use than other high-chairs that are 10 times as expensive.


IKEA Antilop


This high-chair is easy to clean thanks to its smooth, round plastic tray and the seat. It’s lightweight but sturdy. The clean lines of the model and the neutral white-and silver design make it easy to match any decor. The tray can be removed and the model stacks quickly. This is great for twin parents or children who live close together, as well as daycares. It’s easy to assemble for travel or storage. Though it has none of the extra features that many high chair designers consider standard such as different height settings or a reclining seat back it is versatile in several important ways.


The addition of a pillow


This low-cost back pillow attaches easily to high chairs and has a washable cover to resist common stains.


IKEA: $20*


Antilop was the easiest of all our tested chairs to clean due to its combination of features. The Antilop does not have any hard to reach areas that liquids may pool, unlike modular chairs like the Graco Blossom 4-in-1 Seating System Fisher Price 4in-1 Total Clean High Chair. The Antilop’s round seat is made of one piece, and has no cracks or crevices that could allow grime to hide. You can use it without fabric, unless you choose to purchase the IKEA Pettig back pillow. The cover is quick and easy to add, but is difficult to stain after several months. Antilop’s tray is dishwasher-safety compatible. To clean the entire chair, you can take it outside with a hose. A high chair needs to be kept clean.

OXO Tot High Chair, with five settings for height, is the most adjustable of all our tested chairs. This robust, simple, affordable chair is currently priced at $120. Although it has a clean look and relatively easy maintenance, it’s heavier than other top-rated chairs and we struggled to keep it clean. The Seedling chair stayed put when its four wheels were locked. This was unlike any of the other options. It performed pretty well during our tests, but although the seat cover was easy to remove and wash, it required air drying, leaving us without a cover for the baby’s next meal. The chair is also bulky and heavy (25 pounds), and the tray took on a little water when we cleaned it in the sink. The Seedling chair is great if you need to eat at taller tables or use high breakfast bars and need an adjustable height.


Joovy Nook is about $120. The tray swings open and opens to the side. This allows caregivers to remove it and place it on the child’s lap when they are seated in the seat. High chairs with separate trays that must be removed each time you eat make mealtimes so much simpler. IKEA’s top choice, the Antilop, has trays which stay in place and allow you to slide your baby in/out. The Nook also folds flat with one hand and leans nicely against the wall. The worst thing about the Nook is that removing the seat cushion for deep cleaning is extremely difficult. With the assistance of You. Tube video. It was finally removed, though it was not something that I felt I could repeat.


Fisher-Price’s 4 in 1 Total Clean Highchair, usually $140, was newly released in 2016. Offering different height settings, this design is a modular chair that includes several parts stacked on top of one another. This chair can be used in a variety of ways, including as a high-back chair for adults, space-saver chairs, booster seats, and youth chairs. Total Clean offers a safe seat with safety straps as well as a tray or insert that can be placed in the dishwasher. In our tests, it did feel great to just put all of that in my dishwasher’s bottom rack and press the start button, but those weren’t the only parts of the chair we had to clean. You could see the attachments to the base, where liquid, food and crud fell through to the booster and removable space saver. Even with its wheels locked the chair moved quite well around my floors.


The Graco Blussom 4-in-1 Chair System – usually around $190 – has a similar design to Fisher-Price Total Clean. But it was not made to fit in a dishwasher. A stacked modular chair which can be stacked and moved around, this chair has the same advantages as the Fisher Price Total Clean. It’s more difficult to clean than the Fisher Price Total Clean because only the tray can be put in the dishwasher. Grape juice leaked from the top of the seat in our testing. This was a problem that could have gone unnoticed, unless someone lifted the height-saving high chair seat off to verify. The footrest area has slots, so parents can adjust the footrest height, but in our tests food got inside them and was difficult to get out. Although this chair is one of the most well-reviewed modular high chairs available on Amazon, we still recommend our top picks over the others.


Ingenuity Trio 3-in-1 Chair one of Consumer Reports’s top picks (subscription necessary) in 2015. This high-selling chair is available at Amazon and other retail outlets like Walmart or Babies”R”Us. The chair was about $100 and the most affordable modular one we reviewed. It also felt and looked a lot cheaper than other models. It was somewhat difficult to slide the tray on. I tried several times to think it was locked, but it was not. So my little one was able pull it off by herself. Even though it was locked, the whole chair moved around on my wooden flooring just like other wheeled chairs. When we used it as a kid chair, it was just as awkward as the other modular chairs, and although the footrest clearly wasn’t designed for a preschooler to climb on in order to get in the chair, that’s exactly what my daughter tried to do. The Ingenuity chair outperformed all other modular chairs by a wide margin. No juice got through the seat.


The Graco Duo Diner LX Highchair, which costs $150, is a modular, lightweight chair. It doesn’t attempt to be a youth chair. There is no sticky liquid collection at its bottom. On the other hand, the high chair seat itself is much heavier and even more like a car seat than the other modular chairs, so it’s more difficult to take off and bring to the sink. The footrest adjustment and footrest slots were the most difficult to clean.


The Phil&Teds Poppy Highchair looks like something from The Jetsons. The current price is $120. It has Aerocore seat covers that aren’t visible. There are many gaps and crannies in the seat frame. These slots collected juice spilled from our test and made it difficult to clean. The seat cover can become soiled quickly if it isn’t removed regularly by parents. My husband and I also both stubbed our toes, hard, on this chair’s legs at least once, and the shoulder straps slipped off our baby’s shoulders even after I crossed them behind her back as it showed in the manual. One other issue to note: Online information that Amazon lists as being from the manufacturer suggests that the Aerocore seat cover could go in the dishwasher, but the instruction manual suggests scrubbing with soap and water instead. It turned out it was a bad idea to place the cover in dishwasher as it warped.