When were you DONE with highchairs?

We bought the boys booster seats to sit at the table. And frankly, I hate them. They are soooo cheap. I wish I spent a little more money. It's what I get for trying to save a few bucks. Anyways. We still have their highchairs in the dining room. We haven't gotten rid of them yet. DH likes to use them still. I hate to clean them. Still. LOL! And, the highchairs come in handy when we have company and we can free up two chairs that their boosters are on.

So-when did you finally part with the highchairs? I'm thinking of just getting rid of them, and maybe getting Annabella the Fisher Price Space Saver chair. They have to be buckled in when in the booster seats, otherwise they are all over the place(and they sit fine when they are buckled in).

 

We never used highchairs with the twins. They were in booster seats from the get go. It was a space issue for us. We got rid of the boosters when the boys were a month shy of turning two. It was turning into a battle to get them to sit in their seats - they wanted the chairs w/o the boosters. It was just not a battle I wanted to fight. One thing that helped us was I bought some cheapo bar stools from WalMart and they liked to sit at the counter to eat. I did worry about them falling off, but they were really great about those stools. The bonus was they were too nervous to climb up and get off without help. So they felt free and felt like big boys, but they were just as stuck on those stools as they were when they were belted into a booster seat. :laughing: However, that only lasted a month or so before they figured out it wasn't so scary to get up or down.

I think, as in any change, you just need to be prepared to lay the ground rules, stick to them, and be very consistent. They will test you for a while, but they'll catch on and then meal time will be like it is for any family with young kids . . . a nice calm, peaceful time with the family together in one spot. Or, at least that's the goal we all shoot for. I have finally gotten my kids to sit through a meal, most of the times; now I just need to get them to not start dinner off with, "Yuck! I don't like that!" :crazy: I guess that's another post though.

 

We went to non-buckle boosters at 25 months (in conjunction with a move) but had already been mostly out of the high chairs by around 20 months. They used the boosters for a couple weeks (max) and now they just sit in the chairs. Kind of. It's the best we can do with our independent little guys.

 

We went to booster seats just before they turned 2. Mine were throwing food off their highchair trays at rapid pace and moving them to boosters really helped that issue.

 

I spent the $ on the Cooshie Boosters. They RULE!

I got rid of high chairs six months ago, I guess. usually they don't even use the boosters and just sit at the table. That's what we do at restaurants too.

I really like the boosters. They were expensive tho!

 

The twins went to boosters with the trays at 12 mos. I want to say they were about 2 when we moved the chairs to the table. We just sort of experimented with not buckling them and when they were able to sit relatively still without it we left it off. Can't remember when that was though! Last year (so about 3.5) we moved them to the bench without a booster. Sometimes they sit on their knees but as long as they stay in their spot and aren't up and down I don't mind the knees.

 

We got rid of high chairs at 18ish months. :good: The high chairs went byebye because they took up way too much room... and the kids were done with them.

 

We never had highchairs. We just had the booster seats and started putting them in them around 9 months and then they sat at the table with us in them starting around 12 months. We used the tray on them until around 2 years and then we took the tray off and started pulling them up to the table.

 

By 18 months they were gone completely. They wanted to be with us at the table and I was ok with that. I bought some plastic fisher price ones at a yard sale for nothing and never had any problems with them.

 

About 15 mos. We never used the trays with the booster seats, though, unless we were traveling. So, around 15 mos, they started sitting in the boosters, in a chair, right up to the table. When we travel or go out to eat, we don't bring boosters anymore. They just sit at the table & we've taught them how to sit on their knees too. However, they ALWAYS sit better buckled into a booster, so I prefer that to any other option.

 

My hard to clean high chairs went to Goodwill this weekend!! I was so happy to see them go. We pulled them up to the table in their chairs without trays around 18 months, maybe a little sooner. Not long after that I got restaurant high chairs and we are still using those at the table. I have boosters that we use for travel and hair cuts, but they were more trouble to clean than the old high chairs to me. I am loving the restaurant high chairs because they are so easy to clean, but I can still strap them in!

 

We always used booster seats (Safety First), then switched to Stokke Kinderzeat chairs when they turned two, and are still using them. We used the straps (5-point restraint! ) for the first several months after the switch.

 

We switched to boosters around 18 months. We went with the boosterPOD. I haven't had any compliants with them.

 

I can't remember exactly when, but we switched sometime after they turned two, I think because I was sick of them throwing their trays onto the floor! We still use the FP Healthy Care (or whatever it's called- the one for about $25) booster and they're really great for a lot of things. I love that we can take them to grandmas or wherever! The boys are still buckled in, but mainly because they do it themselves!

 

The twins have always had booster seats. It was a space issue for us, but its always worked well. They used them with the trays until about 2yrs, then we took the trays off and put them at the table. They are still using them right now at 3y3m because it helps keep them still, and make less of a mess ...as opposed to sitting on their knees, although I dont buckle them in anymore.

To the OP, what dont you like about the booster that goes in the chair? What is cheap about it? What brand is it?
Just wondering, since we've never had any problems with ours.

 

This is essentially the one we got:

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3331862

It got one star overall for rating. I just hate it. It seems really, really cheap. The straps don't adjust very well for the boys. You can put the seat as tight as you want to the chair, and it still ends up getting loose. I wish I spent the $10-$20 more and got a better one. Lesson learned for child #3!

 

Still use my Stokkes and will continue to do so for a few more years at least!

 

We were done with high chairs by like 16-17 months. Occasionally we'd pull one up from the basement when we had a younger baby visitor, but otherwise they were out of my kitchen. I sold one, kept one.

 

We also used booster seats. With A&B, it was The First Years ones, with Caleb, the FP Healthy Care. We also used them with the tray up until 18 mos, maybe 2 yrs. Then just pulled them up to the table. I think we did away with them at 2.5 yrs. We just don't have room for a high chair, and as well as these work, I don't really see the point.

 

At 2, we gave up the highchairs because I was going to need one for baby, and although I have the FP Boosters (or whatever they are...which I love)we only use them for travel for some reason. Instead of moving to the big table, where we were having issues at 2, we got the boys a toddler table and chair set...they love to eat there, color there, etc. Occasionally, they come to the big table now that they are older, but they seem to prefer the small table. We don't always sit down for family dinner due to my DH's work schedule and the fact that I'm usually running around trying to feed baby and such so this option works well for us.

 

Still using our Keekaroos and probably will for the next couple of years. I love that they grow with the kid and can be used as a desk chair when they no longer need that extra boost at the dining room table. And, they're easy to clean!

(I was gifted two typical plastic hard-to-clean highchairs when the girls were born but they only lasted about three weeks of use before I gave up, donated them and bought the Keekaroos)

 

Mine moved to Stokke Kinderzeats at the table right around age 2. In fact, Nadia is still in hers -- LOVE these seats. Neither of my girls is buckled in, but Kevan still needs to be.

 

We moved to these at about 2.

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2908763

 

We stopped using ours consistently about 6 months ago. They are just too big for them.

 

We just switched to boosters today and they're doing great! :yahoo: They must really have been ready for the switch.

 

The monkeys will be in highchairs till their 18! They don't fight them, and "if it aint broke don't fix it!" They still sit in bath seats in the bath too.