The SpaceSaver has a recline option, but in our testing, we felt it doesn't work well with all kitchen chairs, so it's tough to depend on it. There's a tray-within-a-tray feature for easy cleanup, and the cushion is machine-washable. It has all the standard safety features we look for including a five-point harness and restraint bar. Just be sure to have this securely attached to an adult chair so it doesn't tip. The Tripp Trapp comes in many color options including natural oak, mint, blue, pink and red. The sleek, polished-wood design is very easy to wipe clean. As your child grows, you can adjust the seat and footrest up or down to keep them comfortable. If you're looking for a cheap high chair that works great, you can't beat the price of IKEA's Antilop. With zero padding, the whole thing wipes clean without much effort, and it's incredibly light to carry around. But the price also means it has no frills: In addition to not having any sort of cushion, there's no footrest and it doesn't fold (though you can take the legs off to store it). Also, the height doesn't adjust.

Five-Point Harness– Just as in car seats, you’ll also find five-point harness options in high chairs. The shoulder straps keep your baby’s torso from falling forward and prevent your little one from wiggling out (as they may be able to in a waist-belt-only restraint system). Decide if you want a chair that grows with your kid. Just as there are baby cribs that turn into toddler beds and then bed frames, there are high chairs that become toddler seats, youth chairs or even step stools. Some require separate conversion kits, but many do not. The Good Housekeeping Institute has been staffed with scientists, engineers and journalists for more than 100 years. Making solid product recommendations is in our brand's DNA. Heirloom or Antique High Chair – Your parents or grandparents may have used these high chairs. They are sentimental, and probably look unique, too. However, safety standards change rapidly, and older high chairs don’t have the same safety features required on current chairs, so it may be a good idea to buy a new one. The biggest risk of injury when using a high chair is a fall. Over 90 percent of all high-chair-related injuries are due to falling (2).Looks-wise, the metal legs are printed to resemble wood to a nice effect. There are two cushions that can be removed and machine-washed, and the tray on top of the tray fits into a dishwasher for cleaning. In testing, we really appreciated the four wheels that make this high chair easy to move around a kitchen. Traditional High Chair – These chairs are standalone units with long legs, bringing your baby up to the level of your dining table. They typically have a plastic seat, a harness, and a removable tray. They usually recline to prop up babies who are not quite ready to sit completely upright. The seat's various attachments are often sold separately. We like this buy because it comes with the removable five-point baby harness and baby leg restraints for optimal safety at mealtime. It's meant to be pulled right up to the family table, or you can buy a Stokke tray so it can stand alone.

Choose a chair with a low center of gravity so it won’t tip easily. The wider the legs at the bottom, the more stable the chair will be. 2. Secure Your High Chair and recline: Not all high chairs have adjustable heights or a recline feature, but we gave points to chairs that did. We tested the height adjustment and recline on each chair that had them. This is a classic Scandinavian beauty, and the Stokke Tripp Trapp, first designed in 1972, still blends with modern adult décor. It's ergonomic and long-lasting, able to go all the way from a baby's high chair to a teen's desk chair. One of our Good Housekeeping writers attests to sitting in this herself if all the other dining room chairs are taken. It can hold up to 242 pounds! Wide Base– High chairs can become top heavy due to your child’s weight as they sit in them. To combat this, choose one with a wider base and a larger footprint. It may take up a little more space in your house, but it is much safer. Do not let children sit or be near their high chair aside from mealtimes. Kids can topple the chair and injure themselves during playtime if they push or climb the high chair. Store the high chair out of your child’s reach when not in use. 6. Position The Chair Out of ReachWhen needed — once a day or once every few days — wipe down the legs, straps and the hard plastic seat. "I think it's fine to clean the seat and legs with any cleaning wipe or product, but for safety, also rinse it afterward," Forté says. "If you are using a product that disinfects, after letting it sit for the required time to kill germs, I would rinse and dry it, too. " This unassuming high chair can do pretty much everything. It is far more adjustable than most baby seats: You can position your baby at any of nine different heights and five different reclines, so this works for a newborn or a sleeping toddler. You can even adjust the tray to any of four positions, closer or further from your kid. It folds up compactly for storage — at least in theory. We had to look up a video of the high chair in action to understand that you must move the seat to a low position before you can fold the high chair. Some cushioning is machine-washable. Read the instruction manual to be sure. Most high chair padding should be washed in cold water and allowed to air-dry. Testers found the different configurations easy to use but said that the high chair has a large footprint, about ‎30 x 24 inches. If you'll be keeping it around for some years, note the space needed in your kitchen. Also, any high chair with comfortable padding like this one takes longer to clean; food crumbs get in the crevice where the cushion meets the plastic seat. Many reviewers say you have to take the padding off to clean it thoroughly, but the good news is that it's machine-washable.

When space is at a premium, you can strap this right onto a kitchen chair and not lose any floor space. It's a high chair design that's been around for more than a decade, popular with apartment-dwellers and the less-is-more crowd that seeks simplicity. Choose a high chair with a five-point harness (not a three-point harness or a simple lap belt) for the utmost safety. For each use, always strap them in and tighten the straps so they cannot wiggle free. 4. No Standing in the Chair Chief Technologist Rachel Rothman led the testing for this story. She's directed parenting-product coverage during all of her 15+ years with the Good Housekeeping Institute and is now the mother to three children age 6 and younger. Read her recent recommendations for double strollers and car seats. of the harness: We took points off for high chairs that have a harness that is hard to rethread when a child grows taller. Now, all chairs are required to have a passive crotch restraint and a three-point restraint system that goes around a child's waist. If you can find a five-point restraint that also goes over the shoulders as shown in our photo, even better.For a really reasonable price, the Graco EveryStep offers functionality for years by morphing from a baby's first high chair to a booster seat to a preschool step stool. "This seems like it will keep solving problems and saving me from needing other things," one tester noted, echoing a sentiment a lot of families have. of using the tray: Some high-chair trays can be removed with one hand, but most require an adult to pinch both sides and lift. We gave points to high chairs with easy-to-remove trays and made sure that if there was a tray-within-a-tray feature, the top tray fit in a dishwasher.

A final note: This Graco high chair does not come ready to go out of the box. Part of the low price is that you will spend 20 minutes or so assembling the high chair, which comes in many pieces. But once it's ready, you're set for years! The similar Blossom Convertible High Chair does not turn into a stepstool but does turn into a youth seat and clip-on booster, and costs about the same.

If you'll only use the high chair when your baby starts solids, there are more options. If you start using a high chair at about the 6-month mark, when your baby begins eating baby foods and finger foods, you can use one of the more modern high chairs. Some are clip-on chairs that sit right on an adult kitchen chair or attach to the kitchen table. These simple chairs often take up less space. Some have less cushioning, and you just wipe them down after a meal.