I Ditched My Compact, Folding High Chair for This, and I’ve Never Looked Back
My first baby product was a compact, folding high chair, which seemed ingenious. Initially, I was thrilled with its design. High chairs were typically bulky eyesores that you used for only a short time. In my mind, they had no business taking up precious space. A foldable high chair that I could easily hide away seemed perfect.
Little did I know that mealtime would become a contact sport. My son loved food but hated eating it. He’d mush it in his fingers, smear it all over his face, fling it across the room, and then focus his energy on escaping the high chair as if it were on fire.
That’s when I switched to the Stokke Tripp Trapp high chair, which is also one of the parent-picked winners of Cubby’s 2024 Nursery Awards. Three kids later, I’ve never looked back. Here’s my review.
What I Look for in a High Chair
Keeping my son seated and eating took an obscene amount of time, strategy, and physical exertion. The struggle was real and exhausting. I realized I was looking for the wrong thing in a high chair. Portability didn’t matter. I needed one that was simple and functional, in addition to the following things:
Safety first: My job is to ensure my kids eat as healthfully as possible. The high chair’s job is to ensure they don’t fall out of their seats, so it must have a sturdy harness and prevent tipping.
Easy cleaning: I let my kids play with mud, sand, rice, cornstarch, and other messy and sensory things. Mealtime looks similar, especially when they were younger. It’s dirty, so smooth surfaces and minimal crevices are necessary in a high chair to make cleaning easy.
Adjustability: Kids grow quickly, so having an adjustable high chair is valuable. Proper seating that provides 90-degree angle support for legs and arms, flat feet, and back support helps kids stay seated and focus on their food, encouraging good table manners. Comfortable seating makes kids happier and more cooperative, improving mealtime for everyone.
Durability: I want a high chair that will work for my kids for years without looking like it was dragged by an NYC garbage truck. It has to be durable.
Design: My dining room is in my living room, so I need a high chair that’s easy on the eyes. Parents sacrifice enough, so it’s essential to have something that feels like a personal choice, no matter how small. Having a high chair that aligns with my design style is important to me.
My Review of the Tripp Trapp High Chair
Name: Tripp Trapp High Chair
Model: Classic
Price: $269
Stokke Tripp Trapp High Chair
Stokke
$279
Buy Now
The Tripp Trapp high chair has been the best offensive coordinator in the game, helping me handle mealtime chaos like a seasoned pro. Its safety features, ease of cleaning, adjustability, durability, and sleek design are why I love it. It has simplified mealtime and promoted good eating habits and family bonding, making it a cherished addition to our home and something I recommend to every parent.
What I Really Loved
Here are a few of the things about the Tripp Trapp that made it well worth the money for me.
Promotes good eating habits and family bonding: At the end of the day, what matters at mealtime is making sure my kids get enough nutrition and establish healthy eating habits. When I was having trouble feeding my picky eater, I consulted an occupational therapist who told me to eat when my son was eating so I could model the behavior I wanted him to repeat. My first high chair was too bulky to fit at the table, but the Tripp Trapp was designed for that. When my twins were born, they joined us at the table from the day they started using a high chair, and it made all the difference. Not only did they try new foods earlier, but they also seemed to enjoy eating together. I can’t tell you how much it warmed my mommy heart watching my kids at the table together, giggling and enjoying each other’s company.
The adjustable design: People are often surprised to hear that my 4-year-olds are twins
because my daughter is shorter than her brother by a head. I also have a 7-year-old, and the Tripp Trapp is perfect for all of them because it has slots along the inside frames so you can precisely adjust the seat and the footrest. I set them so my kids can comfortably reach their plates and everyone at the table is at the same level.The beechwood frame: Tripp Trapp high chairs are made of smooth, beautiful beechwood that is sturdy and seemingly resistant to scuffs and marks. I’ve had one of my Tripp Trapp high chairs for over six years, and it still looks new (and that’s saying a lot, given my kids).
How easy it is to clean: I love that the seat and footrest are flat surfaces because they make sweeping up crumbs easy and soaking up spills oddly satisfying. I once left a spill on too long, and it was tough to wipe off, so I appreciate being able to completely remove the seat and footrest for a deep clean under a faucet (although this isn’t quick and taught me not to wait to clean up).
Stokke Tripp Trapp High Chair
Stokke
$279
Buy Now
What I Didn’t Love
While I love the Tripp Trapp, I do have some quibbles with it.
The upfront cost: The Tripp Trapp high chair is pricey — especially if you’re buying it for the early months and years and need a tray and cushions. But this is just a high up-front cost because if you spread the cost over the number of years you’ll have it, the price is a steal.
The tricky tray attachment: I had the infant bundle but found the tray a bit tricky to remove and clean, so I ditched it for a placemat at the table probably earlier than I otherwise would have.
Despite these small complaints, the Tripp Trapp high chair has been a game-changer for me as a parent. Its thoughtful design, durability, and ease of cleaning have helped simplify mealtime and changed how we eat as a family.
See all the 2024 Cubby Nursery Award winners here!
This post originally ran on Cubby. See it there: I Ditched My Compact, Folding High Chair for This, and I’ve Never Looked Back
Further Reading
Why People Are Ditching Their Seltzer After a Disturbing Study
We Asked 3 Chefs to Name the Best Ice Cream, and They All Said the Same Thing
The “Beautiful” $3 Flower Tumblers at Walmart People Are Buying 2 at a Time
