Top two are Tabitha in the Stokke, bottom three are Zach in the Ikea. Hard to get a photo of Zach smiling in his chair - he has only been eating food for a couple of weeks, and he takes this eating business Very Seriously!
Stokke Trip Trapp. Sleek lines, lifetime-or-longer durability and style. Perfectly designed to offer the perfect seating and dining positions for babies and toddlers. Design that enhances the decor, rather than cries "colourful baby product". More than $300.
Ikea Antilop. Sleek lines, understated, incredibly durable. Easy to store, relatively portable. Easiest possible chair to clean - take it outside and hose it down, put the tray on the top shelf in the dishwasher. Quite pretty in a modern way with a fabric cushion. Less than $30.
Both highchairs have pros and cons. But each has a long list of pros, and only a couple of cons.
What is fantastic about the Stokke Trip Trapp? Obviously, it's great looking. It's sturdy enough to withstand years of use, even from multiple children. It can even handle adult weight - I've used it as a stepladder in a pinch many times! It comes in a range of colours, from bright pop colours to a range of neutral wood tones to match existing furniture (we have walnut). You can adjust the seat height as the child ages, ensuring a perfect height for eating from the main dining table (elbows to the tabletop is the correct height), and you can also separately adjust the footrest to make sure the child has the perfect 90 degree knee bend, again for ultimate comfort and posture. The smooth finish, and lack of buckles, sliding parts or built-in cushions mean it is a breeze to clean (I just use an Enjo glove and hot water, or sometimes some water/vinegar mixture). You can get an add-on baby seat, which you need to start with (we removed ours quite early, a little over 14 months, because T was climbing out over the baby seat, so it ended up safer to remove it and she could just climb on and off as she wished). You can also use webbed straps to keep your child in place - however I don't love the design of them. They join low on the back, so always slipped off the shoulders. The main feature of the Stokke that people seem to love is that the child sits right up at the table with the family, eating alongside everyone, without the physical and mental separation of a big tray. I absolutely agree that this was brilliant, however for the early days of baby-led weaning, when life is very messy, I don't mind a bit of a tray, which you can remove and wash properly. Even with the small tray of the Ikea chair, Zach is only half a foot back from the table - he certainly feels like part of things! We sit him at the head of the table, so he has an excellent view of everyone eating.
What is bad about the Stokke Trip Trapp? The cost is high - prohibitively high for some. Its solid structure (which is great in most ways) means that it is far from portable. You wouldn't want to take it to a friend's place for dinner. The design means your baby or toddler eats right at the table with the family - not on a separate tray - however this means that your table generally becomes thoroughly coated in food. This isn't always a problem (nothing a sponge won't fix, right?) however our table is made of reclaimed timber sleepers and has lots of uneven gaps, textures etc which makes it a bit of a nightmare to constantly goopy, hardened clean food off. Aesthetically, while the Stokke is quite lovely, it is incredibly bulky, and visually 'heavy', particularly in the darker colours. It takes up a lot of visual space.
What is fantastic about the Ikea Antilop? Less than $30. For that sort of money, it's worth grabbing one even just to give it a try! If it's not exactly what you want, pass it on to someone else. It is also incredibly minimalist in the design, so even though it's moulded plastic and plain metal, it isn't exactly unattractive. Ikea sells cushions for it, but I wasn't fond of their range. We bought a gorgeous cushion from Galoomp, and if you can sew (or know someone who does), there are loads of tutorials for fantastic cushions online, including ones which pad the bottom area, ones with a pocket at the back for storing bibs and cloths etc. Actually, I tend to use the cushion as a decorative touch, and rarely leave it in place while Zach is eating, since it gets dirty, and I honestly don't think it needs a cushion. The chair seat is very comfortable, with a nice high back, smooth lines, a deep seat and a low, practical lap-sash belt. It is pretty tricky to climb out of one of these chairs - and I've seen many babies try! The legs are nicely wide-set, which makes tipping very unlikely. The sleek lines and design - like the Stokke - make cleaning an absolute breeze, with the added advantage of being able to easily remove the tray, and you can put it through the dishwasher! Just sit it over the cups on the top rack. You can even take the whole thing outside and hose it down. The legs click off really easily, making storage a breeze. It's also so light - easy to move upstairs, from room to room, or take to a friend's place when visiting for dinner. You'll probably also find - at least in Australia - that 9 out of 10 cafes and restaurants have these as their highchair. So your child will be familiar with it, if you use one when out to dinner.
What is bad about the Ikea Antilop? It's not particularly pretty - though I personally do not find it unattractive, particularly with the addition of a nice cushion. Lacking a footrest, it is not as comfortable for a baby, as they tend to slump forward in it, and I think that this discomfort can mean babies get fed up with sitting down to eat quicker - Tabitha, aged 6 months, would happily sit for 20 minutes in her Stokke, but would get upset after 10 minutes or so in the Ikea. The fixed height of the chair means that it cannot be used 'pulled up' to all dining tables. It is a little too short to use against our table. This means it either needs to be used with its tray (which is small, so the baby is still almost up at the table) or can be sat up on something secure (probably not recommended from a safety point of view!)
Ultimately, I think the Ikea is fairly useless as an everyday, comfortable highchair beyond the first 10 or so months. Once a child is sitting down to reasonably long meals, I think they really feel much happier in something with a footrest. It is also fairly small, and wouldn't hold a larger toddler. Sure, we've popped Tabitha in one out at a restaurant when she was 2, but it's not the chair I would choose for home at that age.
Basically, if you were only going to buy one highchair, to get you through the first food days, through to the toddler years and even beyond, the Stokke Trip Trapp is certainly my recommendation. But if you are going to shell out $300 or so, I'd really recommend grabbing an Ikea Antilop as well. For the same price as a cheerful bottle of wine, it will be a useful piece of equipment for the first months of baby led weaning. After it's past its most useful period, simply pop off its legs, and stow it in a cupboard or set it up at the grandparents' house!
NOTE - the Ikea Antilop costs less than the baby chair attachment for the Stokke. So I think it's completely justifiable to use the Ikea one for the first 6 months or so, then move onto the Stokke, if that appeals to you.
NOTE - the Ikea Antilop costs less than the baby chair attachment for the Stokke. So I think it's completely justifiable to use the Ikea one for the first 6 months or so, then move onto the Stokke, if that appeals to you.
But, what about all the other high chairs? Yeah, there are lots. Some are expensive to the point of absurdity (though of course, if you love it, can afford it, and it meets your needs, knock yourself out!). Some are so padded and tricked-out that they give me eye twitches when I think about cleaning them. Some are so unattractive that I would feel sad having them in my house for two or more years. Some are just plain badly designed, with backs that cannot sit completely upright, or other such flaws.
There are some other great ones out there too! But based on my experience, and that of my many mummy friends, these are the two main contenders. If you don't want to buy a Stokke (and consider them second hand - they hold their value well, but you can still pick up a bargain), then grab an Ikea chair and then a booster seat later on when your child outgrows it. Will still set you back far less than $80 in total.
Are there any other baby products you would like a review of?
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4 comments:
Great review.
We were given our antilop by my SIL its been used with both her sons. I wanted one with a footrest.... I think we will have to get another highchair eventually because our dining table and chairs are antique and do not want our daughter's sticky fingers wiped on the upholstered seats. We do have a handmade jarrah highchair that my mum and uncle used when they were babies but it's not safe by today's standards our cats use it to sit on and gaze out the window.
Not a review request but what's your day like now you have two children?
great review. I've always loved the look of the Stokke, but haven't taken the leap to actually buy one.
We have 2 antillops at home, the second we bought as miss 3 kept saying she wanted to sit in the highchair. (sibling rivalry probably....) so we do use both quite a bit, and when friends come over there is an extra spot which is great.
I'd love a review of baby carriers. Considering buying an ergo for miss 14 months, but don't know if it is too late now to be worthwhile.
Berrin that highchair sounds divine. How nice that you can use it, at least as a cat chair! When we were in the Amish area of Lancaster County when Tabitha was 10 months old, we had dinner in the home of an Amish family and Tabitha sat in a highchair that had been made nearly 100 years earlier, it was originally for the grandfather when he was a baby.
I'll post a run down of my average day with the two of them. It is BUSY!
HI, I'll post on carriers. The Ergo is good, but I think for an older toddler, the Manduca is the way to go. The ONLY downside of the Manduca, I think, is that it is a little fiddlier to adjust, so if you are often swapping between adults carrying her, it might be annoying.
Even if you get one and get a good amount of use out of it for 6 months, they have great resale if they are in good condition!
thanks - I've honestly never heard of the Manduca! Will do a bit more research I think
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