# Booster Seat vs. High Chair?



## Jewels06 (Mar 22, 2010)

I was just wondering what the pros and cons of each were - I was thinking about getting DS a booster seat but wasn't sure if a high chair had to be the first step or not. TIA!


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## lili-chan (May 24, 2010)

You could get the booster seat and try it out. And if it turns out that DS needs something more then you could get the high chair or just keep holding him in your lap and then use the booster once he's ready.


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## JordanKX (May 31, 2009)

We have this booster. And love it. My mother scoffs at the cheezy plastic. But I think it's great. Strapped to a light-weight chair, it's just as portable as a high chair - can be in the dining room or the kitchen. More portable even, considering you can take it with you. And it's not like a restaurant "booster" where there is no safety... this they are strapped in, and double-strapped to the chair. DS is a chunky 25lbs and I've never once felt he wasn't completely safe in it.
I suppose the only draw-back could be in the chair that you have it strapped to. Yes, food will fall and get between the booster and the chair. So if it's high quality upholstery, you probably don't want to do that.


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## Beauchamp (Jan 12, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *JordanKX* 
We have this booster. And love it.

We have this exact chair (in red/khaki) and love it, too. After using this for a few months, I would never buy a full/regular high chair.


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## colsxjack (Dec 9, 2009)

We have the same booster, in green and blue. We love it. The tray is easy to clean and it is light and portable.
We have it strapped to a chair which can go into any room. You can also have the tray off and pull it right up to the table so your LO can sit at the table with you when they are ready.


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## dislocator3972 (Dec 27, 2008)

Another vote for that exact booster (red/khaki). Love it. The only thing I might like about a regular high chair is wheels so I can wheel DD from dining room to kitchen but that's not needed very often, and it isn't hard to move the whole chair.


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## Jewels06 (Mar 22, 2010)

That's so funny b/c that's the same exact booster seat I was considering - I guess that answers that question. Thanks so much!


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## mamadelbosque (Feb 6, 2007)

I have a standard booster chair for ds1, but for ds2 we're using an ancient sassy seat (it was mine & my brothers







, which is like a little chair that hooks onto your table. I also have a travel one that lives in my car for when we're at other peoples' houses. We never did do the big bulky seperate high chair.


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## texmati (Oct 19, 2004)

we like the high chair, because he can sit in the kitchen while I cook. and have a 5 point harness. It all depends on what you are intending to use it for, I guess. Just wanted to say that highchairs have their place.


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## Beauchamp (Jan 12, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *texmati* 
we like the high chair, because he can sit in the kitchen while I cook. and have a 5 point harness. It all depends on what you are intending to use it for, I guess. Just wanted to say that highchairs have their place.

Yes, I agree. Although we have our Fisher Price booster strapped onto a (sturdy) wooden bar stool, which comes into the kitchen easily when I need to load the dishwasher or cook, and don't need DD's "help".









We have this hook on chair that lives in our car for eating out and travel. And we use it with this placemat, which for us, is essential. (Also goes by the brand Summer Infant, I believe.)


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## ann_of_loxley (Sep 21, 2007)

I always say booster seat because I like how they can sit right up at the table and how the booster seat is compact and can be out of the way more.

But I have a few friends with high chairs and I can see the advantage to those too.
I really quite like the IKEA high chair.
But my friends with high chairs have a big house and big kitchens and big dining rooms and they use the highchair more as a safe place to put baby whilst they are cooking for example - cause then baby is more at face height and invovled and has a little tray to play with stuff on.

Whilst I only ever used the booster seat at the table for eating specifically and its strapped to a chair and thats pretty much where it stayed. ...if I had a big kitchen/dining room - I would actually probably buy an IKEA high chair AND one of those Stokke ones for the table as they grow well with your child and look nice!


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## lovermont (Dec 20, 2006)

We have the same booster that is linked above (and every other pp has said they have







) and have used it for both kids. We had a highchair that we used in the beginning for both kids and got rid of it asap because it is so bulky!
The only thing I wish this seat had (and other boosters do have) is a recline feature. Both kids wanted to be at the table before they could eat (or sit up right) when the family was at the table. So if I was going to start all over I'd get a booster again but look in to a reclining one.


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## staceychev (Mar 5, 2005)

Yep. We've got the same booster seat. Loved it for DD1 (as did my sis for her 2 boys... it's become the de-facto shower gift!). We lived in a small space and didn't get a high chair and didn't really miss it. Now that we're in a house--still a small one--with a new baby, we're still not planning on a high chair.


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## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Another vote for booster! It fits on a dining room chair so DD is always w/us for meals. We can take it to restaurants, IL's house, etc. Nothing to fold and put away, which is good b/c our house is teeny tiny.


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## mambera (Sep 29, 2009)

We started with a booster but eventually switched to a high chair. I like the chair much better actually.

In the booster DD was always grabbing at the tablecloth and dropping food on the floor, and you couldn't turn your back for a second bc she could easily tip herself out of the booster.

In the chair she has a nice big tray, can't pull down the tablecloth and can easily entertain herself with Cheerios while I cook dinner. It's great.

The booster might be better when she is older.

ETA: I looked at the linked booster and I see it is sturdier than ours and has a separate tray. Maybe if we'd gotten that one we wouldn't have needed the chair.


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## Katie T (Nov 8, 2008)

I have had both with 3 kiddos and I will never buy another high chair! They are harder to clean and are space hogs IMO. I started my youngest in a booster with a tray, at first she would sit and play with toys and then she would eat in it. Even when she couldn't sit up yet it worked just fine. Plus they are cheaper. One of ours was $15 and one was $20.


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## DevaMajka (Jul 4, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *colsxjack* 
We have the same booster, in green and blue. We love it. The tray is easy to clean and it is light and portable.

Same here. The only con of it is that it's sometimes a pain to get the tray off. My SIL has a booster that seems a lot easier to remove the tray. But we like it well enough; no other complaints.

We used it from the beginning (6ish mos), and never wished we'd gotten a high chair.


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## mum2row (May 11, 2007)

With dd we only used a booster and it worked great, with ds we are using a highchair. Boosters on chairs worry me because they can tip over, with dd we had her chair against the wall or had our foot on the bottom of the chair because as she got bigger when she wanted down she would push against the table.


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## LindsC (Dec 16, 2008)

We have the Fisher Price Space Saver. It straps to a kitchen chair just like the booster that has been posted, but it has a 3 point harness and a higher back similiar to a high chair. We pull it up to the table, but we let DD use the tray since she is still learning how to not make a mess while she eats. DS has the same booster that everyone else has been posting and we will DD to one of those when she is a little older.


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## odenata (Feb 1, 2005)

I didn't like giving up one of my regular chairs for a booster to be in, since we don't have many, but I wanted DS at the table with us, so we got the Kettler junior, which is similar to a Tripp Trapp.

We really like it. DS has used since about six months on (we used a hook-on high chair before that), and my five year old can use it to, if needed. She also uses it as a step stool to help me in the kitchen.

We also have a booster that I've kept around for company, but I like the Kettler chair better for everyday use. Also, for us, our chairs could tip back with the booster, but the Kettler doesn't do that, so it's safer. (That would depend on the kind of chairs you have, though.)


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## MamaPhD (Jul 30, 2009)

We got a hand me down booster and really hated it. The straps were flimsy and it never felt secure to me. We tried it on our formal dining and eat in kitchen chairs and neither worked well enough. We didn't even put DD in it! And all those cracks seemed impossible to clean well.

We got a Graco high chair and LOVE it!
It has adjustable height (5 settings), so we can have it all the way down if DD wants to walk upto it for snacking, middle for fitting the high chair right at the table (minus the tray), and higher for using the tray.

It has 5 point harness, which is the safest, though lately we are not using the shoulder straps any more.

It has 3 reclining positions, I use the reclined positions for brushing her teeth (very convenient as she is strapped and can't wiggle as much!). It was also useful when DD was learning to use sippy cup and had to really almost lie down tipping the cup, lol.

We got it when DD was about 5 mo and now she is 18 mo, and there's plenty of room to grow. It has nice padded washable cushion, which is great at the beginning when LO is small but still great when they get big. Personally I don't get those flat wooden chairs, seems so hard on LOs bum & back, especially now my DD is eating 4-5x per day!

It doesn't take up that much room, about same as our dining chair, maybe slightly more because of the legs are wide, but that's what gives stability for my wiggling DD.

Overall, two big thumbs up for our high chair!!!


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## belltree (Mar 10, 2009)

We have a high chair that grows with the child (Svan). It is nice to sit with him together at the table. But often enough we just eat on the floor so he can be mobile as much as he likes to be. A booster would be nice when visiting people, it packs easily.

We also use the high chair, when I or dh take a shower, chop vegetables or do things higher up, so he can watch and see, he really hates being "left behind on the floor".


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## newtomotherhood (May 14, 2009)

We received a wooden eddie bauer highchair and love it, I tired of washing the cover so now the cover is in her closet and I don't stress as much if she wants to turn around spread yogurt all over the back of the chair. We also eat at our kitchen nook alot and the chairs at the Dining room table are bar stool height so I wouldn't feel it safe to put a booster on one of them!


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## sarahr (Mar 29, 2007)

We have the same booster linked above, and actually I wouldn't recommend it (and we will get a regular high chair for ds). Strapped onto a regular kitchen chair, it's too tippy; my dd loved to kick at the table leg and came too close too many times to tumbling over. High chairs have a wider base at bottom, so seem more secure to me.


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## BetsyS (Nov 8, 2004)

We have a fisher price space saver high chair, and we really like it. It has many of the benefits of a booster (fits on a chair, doesn't take up much space, can slide right up to the table), but also some of the benefits of a high chair (including a recline and the tray).

We actually have 2 of them, cause my 2 year old isn't ready to get out of his chair (using it as a booster, without the tray currently), and we have a new baby on the way. It's nice to have a place that is table height to put the new baby down while you eat. With #1, I tried to eat with him on my lap frequently (awful), and sometimes on the floor in a bouncy seat (he cried, cause he wasn't on the same level as us). The high chair was a lifesaver when we got it. Instant happiness! I really like ours.


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## Nicole730 (Feb 27, 2009)

We have both a Safety 1st booster and a Graco Wooden high chair and I love both of them. We also have a restaurant high chair for on the deck and I really love that one.

High Chair - I like that I can move it around our house, I used to put it in the bathroom while I showered... He still sits in at age 2, I like keeping his mess contained to one area. Like PP, we keep the cushion off a lot

Booster - I used this occasionally at the table, but then DS would try to climb up in it when we weren't there and I didn't like that, he doesnt do that with the high chair. Plus, our table only has 4 chairs and when we have guests, there isn't enough seating if DS is in the booster. Also, are kitchen table (only table) is often full of crap, so we have to be pushing papers and stuff out of the way to eat, easier not to do that with DS. I took the booster with tray to parks all last summer for picnics. DS was able to stay belted in to eat lunch, otherwise he would have ran off playing. Plus at the beginning of last summer, I didn't feel safe having him eat at picnic table.


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## MamieCole (Jun 1, 2007)

We have the same booster that is linked in this thread as well that we have been using with DS1 since he was a baby. He is 3 1/2 and still likes to sit in it.

Now that we have DS2, I have been trying to decide what to do: Get another booster and use a second dining chair? (I don't wanna do this if I can avoid it) Get a regular high chair? (I really don't like high chairs, in general) Get a hook-on high chair? (DH doesn't like hook-on chairs and I am not sure one would work with our table anyway)

Then one day I was watching Ellen and I saw this chair.

So, since we won't be winning the lottery any time soon, I am now drooling over a chair that I will never be able to have. And I am still at square one with what to do about DS2's dining table solution.







I suppose he will just remain in my lap indefinitely, or until I can convince DS1 that he really doesn't need a booster anymore.


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## JenniferHicks (Jan 28, 2019)

Booster chair is indeed a good idea. I have bought one and is amazing. You surely won’t regret. The one that I bought was after reading a post on Netparents. It had reviews of some of the best booster seats.


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