Life after breastfeeding: how to choose the right high chair by Kinderkraft

 Article written as part of a collaboration with Kinderkraft

@Kinderkraft

What defines a good baby feeding chair and how to choose it ?

What details should be paid attention to for it to be safe and functional? Can a baby feeding chair grow with the child’child and serve for several years? Today’Today, we are pleased to welcome Kinderkraft to our blog to reveal everything you need to know about high chairs.

Complementary feeding is a crucial stage both in the child's life and the parents'.

It is up to us, the parents, to prepare properly. To start, it is necessary to gather reliable and up-to-date information about complementary feeding. Know where to start, which foods to avoid, how to start BLW... Or is it better to feed the child with a spoon? And what about accessories? The hardest part for parents is undoubtedly choosing the right "gadgets" for complementary feeding.

We asked Kinderkraft:

"A baby needs three things to start: a high chair, a cup, a bib. Parents tend to buy all the accessories. An infant at the beginning of complementary feeding really only needs a chair with a tray and a cup + a bib to protect their clothes. That's all. Really :). Of course, having a bowl with a suction base, a bottle and cutlery, a mat under the chair can be useful, but it is not essential at the start. However, it is important to choose a very good high chair.

So, how to choose a good high chair?

First step: Define a good high chair

Kinderkraft: It must be practical, functional, and easy to use for parents, while being suitable and safe for the baby. There are many high chairs on the market that do not meet these criteria at all. It is therefore very important to know what to pay attention to when making your choice and which elements of the chair are beneficial for the child and the parents.

We will present to you the characteristics of a good high chair based on our LIVY chair which, in our opinion, is ideal for complementary feeding and meets absolutely all the criteria of a "good high chair."

The chair must be safe for the child. Often, the toddler turns around, leans forward, eats very actively. Two dangerous situations can then occur: that they fall off the chair or that they fall with the chair. To avoid these two scenarios, it is necessary to secure the child. In the first case, the problem will be solved by safety belts, with which we will secure the child. The belts are adjustable, which allows securing the child properly, taking into account their size. The LIVY chair has such a solution, thanks to the 5-point belt adjustment. Safety is also ensured by a guardrail. 

To prevent the child from tipping the chair over, pay attention to the spacing of the chair's legs. It is extremely important that they are angled, as is the case with the LIVY chair, and not at right angles. This ensures the chair is stable, and the non-slip feet prevent it from sliding.

A high chair is intended exclusively for that use. It must therefore have a shape adapted to the activity of eating, not sleeping or drawing. This is very important. Why? Because the child will eat several times a day = several times a day, they will spend time sitting in the chair. So do not put your child there, for example, to wait for the meal, to play, or... to fall asleep. Let them associate the chair ONLY with the activity of eating, not with waiting or playing.

Keep in mind that toddlers do not yet have perfect coordination and need support when sitting. The LIVY chair is equipped with a contoured backrest, side protection, and a removable tray. If the child still lacks stability when sitting, you can fill the inside, for example, with a blanket or pillow to protect them. 

LIVY offers another major advantage: it is relatively small. The spacing of the chair's legs is narrow, so the chair won't take up much space at the table. It is therefore perfectly suited for small rooms.

The high chair tray is actually the child's "first plate." And like any plate, it needs to be washed at the end of the meal. The tray must therefore be easy to remove and clean. Simply wiping it with a cloth or wet wipes is not hygienic. Beware of high chairs with folds and grooves of all kinds since food can get trapped between the seams and other nooks. So choose a chair with a removable tray. This is the case with LIVY. The large tray of the Kinderkraft Select high chair features an additional silicone mat, made from a safe material, guaranteed BPA-free, so the baby can eat from it like a plate. It's ideal at the start of complementary feeding.

A high chair must absolutely be equipped with a footrest. It is not an extra feature but an essential element. Without a footrest, the child would be unable to concentrate, stabilize their trunk and head, properly align their pelvis, hips, and spine, coordinate their movements, and ensure the proper functioning of their body and brain. Eating is certainly intuitive, but it is very complicated for the child's body. Lack of foot support is a major complication. The stability of the pelvis and trunk ensured by footrests is essential for developing good motor coordination, manual function, and coordination between speech and chewing centers. The Kinderkraft Select LIVY chair is the ideal solution because it has a footrest adjustable at several levels. Another advantage is the extreme simplicity of adjusting the footrest: 3 seconds to turn the Allen key and the height is set.

If you still have doubts, try an experiment: sit on a seat without a footrest and try to stay seated for 15 minutes while reading. We guarantee it won't be easy :)

This is the best feature of the LIVY chair. Every child is different and develops at a different pace. At 7 months old, babies have different sizes, weights, and motor skills. A seat with adjustable height, depth, and footrest height allows you to individually adapt to your little one's needs. Good posture is the key to a safe meal for the child. Indeed, the height of a high chair's tray is very important, especially in the context of baby-led weaning (BLW). It guarantees that your child will eat comfortably and under good conditions.

LIVY, THE CHAIR THAT GROWS WITH THE CHILD

An adjustable chair is an investment for several years and guarantees equipment suited to each stage of a child's growth. 

LIVY grows with the child. By purchasing the CALMEE baby bouncer that fits onto the chair frame, you can use it from the baby's first weeks of life. Then comes the introduction of solid foods with its tray. Once the tray is removed, LIVY will find its place at the family table. And finally, once the child is independent, the chair can be used for homework and other manual activities. LIVY can support up to 110 kg.