Kristin needs solutions. She writes: Two questions: 1) My 2 year old is ready to move out of the highchair and sit in a booster seat at the table (or some kind of highchair that is lower than his (admittedly awesome) Antilop Ikea highchair, so that he is at table height when he eats.) Any thoughts on a cleanly designed/not terribly expensive solution?
2) He's also beginning to want to "help" more in the kitchen, and I'd like something that could function as a safe place for him to stand and help at the counter, and also stand up at the kitchen sink when he washes his hands (a stepstool?)...There is something called "The Learning Tower" that fits the bill, but alas, is a bit too country-shaker style (and huge) for my taste. Is there a clean-looking equivalent to this? Thanks for any/all help.
Kristin:
Great questions. There are numerous choices out there for booster seats, but for sturdiness and design, we like the HandySitt (first pic). We recently purchased it for taking to restaurants and we love it. It stores flat, fits a variety of chairs and is easy to clean. The HandySitt is definitely something you can use at home, especially in smaller spaces. If you want to consider a chair, try the Stokke Tripp Trapp which pulls right up to the table and can be used even by adults.
As for a safety stool that is similar to the Learning Tower, how about the Jonti Craft Up-n-Down Steps? It's not cheap, but it's less "country-shaker" than the Learning Tower and is smaller-scale. Do note that it's not enclosed on all sides so there is still a risk for falls.
Another solution is to designate a play area in the kitchen on a lower level. Check out our post about Shiso Mama's kitchen play solution here. She put a play cooktop on a step stool and designated a lower cabinet for play pots, pans and food.
Anyone else have a suggestion?
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The stokke trip trapp chair is adjustable up to teenage years! And it comes in lots of nice colors:
http://www.allmodernbaby.com/Stokke-4620XX-SKK1253.html
As for the step stool, we use a sturdy step stool/chair manufactured by cosco
http://www.djgusa.com/cosco/indproduct.asp?productID=449
with 4 kids, we've never had an injury.
view polkadot's profile
I was wondering how the HandySitt would fit on our chairs and the photo you have is with the chairs we have- so thank you! I now know that it fits. I'm also considering the Baby Bjorn booster or just going for the Kaboost.
view rehtse534's profile
I bought two of those plastic style booster seats like you would get at a restaraunt (think Dennys) on ebay. They are red, indestructible, the kids can also sit on them on the floor, and I can move them to any chair they want to sit on. They work best with chairs that have arms, so that the booster doest slip or slide, but you can also use them on armless chairs. I love mine and they are small and easy to put away when not in use. I dont have a good option for the climbing thing. My kids just stand on chairs.
view 95864's profile
There is another lighter weight (than the Learning Tower) and foldable option available now. It's new to the market and is called The Kitchen Helper. Here is a site that has great information and a comparison chart comparing the Learning Tower, the Up n Down Steps, and the Kitchen Helper.
view daddy2four's profile
Somehow I put a bad link above to the site with the comparison chart. Sorry. You can read reviews andcomparisons of the Learning Tower, Up n Down Steps and the Kitchen Helper here.
A little additional info on the Kitchen Helper. It was designed with the smaller kitchen or appartment in mind.
view daddy2four's profile
The Happy Hippo Chair is EXACTLY like the Stokke TrippTrapp, and costs about a hundred dollars less. I have one, and a friend has a Stokke. We've examined them both thoroughly and can't find any difference at all.
http://www.hipposmile.com/ourproducts.php
Now, if anyone can find a booster seat that is compatible with Eames side shell chairs, I'll kiss them (virtually, of course).
view TammyE's profile
didn't IKEA feature a new toddler/kid friendly version of it's Ingolf chair? It looks like a stool for an island but appears to be sized to fit a table so that the little ones can eat with the grown-ups.
view akbuilt's profile
Fewer. I just had to say that: fewer.
view Smellyann's profile
We have the me too chair. It hooks onto the table, so the kid is exactly at table height and is perfect for family meals. It runs about $50. The newer models seem to have a pinstripe I don't like as well but the one we have is a clean bright royal blue. They are also great for small spaces. We've used ours from about age 1 to age 3 and counting.
view andlemon's profile