When needed — once a day or once every few days — wipe down the legs, straps and the hard plastic seat. "I think it's fine to clean the seat and legs with any cleaning wipe or product, but for safety, also rinse it afterward," Forté says. "If you are using a product that disinfects, after letting it sit for the required time to kill germs, I would rinse and dry it, too. " The Good Housekeeping Institute has been staffed with scientists, engineers and journalists for more than 100 years. Making solid product recommendations is in our brand's DNA. The first time you put your child in a high chair without straps, be sure to monitor them for a little while. Make sure they aren’t wobbling over while sitting without the restraints. While they seem secure, never leave your baby unattended in a high chair. Choking is a silent accident and is quite common as children are still learning to eat. Always put the baby into the chair or pull the baby out yourself. Never let children try to climb in or out of a high chair by themselves. 10. Clean the High Chair Regularly

When space is at a premium, you can strap this right onto a kitchen chair and not lose any floor space. It's a high chair design that's been around for more than a decade, popular with apartment-dwellers and the less-is-more crowd that seeks simplicity. There are many high chair models available. While it’s tempting to skip straight to a booster seat to save space or money, it’s wise to choose an age-appropriate high chair for your child. This ensures it will meet their unique physical and developmental needs. Here are your choices.For a really reasonable price, the Graco EveryStep offers functionality for years by morphing from a baby's first high chair to a booster seat to a preschool step stool. "This seems like it will keep solving problems and saving me from needing other things," one tester noted, echoing a sentiment a lot of families have. Decide if you want a chair that grows with your kid. Just as there are baby cribs that turn into toddler beds and then bed frames, there are high chairs that become toddler seats, youth chairs or even step stools. Some require separate conversion kits, but many do not. Choose an age-appropriate high chair with safety features like a wide base and a five-point harness.

of the harness: We took points off for high chairs that have a harness that is hard to rethread when a child grows taller. Choose a chair with a low center of gravity so it won’t tip easily. The wider the legs at the bottom, the more stable the chair will be. 2. Secure Your High Chair Parents considered aspects such as how well their child was enclosed and held in the seat, whether they could lever themselves to stand up or slide about, if they could wriggle out of parts of the harness, or trap fingers or other parts of their body in the mechanisms. Decide if you will use the seat in infancy. Your young baby is safe and contained when strapped into a reclined high chair seat with their bottle while you cook, clean or otherwise work in the kitchen. It can be a lot less stressful to have your baby up high, rather than in a bouncer seat on the floor where it is harder for you to see them. If you'd like to use a high chair during your baby's first 6 months, you'll want a full-size chair that can recline (as shown in our photo). On the downside, these usually have a large footprint. But the plus is that they have comfortable cushioning.This rating is awarded by parent testers and is their perceived accessment of how stable the high chair is. It is not the result of the safety assessment conducted by our laboratory which did not reveal any problems to cause concern. It is a consensus opinion, not a guarantee that the product is safe or not safe. Yes, which is why high chairs are recommended when you’re in the kitchen with your baby. Kitchens contain all kinds of things your baby can get hurt on, and sometimes this room is bustling when a family member is trying to prepare a meal. The seat's various attachments are often sold separately. We like this buy because it comes with the removable five-point baby harness and baby leg restraints for optimal safety at mealtime. It's meant to be pulled right up to the family table, or you can buy a Stokke tray so it can stand alone. A final note: This Graco high chair does not come ready to go out of the box. Part of the low price is that you will spend 20 minutes or so assembling the high chair, which comes in many pieces. But once it's ready, you're set for years! The similar Blossom Convertible High Chair does not turn into a stepstool but does turn into a youth seat and clip-on booster, and costs about the same. The biggest risk of injury when using a high chair is a fall. Over 90 percent of all high-chair-related injuries are due to falling (2).

To prevent this, it’s important to take certain safety precautions when using a high chair or booster seat. To err to the side of caution, you’ll want to wait until their first birthday. By 12 months, almost all babies can sit upright without toppling over. Chief Technologist Rachel Rothman led the testing for this story. She's directed parenting-product coverage during all of her 15+ years with the Good Housekeeping Institute and is now the mother to three children age 6 and younger. Read her recent recommendations for double strollers and car seats. If you'll only use the high chair when your baby starts solids, there are more options. If you start using a high chair at about the 6-month mark, when your baby begins eating baby foods and finger foods, you can use one of the more modern high chairs. Some are clip-on chairs that sit right on an adult kitchen chair or attach to the kitchen table. These simple chairs often take up less space. Some have less cushioning, and you just wipe them down after a meal.Safety 1st Timba Highchair is a 3 in 1 wooden high chair which fully adjusts to suit your baby, and grows with your child from 6 months to approximately 10 years of age. It features a removable tray so it will be easier to seat your child in the chair, seat and footrest are height adjustable and a 5 point adjustable harness that can be removed once your child is older. This high chair has a nice amount of customization for its low price: It works as an infant recliner with three different angles of recline, a toddler high chair with six different height positions and an adjustable footrest, plus it turns into a child seat. It also wheels away when you don't need it and folds up for storage. In addition, it has a five-point harness for safety. This is a classic Scandinavian beauty, and the Stokke Tripp Trapp, first designed in 1972, still blends with modern adult décor. It's ergonomic and long-lasting, able to go all the way from a baby's high chair to a teen's desk chair. One of our Good Housekeeping writers attests to sitting in this herself if all the other dining room chairs are taken. It can hold up to 242 pounds! Five-Point Harness– Just as in car seats, you’ll also find five-point harness options in high chairs. The shoulder straps keep your baby’s torso from falling forward and prevent your little one from wiggling out (as they may be able to in a waist-belt-only restraint system). Do not let children sit or be near their high chair aside from mealtimes. Kids can topple the chair and injure themselves during playtime if they push or climb the high chair. Store the high chair out of your child’s reach when not in use. 6. Position The Chair Out of Reach