Being a parent of a newborn baby or a toddler is a journey with many questions, second-guessing your decisions, and looking only for the best baby products. These products need to be safe and made from durable materials so you can be worry-free during bath time, feeding time, playtime, and so on.
One of the most important times of the day for your baby is meal time, and one of the struggles parents face during this time is trying to keep their toddlers staying still. Many parents invest in a baby high chair that keeps their child safe and makes feeding easier to aid this problem.
Investing in this product will save you time, but don’t just purchase any baby chair you find. You need to choose one that has adjustable features to use for an extended period. If you consider buying a high chair, you should also consider choosing one with an adjustable footrest.
Here’s why a high chair with an adjustable footrest is a cost-effective buy for your baby’s comfort.
Should Baby High Chairs Have a Footrest?
Here’s a question that you don’t think about asking that often. The simple answer is yes. The major function of a baby feeding chair is to provide a comfortable place for your child, and that comfort should extend from head to toe.
Here is a quick reference for the proper seating position when feeding:
| Age | Proper Position |
| 4-8 months old |
|
| 9-15 months old |
|
| 16 months and older |
|
Once you find a position comfortable enough for you and your toddler, you now need to make sure your child is in the right feeding position.
- Ideally, your baby should be seated at a 90-degree angle and not leaning sideways, forward, or backward.
- Shoulders should be level, and the head should be upright and forward-facing.
- The child’s knees should be bending at a 90-degree angle.
- Finally, the baby’s feet should be supported with the footrest or touching flat on the floor.
If your kid is strong enough to hold their heads up and sit upright for an extended period, you can let them use a baby chair by then. However, if your baby is already a few years old but still struggles to sit on their own, be patient and help them along the way. It would be best to consider that every child grows at a different rate and has different needs.
The best way for your baby to achieve the correct posture when eating is to invest in a baby high chair with an adjustable footrest. Posture is essential for a growing child, and since they don’t have enough strength and muscle to hold themselves up for a long time, they need external support from the parent or a supportive booster highchair.
The Benefits of Having a Footrest on the Toddler High Chair
Footrests are essential during mealtime. At about eight months to a few years old, your child will want to explore independent eating, and to do this, they need to be in a stable position.
The footrest can provide many benefits for your little food explorer:
- They help in distributing the body weight while eating.
- It will lessen the strain on the child’s thighs and hips.
- It provides more range of motion for their feet.
- Improve posture over time.
- Provides safety from sliding down the chair.
Many booster chairs have footrests; however, we encourage you to keep a lookout for adjustable ones.
Here are the advantages you would enjoy:
- Adjustable footrests can be moved for ultimate comfort.
- The height of the footstool matters as your child grows, so smaller babies ages up to 4 years old can be placed up near the chair.
- From ages 5 up to 9 years old, you can move the footstool down the middle.
- From ages 10 and older, you can completely remove the footrest.
The best benefit you will have is being able to keep it for years to come, and maybe when your children are all grown up, you can give it to another parent who needs it. So they, too, can assure the safety and comfort of their babies when they eat.
Factors to Look Out for When Buying a High Chair With Footrests
Child high chairs all look the same at first glance, but they have different functions if you look closely. Often, the factors that matter are not mentioned on the website or are not apparent when you see them in person. So, if you want to get the best buy for your child, look out for these factors:
Easy to Assemble
Being a parent is a full-time job, and if you are a working parent, you probably don’t have time to sit down and read the user manual from page to page. So look for a high chair that is easy to assemble. Furthermore, if your family moves a lot, you may want that portable high chair too.
Made From Sturdy Materials
Don’t immediately go for those shiny and colorful stools made from plastic or other harmful materials. Don’t sacrifice safety for style. Instead, look for stools made from strong materials that can withstand heavy weight and are not prone to easy leg breaks. The legs need to be made of sturdy wood that is easy to clean and heavy enough to stay in place.
Cost-Effective
Even if you find a chair that is easy to assemble and made from sturdy materials, you also need to consider how long that chair can last. Cost-effective purchases happen when you buy a product that can be used multiple times for up to 10 years.
Made With Food-Safe Materials
Your child will try their best to eat on their own. However, it’s a messy journey, and your chair should be clean and free from microplastics. Look for chairs with food-safe tables. Making a mess out of their food is part of their growth, so choose a safe removable tray to put food on. Preferably those that don’t have detachable toys, which could be a choking hazard.
Adjustable Features
Toddlers are not molded into one size. Instead, they grow into different heights and sizes, in different paces. Ensure their comfort by choosing a toddler chair that has adjustable features. Look for tables that can move outward or inward depending on your baby’s size, and look for footrests that can be adjusted high up the chair or down. You know it’s the right height when your baby’s feet are touching the footrest.
Additional Safety Features
For the toddler booster, an additional safety feature would be a belt on the chair. The belt needs to be secure enough to keep the toddlers in place and allow a wide range of movement. Avoid belts or harnesses that criss-cross on your child’s body as they tend to be too tight, causing strain on the neck muscles.
The last factor to look out for a baby highchair is the design. It’s best to get simple designs, such as white, so you can easily see dirt clean it right away. Minimalist-style high chairs can easily match your dining room chair. However, the designs can depend on your preference as long as it is easy to assemble, sturdy, cost-effective, food-safe, and adjustable.
Which Is the Best High Chair for Babies?
We suggest getting the baby wooden high chair from Ashtonbee. Our baby chairs are ergonomically made for your baby or toddler. It is designed to be functional, safe, and comfortable. In addition, the legs are made from beech tree wood which is both sturdy and shock-absorbent. It has five items: the chair, tray, belt, footrest, and legs for easy assembly. The seat height is also made optimal for parents or caretakers.
The chair has a belt that you can attach around your toddler’s waist to ease your worries, and the seat is comfortable and spacious enough to allow growth. Furthermore, the feeding tray is made from food-safe materials and is easy to clean. Knowing the tray insert is safe and clean, you can easily wipe the surface with a disinfectant and put the baby snacks, fruits, and vegetables directly. Finally, with the adjustable footrest, your child can use the chair from 4 months old up to 9 years old. Your product will grow with your kid for years!
Take Our Pick
Finding the right high chair for your baby can be challenging. There is so much to consider, and you will likely ask yourself if you should settle on using a normal adult chair. Theoretically, you can use a big chair or feed the baby from your lap; however, these methods will take effort and most likely take time. If your child is fussy during feeding time, finding the right sitting position will take a while.
To know when your baby is ready to sit by themselves during mealtime, observe if they can already pick up food and swallow, and if they can sit up for a few minutes by themselves. Then, you can try and have them sit on your lap while using one hand as a belt and the other to hold food near their mouths. So, if they are determined to reach the food and hold their body upright, now is the time to buy a modern high chair!
Your child deserves to be comfortable and safe in their own space when they eat. So, get the baby high chair seat best suited for your baby here in Ashtonbee!
