Toddler Moms: Does your LO still sit in a highchair?

Magoy · January 2011

I have a friend w/ a 2.5 year old and he's out of the high chair. Whenever we go out to eat they always ask us if we want a booster or highchair and I always say highchair (because honestly, it's more about restraint for me than anything else and I'd rather stay home than try to keep her in a booster seat for an hour!)

But, I've started wondering at what age do I need to start teaching her to sit independently at the table? As in, "...we are going to eat dinner now and we'll get up when we are done..."

browneyedgrl4282 · January 2011

I still put the kids in highchairs out and at home. The only time I let one of them use a booster (twins i should say) is when the restaurant is busy and they only have one or two highchairs free! I think once they are 3 I will start having them at the table unless something changes before that!

pandabearlover · January 2011

My oldest DD has been out of the high chair for a while (and not just because her sister is in it). She sits in the booth with us at a restaurant and balances on her knees to eat. It works great for us since she doesn't like the booster seats.

SS091506 · January 2011

My LO is 19 months tomorrow and is already starting to fight us on the high chair. We sometimes have to move her to a booster or on one of our laps to get her to eat her meal. If we leave her in the high chair, she will not eat and keeps signing "all done". If say use the high chair as long as your LO is happy in it.

PhillySue · January 2011

Katie is a little yonger then your dd but at home and in restaurants she is still in a high chair. She does not mind it all all and like you said I like how it keeps her contained. I will probably transition her to the table sometime after 2. She does get practice sitting independently at a table at daycare so I am not to worried.

DavezWife · January 2011

eating out, Ava has sat in a regular chair for a long time. I think it's important that kids learn manners eating out, and that we can enjoy doing that as a family without pulling our hair out. (a HUGE thanks to Reems for a tip long ago to get a Itouch (or iphone, which we don't have) to play shows/movies quietly while we eat, crayons and paper just don't cut it anymore) We DO try to get a booth when we can, and put her on the inside, so she can wiggle around without upsetting everyone, after all, she is two. it's her job to wiggle.

At home, we've had her in a highchair, only b/c we tend to kinda stand around and eat at the center island, or eat at the island with stools, or gasp! sit around the tv. (we have an "open floor plan" with the family room and kitchen all together)

We just recently started having her sit at a stool, but she has to ask permission to get down. I wish we all did family dinner at the table, I'm not sure why we don't do it nightly, really.

MayDayGirl · January 2011

Brighton stopped sitting in a high chair around 16 months. We have a little table from IKEA he sits at with stools. But sometimes he prefers to sit at the big table. At other people's houses and restaurants he just at the table.

dundasgirl · January 2011

Reed is 2.5 and doesn't sit in a highchair and hasn't for about 5 months I guess.

We went out and bought him one of those boosters with no tray so that Penny could use the booster with the tray. He was about 14 months old. Eventually we let him sit in the booster not buckled in.

Now that I watch my niece during the day, I put Penny in the booster seat that has no tray. She sits at the table to eat and she eats off a plate. Finally! She used to throw her plate on the floor.

We went out to eat last night actually (which is hilarious since we never go out). It was SIL, niece, me and my two. Reed sat on his knees on the bench, Penny was in a booster, and niece was in the highchair. It was chaotic at times when Penny wanted out of the booster...but she was okay once we got our food!

emiannie · January 2011

Miles sits in a highchair at restaurants and at home. In restaurants he only sits in highchair is when we're at a table. If we're at a booth he'll sit in the booth with us because he can balance on his knees, but in a chair he can't do that safely. I don't like the little booster seats they have at restaurants...I don't think they're safe.

I have friends whose kids are good in boosters or at regular chairs now, but Miles just isn't there yet...so we're just rolling with it. I don't think there's a set time.

LucyPevensie · January 2011

Jack is in a booster seat at the table at home (and I still strap/click him in) but still sits in a high chair at restaurants. So far this continues to work VERY well for us - he is awesome at restaurants - so we're not changing a thing for now!

readyin07 · January 2011

My DS is 2 and still in his highchair. When we go out, he often sits in a booster and is fine with that. I just don't see the point in having to buy another piece of equipment at home.

LisaMarisa · January 2011

We use a booster at home (with a seat belt so he can't jump out) but use a high chair when we go out. The high chair is mostly for containment.

laura&dan05 · January 2011

H is still in a high chair at home because we have tall kitchen chairs. Putting the booster on the chaos doesn't feel secure enough to me. When we go out she still sits in a high chair because I'm that mom that still uses the cart/high chair cover because I have germ issues. We still use the rule that she can't get out of her seat until we're all done eating. She doesn't have much of a choice seeing she's in a high chair (but not buckled) but she could throw a fit about it. She's a good eater so it's not usually a problem.

cjsbdl · January 2011

LucyPevensie:
Jack is in a booster seat at the table at home (and I still strap/click him in) but still sits in a high chair at restaurants. So far this continues to work VERY well for us - he is awesome at restaurants - so we're not changing a thing for now!

Same.

Temp159135562506975 · January 2011

Griffin was about 2.5 before he used a booster at a restaurant.... but was sitting in a little chair at daycare since about 15mo.... in a high chair at home until about 2.5, too just bc it was easier and the twins weren't using them yet.

the twins sit in little chairs to eat at daycare but are still in high chairs at home and restaurants for sure.

regenab · January 2011

I think the girls were about 22 months old when we started using booster seats at home. When out we will use boosters and they sit in them and stay put. The only time we have a problem is when they don't have boosters or high chairs and they have to sit in a chair at a table (not a booth, a booth is fine because we can contain them).

At 3 we will probably start to instill some restaurant rules and one of them is going to be you sit in your seat and only get up to go to the bathroom, if they cannot handle that then we leave. They really like to eat out when we do it, which is only about 1 x a month, so I think this will work as a consequence for them.

skoorbnibor · January 2011

we have boosters at home, but I still get a high chair when we go out

howleyshell · January 2011

I put them in high chairs in public as long as humanly possible.

It just makes everything so much easier for everyone involved!

But... my guys move into boosters at home at a fairly young age.

Again - I keep them in them as long as humanly possible.

The older they are when you turn them loose at a table the better it's likely to go.

This is an area of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" for me. We don't go out to eat often but when we do I don't want it to be a non-stop "try to corral the kid" fest.

At 3 it's still a constant battle with Jace not because either of them try to get up but because Jace in particular likes to lay his whole body weight on the table while up on his knees in the chair. Our table is SHOT (pedestal base so it actually harms the table over time)

His other trick is to turn backwards in the chair. He sits by a half wall. I'm mortified of a head injury with him tipping the chair over backwards so when I see him doing it I threaten to pull the booster back out. That usually works wonders!

sasa625 · January 2011

DD will be in a highchair in restaurants for a very long time. She needs to be strapped in, and boosters need to be strapped to the chair. She wiggles/throws herself way too much and her motor skills aren't all that great, so I see disaster happening if we try anything else!

We did just get a booster that can fit at our table (her previous one couldn't... she never had an actual highchair) so we are planning to stop using the tray soon and let her eat off of the table. She's a horrible eater, so we are hoping this helps in some way!

crystalgirl · January 2011

We only transitioned recently. DS sits at his little table (we'd prefer he sat in the booster at the big table, but that's not a battle we choose to fight), and when we go out, he sits in a booster. We had tried the booster out when he was still strapped in at home, and it was a disaster. Now it seems fine. GL!

roaringrock · January 2011

g love has been in a booster for months now. she prefers the "big girl seat" (no booster) but she's still too short.

LIAngel · January 2011

Nicholas is in a Space Saver Chair. One of those chairs that hook onto a regular kitchen chair with a tray- so I guess a booster seat. He'll be in that for the foreseeable future (or maybe til Ava needs it when she starts solids).

We hardly ever go out to eat- but when we do it's high chair city for us.

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