Ready to kick start your baby’s weaning journey? Whether you’re opting for baby-led weaning or choosing to spoon-feed your baby with purees, introducing your baby to solids for the first is a huge milestone - one that can be exciting and overwhelming in equal measure.
Your baby’s high chair provides a safe and comfortable seat to introduce your baby to new flavours, textures and tastes. It can also allow your baby to join you at the table during dinner, helping them become more familiar with different foods, improve their confidence and enhance their social skills as they adapt to their new mealtime routine.
There are a huge number of highchairs to choose from, so finding one that fits around your family’s home and lifestyle is key. Whether it’s a wooden highchair, a space-saving highchair that folds for simple storage or even a highchair that converts to a toddler chair as your child grows, we’ve researched and tested our pick of the best.
What should I look for in a high chair?
When considering which high chair is best for your family, here are some things to consider:
- Safety: First and foremost, a good-quality highchair should be robust, providing secure and safe support for your baby’s weaning journey. Look out for features such as non-slip feet that won’t slide around on your floor during use, as well as how your baby is secured in the seat. Some highchairs use a three-point harness that fastens across the lap, while others offer a more secure five-point safety harness which also secures over the shoulders. While the latter can be a little trickier to fix (especially with a wriggly baby), it will hold your baby more firmly in place and prevent it from sliding down in the seat.
- Ease of cleaning: Are the surfaces of the highchair, particularly the seat and tray, easy to clean? Some highchairs come with a removable tray liner which can be a real positive for busy parents, allowing you to wash in the sink or dishwasher. Is there a fabric seat cover and if so, can this be removed for refreshing in the washing machine? Straps can easily get mucky during weaning, so it’s also worth considering whether the straps are attached to the seat and need to be scrubbed down by hand.
- Adjustable heights: Does the highchair offer adjustable height levels and if so, is it easy to move between the settings? Customisable height settings can ensure a comfortable seating or standing position for you as a parent. They can also help change up the chair to suit your table height, which is ideal if you wish to eat together as a family.
- How big is it?: Many highchairs understandably have a large footprint at the base for stability, so it’s important to consider the overall dimensions of the highchair, especially if you are more limited on space at home. Some highchairs are designed to be left out at all times once assembled, while others offer a compact fold or even free-standing fold for more simple storage when not in use.
- Comfort: How comfortable is the highchair for your baby? While smooth moulded plastic designs are often easier to clean, they don’t tend to offer the same level of comfort or cushioning you can achieve with padded fabric seats (unless used with a separate liner). You may also want to consider the depth of the seat and whether the highchair has a footrest, which can help ensure a healthy sitting posture and even aid digestion.
- Ease of assembly: Most highchairs require some basic assembly before being used for the first time. While for some designs, this involves simply clicking legs and seats into place, others require some more substantial flat pack style assembly including the use of tools. In most cases you will only need to do this once, however, it’s worth considering your DIY skills and allowing sufficient time to build if you opt for a wooden or part-wooden design.
- Style and aesthetic: Do you prefer wood or sustainable materials? Do you want a highchair that seamlessly blends into your modern kitchen or dining room, or do you want to opt for a child-friendly design with bolder, brighter prints? Many modern high chairs are designed to be left out on display, with neutral colourways that are both stylish and practical.
- Longevity: Is there a maximum age or weight limit for the highchair? To get the best value for money, you may want to consider highchairs that can be converted into toddler seats, offering a more long-term seating solution that can adapt to your child’s needs as they grow.
When can I start using a high chair with my baby?
While this will vary from one baby to the next, your child will generally be ready to use a highchair from around six months of age, or when they can sit up straight and steady without support.
Most highchairs are recommended from the age of six months plus, however, some reclining highchairs such as the Maxi-Cosi Ava below, are suitable from birth. Some other highchairs also offer inserts or seat packs (sold separately) that enable them to be used with younger babies.
Best highchairs at a glance:
- Best easy to clean: Ikea Antilop - £19, IKEA
- Best value for money: Graco Stack n’ Stow - £40, Amazon
- Best lightweight: Vital Baby Nourish Scoop - £100, Amazon
- Best modern highchair: Mamas and Papas Juice - £99, Mamas and Papas
- Best from birth highchair: Maxi-Cosi Ava - £100, Amazon
- Best 360 highchair: Munchkin 360 Cloud - £220, Amazon
- Best highchair for striking designs: Cosatto Waffle 2 - £200, Argos
- Best converting highchair: Ziza Seat - £139, Amazon
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Cosatto Waffle 2 High Chair
Best for: Striking designs
Suitability: 6 months to 100kg (adult)
Material: Wood
Dimensions: 89 x 54 x 62 cm
Weight: 8kg
Safety harness: Five-point safety harness
Height settings: Multi-height seat (the seat moves not the frame)
If striking designs are high on your highchair wishlist, you are sure to love the beautiful prints and contrasting wood colours of the Cosatto Waffle 2 highchair. New for 2023, the Waffle 2 comes in a choice of three striking designs including Unicorn Garden (rose pink), Old McDonald (turquoise) and Foxford Hall (turquoise and dark wood) which are certainly a thing of beauty.
Despite its high price tag and the need for more substantial assembly, this versatile highchair offers excellent longevity that’ll see your child right through to adulthood. With a height-adjustable seat and an adjustable footrest and tray, it’s flexible to fit around your family’s needs. A combination of wood and plastic, it’s also much less bulky than some wooden highchairs, with the option to flip the tray for eating at the family table or even collapse down into a compact freestanding fold for convenient storage.
Unlike some wooden highchair designs where accessories and cushions are sold separately, the Cosatto Waffle 2 has everything you need in the box. When your toddler is ready for a more ‘grown-up’ seat, simply remove the tray and waist bar and adjust the footrest as your child grows.
While the beautifully soft cushion pads may need washing fairly regularly, we love the two-layer tray, with a dishwasher-safe tray topper that can be conveniently removed for cleaning after each meal.
Buy now £200.00, Argos
Graco Stack n’ Stow
Best for: Value for money
Suitability: From 6 months to 15kg
Material: Plastic
Dimensions: 74.1 x 60.6 x 90.1cm
Weight: 5.4kg
Safety harness: 5-point safety harness
Height settings: Fixed
Removable tray: No
Retailing at less than £50, the lightweight and portable Graco Stack n’ Stow offers excellent value for money. Despite its affordable price tag, this sturdy and secure high chair is packed full of practical features that are ideal for use in a busy family home.
Weighing in at just 5.4kg, the Graco Stack n’ Stow has a compact, freestanding fold that measures just 15cm in depth, making it easy to pop away out of sight between meals, even with the tray still attached.
The padded seat is comfortable even over longer periods and while the height of the overall seat unit can’t be adjusted, the footrest can be moved between two different settings to adapt to your child as they grow. The secure five-point harness prevents your child from slipping in the seat, however, there is a slight tilt to the back support, so this highchair may be better suited to babies who are completely confident sitting upright.
We love the large adjustable tray and although it has no liner, the tray can be completely removed from the main unit for convenient cleaning up. The wipe-down seat cover offers easy cleaning between meals and attaches via press studs, allowing you to remove it completely to tackle more substantial stains. The harness however is fixed to the seat, so may find this needs more frequent scrubbing to keep it clean.
Buy now £40.00, Amazon
Vital Baby Nourish Scoop
Best for: Lightweight design
Suitability: 6 months to 15kg
Material: Plastic (and metal)
Dimensions: 65 x 65 x 84 cm
Weight: 4.5kg
Safety harness: 3-point safety harness
Height settings: Fixed
If you’re looking for a modern highchair that won’t take up too much space in your kitchen or dining room, the lightweight Nourish Scoop from Vital Baby has a compact yet functional design that is well suited to smaller spaces. Folding to a depth of just 26cm with the tray attached, it’s easy to stash in your cupboard or pop behind a door for simple storage when not in use.
Intuitive and straightforward to build, the Nourish Scoop highchair comes in a stylish monochrome colour scheme with a curved plastic seat that encourages a healthy sitting position. The removable padded insert provides an additional layer of comfort for your baby and although it can take some practice initially, the tray folds down for easy placement, securing with a 3-point safety harness across their lap.
With nowhere for crumbs or food residue to hide, this highchair is incredibly easy to clean. The entire chair can be wiped down, the pad removed for washing and the clever tray topper popped in the dishwasher to freshen up between meals.
It’s worth noting that this highchair sits relatively low and the height isn’t adjustable. however, despite its relatively small seat, the adjustable tray and footrest can help achieve a comfortable seating position for your child as they grow. Offering excellent value for money, you can even remove the lower half of the legs as your child grows, converting it into a handy toddler seat for use with or without the tray.
Buy now £100.00, Amazon
Mamas and Papas Juice
Best for: Modern design
Suitability: 6 months to 3 years
Material: Plastic and wood-effect metal
Dimensions: 62 x 68 x 86.5 cm
Weight: 5.6 kg
Safety harness: 5-point safety harness
Height settings: Fixed 86.5cm
If you’re happy to leave your baby’s high chair out on display, the Scandi-inspired design of the Mamas and Papas Juice highchair makes a stylish and modern addition to your home. Available in a choice of three colours - Croissant (off-white), Washed Grey and Eucalyptus (pale turquoise), it has a curved plastic design with striking wood-effect legs. While it doesn’t fold for storage, we love the lightweight design and built-in carry handles that make it easy to move around between rooms as required.
With a deep moulded seat and removable seamless seat pad, this comfortable highchair is suitable to use from six months, however, some consumer reviews found the five-point safety harness a little loose on younger babies. This, combined with the non-adjustable height and footrest, may make this seat better suited to older babies and toddlers than those at the very start of their weaning journey.
Cleaning is relatively easy, although we recommend you remove the seat pad for wiping down after every meal, as well as gathering up any food that gathers in the grooves around the central crotch post. The removable tray is safe to clean in the dishwasher but if you’d like your child to join the rest of your family, you can remove it completely and push the chair right up to the table.
We love how the bottom half of the legs can be unscrewed to convert the Juice highchair into a cute junior chair when your child reaches the toddler years. Suitable till approximately five years of age, the junior chair is ideal for crafts and colouring, making the Juice chair a more long-term solution for your child’s bedroom or nursery.
Buy now £99.00, Mamas and Papas
Maxi-Cosi Ava
Best for: From birth
Suitability: Birth to 3 years
Material: Wood-effect metals and recycled fabrics
Dimensions: 88 x 63.5 x 104.5cm
Weight: 4.8kg
Safety harness: 5-point safety harness
Height settings: Fixed
The majority of highchairs are suitable from six months, but thanks to its choice of three different recline settings, the Maxi-Cosi Ava is even suitable to use from birth, seeing you through right until your child reaches 3 years of age. With a non-bulky, lightweight design, it allows your baby to join you at the table and become more familiar with the sights and smells of mealtimes, long before they take their first tastes.
Made from recycled wipe-down fabrics in far more practical darker shades, the soft padded seat is secure and comfortable, with a high back, secure five-point safety harness and adjustable tray position that helps achieve a good sitting posture.
It’s also surprisingly easy to clean, with a water-repellent fabric cover that can be wiped down or removed completely for washing in your machine at 30 degrees.
The Ava highchair has a fixed height and a relatively large footprint when opened, which may make it less suitable for small living spaces, however, a huge plus point of the Maxi-Cosi Ava is the ease of storage. Simply unclip the tray and attach it to the frame, before closing and collapsing the seat forward into a compact, free-standing fold - perfect for stashing away out of sight when not in use.
Buy now £100.00, Amazon
Munchkin 360° Cloud Baby High Chair
Best for: 360° feeding
Material: Wood and plastic
Dimensions: 45 x 51 x 61.5cm
Weight: 8.16 kg
Safety harness: Five-point safety harness
Height settings: cm
Despite its fairly eye-watering price tag, the swivel seat on the Munchkin 360 Cloud can really take the stress out of meal times, offering complete flexibility when feeding your baby. While it doesn’t offer the longevity of a converting high chair, it’s a convenient option for parents who want their baby to join them at the dining table, the entire seat on this highchair can be twisted towards you, making feeding and engaging with your baby really straightforward.
A modern design with quick and easy assembly, Munchkin boast a one-minute build time on this highchair and it certainly wasn’t far off, with an intuitive build and pieces that simply clicked into place.
A non-folding highchair with quite a large footprint, it may not be the best choice if you’re looking for a space-saving option, however, the clear perspex seat combined with high-quality wooded legs creates a neutral, modern and stylish look that you’ll be happy to leave out on display.
The Munchkin 360 is incredibly easy to clean, with a removable cushion pad and smooth surfaces that make wiping the seat down an absolute doddle. Unlike some highchair designs, the secure five-point safety harness can also be completely unthreaded from the chair, meaning unsightly stained straps may also be a thing of the past.
We love the addition of a moulded cup holder on the tray and if your toddler tends to play with their food, the top tray can easily be removed to clear up more substantial mess before popping in the dishwasher to freshen up.
Buy now £220.00, Amazon
Ziza Seat
Best for: Converting design
Suitability: 4 months to 5 years (using short leg accessory kit)
Material: FSC plastic and beechwood
Dimensions: 68 x 43 x 22 cm
Weight: 6.72kg
Safety harness: 5-point safety harness
Height settings: Fixed
If you want your highchair that could easily become a more long-term feature in your home, then the stylish Scandinavian-style Ziza Seat is certainly worth considering - suitable from four months to around 5 years when used with optional extras.
A smooth moulded seat with sturdy beechwood legs, this non-folding highchair can easily be converted to a junior seat for craft and play using a short-leg accessory kit (sold separately). Should you wish to create a set for your child’s bedroom or living space, a complimenting Ziza table is also available, as well as additional junior chairs for siblings or friends.
Available in a choice of modern shades including practical dark colours pebble grey and ocean blue, the Ziza is easy to assemble, with minimal build steps and basic use of an Allen key and screwdriver to secure the legs.
While there’s no padding, the deep and spacious seat allows a relaxed and comfortable seating position, with a secure five-point safety harness to prevent them from slipping in their chair during dinner. With smooth curved surfaces, the Ziza is really easy to wipe down after use, while the tray is completely removable, detaching from the frame for fuss-free cleaning in your sink or dishwasher.
Buy now £139.00, Amazon
IKEA Antilop
Best for: Easy cleaning
Suitability: From 6 months to 15kg
Material: Plastic
Dimensions: 56 x 62 x 90cm
Weight: 3.6kg
Safety harness: Three-point safety harness
Height settings: Fixed
If you’re looking for an easy-to-clean highchair which comes at a budget-friendly price tag, they don’t come much more affordable than the popular IKEA Antilop highchair.
With a simple, easy-to-assemble design, the set includes the Antilop seat shell and safety harness, four legs and a removable tray, with the pieces simply clicking together and slotting into place without the need for additional tools.
Made from smooth moulded plastic, the Antilop highchair is simple to wipe down after use, with no nooks and crannies where food can get trapped. If your child tends to get spaghetti bolognese everywhere except actually inside their mouths, you’ll also be pleased to know that the tray is also fully detachable, conveniently lifting away from the seat for washing in the sink or dishwasher.
With a three-point safety harness securing across the lap, the seat is suitable for babies and toddlers up to 15kg (approximately 3 years). Due to its plastic interior and non-padded design, it may not be the most comfortable high chair on our list, however, accessories such as an inflatable supporting cushion (£5) and cover (£5) are sold separately - ideal for use with younger babies.
It’s worth noting that as a budget ‘no-frills’ design, you won’t find a footrest or adjustable height settings on this highchair. With a fixed footprint, the Antilop doesn’t fold for storage either, however, the legs are relatively easy to remove and pack away so you can take it with you on your travels.
Buy now £19.00, IKEA
Verdict
While the best highchair will ultimately depend upon your family’s needs, we love the high-quality, adjustable and long-lasting design of the Cosatto Waffle 2. A visually stunning highchair, it comes with all the benefits of a wooden highchair in a compact folding design.
While its price is certainly quite the investment, it may be the only highchair you ever need to buy - taking your child from first tastes to family meals and beyond.
