With the arrival of a little one in the family, the last thing you want to do is buy the necessary items for raising the baby on the spur of the moment. The main thing that you should always do before you go out and make a purchase of any baby related product is to check the reviews and opinions of other people who have bought the same product. The Internet is your ally when undertaking this task. This is especially true when it comes to buying a high chair for your child; after all, he or she will spend a lot of time in the chair during their first years of life. But what should you consider when buying a high chair?

Well, many mothers will tell you that it has to be, first and foremost, resistant. This means that it has to be built to the highest standards. The next most important thing to consider is will the product be easy to clean? One of the main issues when it comes to these chairs is the amount of food that can get lodged or trapped in the various nooks and crannies. This can, of course, encourage germs and bacteria to flourish; not a great combination with a baby. The last thing to consider is aesthetics – make sure the points mentioned above are taken into account before you even think about how nice the chair looks.

High chairs also have to be safe for the baby, and the best chairs offer many different levels of support and safety. The baby can be secured in place by means of safety leg straps, the crotch straps at the top of the tray act as another safety buffer. Many people may find the restraints to seem, well, pretty cruel to the child. After all, you’re minimizing her movements, aren’t you? Well, think of it this way: what do you think would happen if the child managed to wriggle out of the chair and fell to the ground?

The safest baby seats are also those with a wide base, which helps prevent the seat from tipping over. Everyone knows how restless or active a child can be; swaying or twisting. If the chair didn’t have a wide base, it wouldn’t take long for a rambunctious child to tip over.

The tray of a high chair is not only important for placing plates, bottles or baby toys, but it is also essential for keeping the baby in the correct position. Not only does this help parents at mealtimes, but it is also a very important safety feature, as mentioned above. The best high chairs come with trays that can be easily removed. This makes it easier to keep them clean, or even put them in the dishwasher for more effective cleaning. But make sure the removable tray locks securely when you’re in the high chair. A tray that can be easily kicked or dislodged will obviously be a problem.

High chairs aren’t cheap anymore, so you’ll want the one you buy to last you a few years. So in addition to the obvious consideration that the product is well built, you’ll also want to consider the versatility of the product. This means that as your child grows, you’ll want to be able to use the highchair as a regular chair so they can join in on the family fun at the table. Make sure, therefore, that the chair can be “broken down” into a more conventional chair for the child to use.