crunchy parenting

I’ve seen some god-awful highchairs in my time. I remember one in particular that had a popular name brand attached to it. From looks alone, it seemed kinda classy – wood high chair, with rounded corners and some plastic bit over the arms so you could attach a tray to it. But it was clunky and looked terrible actually pulled up to the dining table. Plus, it was a nightmare to clean food bits out from all those tiny corners.

A giant Tripp Trapp chair outside a store in Copenhagen.

I saw the Tripp Trapp chair by Stokke for the first time at a friend’s house. It was simple, looked easy to clean and was equally elegant pulled up to their dining table. I loved that there was no feeding-the-kid-in-the-kitchen bit, but rather a family-centered focus that everyone sits at the dining table to eat dinner, no matter the age.

Some neat things about the Tripp Trapp chair:

• Easy to clean. You can even take it completely apart for deep cleaning.
• Adjusts as they grow. Kids love things that fit them right.
• Sturdy enough for a small-to-average adult to sit in. Solid, hard to tip over.

I love that our Tripp Trapp matches our dining table.

Some not-so-neat things about the Tripp Trapp chair:

• Seat belt on the American version. It’s a loose strap, 5-point harness, but it’s permanently screwed into the seat. Great with they’re small, but super annoying once they get olders. The European versions don’t have this, which makes it look and feel more like a real chair for older kids.
• Don’t lose that hex screwdriver dongle! Bolts are fastened with hex screws. Not impossible to find screwdrivers like that, but potentially frustrating when you’re trying to find the only one you own and pass up several Phillips and flathead ones in the search.
• Baby insert on the American version. I recently noticed that the baby insert on the European version is different again from the American one. The US one is a wide, curved plastic piece that attaches to the front of the chair. The effect is that of having two small holes for your baby’s legs to slip into, kind of like on shopping carts. The European version feels much more classy and spacious: a slender wooden band shaped like a ‘T’ that keeps your child from slipping down and out, matched to the finish of the chair itself. We could have used the insert a lot longer with our large, tall child if we’d had the European-style one instead.

We’re going to need another one for Widget #2, so I’m definitely going to try and get the Euro version this time. Also, if the price freaks you out, don’t forget to look on eBay and craigslist for used ones in good condition – I imagine these chairs can last a lifetime.