u/Consistent_Bar_7644

I'm a new dad to a 6month old, and I'm looking for a reliable baby chair tht can last a while like, ideally, through the whole infant to toddler stage. Me and my wife are really hoping to avoid buying somethng that only gets used for a few months and then ends up collecting dust in the garage. When we first set up our nursery, my wife was so focused on getting everything just right, but quickly realized that some of the things we thought were essentials turned out to be barely used. We don’t want to repeat that mistake with the highchair. I want to avoid buying somethng that only lasts three months. We have looked at a few options like mockingbird, dinerpal, and abbie beyond, but still not really sure which one would be our best bet. So I want my fellow dads to help me pick one based on real experiences.

So today I was cooking and my 4 yrs old was gettng bored to death and was asking me to put somthing on for him on TV (though by something I mean ms rachel) and ofcourse I didnt because he already had his screen time (and I am trying to cut it down as much as I can) and so he whined for a while and then started playing with his toys. Later I think he got scared of being alone in the living room so he came to me in the kitchen and stood on his highchair and then while I was washing potatoes he asked me that he will do it for me, so I gave it to him and then he passed me most of the things I needed and we spent some good 2 hours together and had a very good time. I loved the fact that we kinda avoided screen time and also got to spend time with him while also doing my own chores. What else would be safe? I am not gonna have him anywhere near me during laundry and vacuum? What else?

This is one of those posts I'm writing because I genuinely wish someone had told me this earlier and maybe it'll help someone else. My son is 11 mnths. We started solids around 6 mnths and for the first few months it was going okay. Then somewhere around 8 or 9 months he started losing interest really fast. He'd eat a few bites, start squirming, slide down in the seat, get distracted, and then we'd be done.
I tried everything I could think of. Tring different foods. Also gave him smaller portions. We even ate at the same time as him. Were also turning off background noise. Tried shortening meal windows. There was some improvement but then it would be back to same issues.
Last week I was adjusting his high chair for something unrelated and I looked at where his feet were . They were just hanging there. No contact with the footrest at all because I hadnt adjusted it properly as he grew. I'd set it when we first got the chair and never thought about it again. I repositioned everything so his hips, knees, and ankles were all at roughly 90 degrees with his feet flat on the footrest. The next couple of meals after that he sat for almost twice as long and actually finished most of what I put in front of him.
I feel a bit ridiculous that it took me three months to figure this out. Everyone talks about what foods to offer and how to cut them but I never saw anything about how the physical setup of the chair affects how long a baby can comfortably stay focused. It felt like a failure for missing this out.

Is this something other people figured out early or did anyone else go through a long stretch of thinking the problem was the food?

I’m currently trying to pick a high chair and I’m leaning more towards those grow with the kid styles. I’ve narrowed my list down to a few specific models and would love to get a realistic POV from parents who have used these day in and day out.

What in your opinion are overrated and underrated high chairs out of these and why?

• Abiie beyond
• IKEA antilop
• Momcozy dinerpal
• Graco blossom 6-in-1
• Bugaboo giraffe
• Peg perego siesta

Pleasee share your exp based on usability...cleaning and of course long term use?

My daughter is 7 mnths and we just started solids. She's doing really well and we love our high chair, the tray is huge and gives her plenty of room. The problem is she now wants total control over mealtime. If I try to spoonfeed her, she wants to grab the spoon. If I put food in a bowl, she doesnt care about eating and just wants to grab and pull on the bowl itself like its a toy. The suction works fine on the tray but her determination to wrestle the bowl makes my head hurt.

Should I just skip the bowl and put food straight on the high chair tray, or is there a trick to get her to focus on eating instead of playing? Any tips to deal with this situation would be helpful.