How to Choose a High Chair with Dr Kyla

Dr Kyla, Paediatric Dietitian and founder of Baby Mealtimes tells us what she looks for in a high chair (spoiler alert- she helped design our chair!)

The best high chair is one that grows with your baby from the start of solids, all the way through toddlerhood and beyond. A supportive high chair should offer adjustable foot support (at all leg lengths!) and adequate, upright back support. This means that your baby can comfortably rest their feet on a support, rest their back against a support and their elbows can comfortably rest on the tray or table top.

I also recommend choosing something that’s super easy to clean. Fabric and seams are a big no!

I love my Tiny Timber Collective Original Wooden High Chair, almost as much as my own children!

Why is a supportive high chair so important?

• Learning to eat takes lots of time and concentration. It’s really important that babies feel safe and comfortable in their high chair, while they learn these new skills.
• Sitting in a chair without support can be pretty exhausting (think of yourself perched on a stool or a chair without a back rest!) This means that kids either wriggle a lot, or they want to get out of the high chair pretty quickly because they’re tired of holding themselves upright.
• Also, children can’t develop strong fine motor skills like using a spoon, biting and chewing if they don’t have stability in their body. They need to feel safe and supported, particularly with something to rest their feet on.
• As your baby grows, you will need to adjust their highchair supports to maintain good posture.

The Original Wooden High Chair ticks all of these boxes, which is why I think it's the best high chair available in Australia. View the chair now!

About the author

Dr Kyla Smith is a paediatric dietitian with over a decade of experience, a Mum of 2 and founder of Baby Mealtimes, an online subscription backed by science and filled with balanced meal inspiration, recipes, finger food ideas and a step-by-step guide to starting solids, all designed to help parents experience an enjoyable, nutritious, and delicious start to feeding their baby.