Tool Reviews

Today, more and more children’s products appear that make life easier for young parents and make life even more pleasant. One of these inventions is a hanging highchair for feeding a baby. This interesting type of children’s furniture has many advantages over its more familiar counterparts, so the popularity of the design is steadily growing.

Peculiarities

The hinged highchair does not have its own legs and countertops. It is a deep seat made of plastic or having a metal frame, lightened with a tubular structure and covered with durable fabric.

The seat is suspended from the edge of an adult table (some parents sometimes even screw the structure to the windowsill). So the child is on the same level with adults – not higher, as in the case of classic high chairs, not at some distance, but next to their parents and older brothers and sisters.

The kid feels like a full participant in the meal, learns the rules of behavior at the table more easily, gets the opportunity to develop independence.

The armrests of the chair are elongated – this is part of the holding mechanism that fixes the structure above the table. The lower part, hidden by the tabletop, is represented by a simple, reliable screw mechanism. With light twisting movements, the device is adjusted to the thickness of the specific “roof” of the table. This is reminiscent of the installation of traditional metal meat grinders.

Safety of the kid in a chair is provided with the holding three – or five-point belts and a soft reliable emphasis between legs.

The design of hanging chairs often contains pockets and compartments that are convenient for going out: you can store bottles with a mixture or juice, napkins, bibs, toys and even replaceable T-shirts there.

Advantages and disadvantages of a hanging highchair for feeding

Advantages of a hanging high chair

Stopping the choice on this option is for those who:

• lives in cramped conditions – classic feeding chairs clutter up space, which is unacceptable for small-sized kitchens, while hanging counterparts take up almost no space, saving precious square meters;
• likes to travel – hanging chairs quickly fold, while acquiring the size of an A4 sheet, they are lightweight and designed for countertops of various thicknesses. This creates comfortable conditions for visiting guests, cafes or restaurants, where the baby does not have to sit in the arms of his parents or at a separate small table;
• prefers to save money – structures screwed to the table are several times cheaper than traditional options.

Disadvantages of hanging high chairs

When choosing a hanging chair, you need to keep in mind some features of this model that make the invention not suitable for all cases:

• the only position of the back makes the chair unsuitable for children under 6 months old who have not yet learned to sit on their own and need a “reclining” position;
• seats are strictly limited in the weight of the potential owner: 13-15 kg;
• according to numerous reviews, the design is suitable for calm kids;
• some mothers note inconvenience when feeding: when a child does not want to eat porridge or soup, he turns his head away and has to run with a spoon from one side to the other;
• the very sight of a baby hovering in the air on a psychological level causes discomfort and anxiety in some mothers and grandmothers, is associated with constant danger (although in fact, subject to the operating rules, a hanging seat is a reliable and safe model).
• not suitable for all countertops. Not every model is “customized” to any thickness – usually screw mechanisms are designed for 19-35 mm. The retaining structure is also contraindicated for glass tables or countertops with a decorative coating (parts of the device can leave damage).

How to choose a hanging high chair

The first thing that attracts attention is the varied design. You can find versatile options and chairs designed specifically for boys or girls, discreet design chairs and seats decorated with bright ornaments or figurines of popular cartoon characters.

In addition to appearance, they differ in:

• the principle of operation of the hinged mechanism: the cheapest models are held by the type of lever under pressure on the elongated armrest sticks by the weight of the baby sitting in the high chair.

A more reliable and common option is a screw mechanism, adjusted to the thickness of the countertop;

• versatility of the screw mechanism: chairs with a limited thickness of the tabletop and universal options without restrictions;
• the height of the sides – of course, deep seats are the safest and most comfortable;
• comfort level – hard plastic options, soft fabric and the most comfortable models with a rigid frame, upholstered in fabric with soft foam padding;
• weight, which for suspended structures varies between 1.8 – 4 kg;
• size when folded and unfolded (the last parameter is important for non-standard dimensions of the baby: a small chair will not fit a large child);
• stationarity: fixed or rotating hinged chairs;
• independence: the most common option is a separate hanging chair, but there are also models that are complemented by a base with legs and a tabletop, the so-called 2-in-1 chairs: a classic chair for the home and at the same time a lightweight hanging chair for visiting guests or cafes.

When choosing a hanging chair, you should pay attention to:

• the presence of a removable cover – the ability to remove the cover and wash the fabric in the washing machine makes it easier to care for the chairs;
• the presence of pockets and compartments – capacious outer pockets will not be superfluous during dinner at a restaurant – it is convenient to store things that a child may need during meals;
• the presence of additional accessories: often the seat comes with nice little things in the form of a toy or a bib made of the same fabric as the upholstery of the model, or a bag that is convenient for transporting the hanging seat;
• type of upholstery fabric: it is better if it is a waterproof woven material that is pleasant to the body or an easy-care oilcloth;
• the presence of elongated armrests on the lower part – holders of embossed rubber pads that increase grip with the table and increase the reliability of fixing the chair.

How to use

When choosing a child seat, safety is a priority. If we are talking about mounted models, you need to check the presence of:

• a certificate confirming the environmental friendliness of the materials used to create the product and passing tests for strength and reliability;
• restraint belts with reliable fasteners (three or five-point).

Hinged chairs are a reliable option that has a number of advantages over classic counterparts. But the operation of the structure requires strict adherence to certain precautions.

It is important to carefully read the instructions that come with the specific article. Chairs have different weight limits that must not be violated. Some models are designed for a maximum of a one and a half year old baby, while others can be freely used until the child’s 4th birthday. On average, these chairs have an upper 15-kilogram limit.

The hanging seat mechanism can scratch the tabletop. Therefore, it is tempting to secure it with a tablecloth or napkin. You can’t do this: an additional layer reduces the reliability of the fasteners. As a result, with sharp and quick movements of the baby, the chair slowly leaves farther and farther from the edge of the countertop.

It is important to pay attention to the strength and stability of the table to which you plan to mount the model. It should not be too light, damaged or loose. It is not recommended to screw chairs to products equipped with a sliding or glass top and / or held by a single center support.

Every time before you put the baby in the seat, you need to check the security of the seat.

Since the hanging chair puts the child on the same level as adults, it is worth bearing in mind: the baby can easily reach the items on the common table. Therefore, within the reach of hands striving for everything previously unknown, there should be no dangerous objects: hot tea, a sharp knife, pills, etc.

Possible malfunctions

The design of chairs screwed to the table is so simple that there is nothing to break in them. Chairs can last for decades. True, the child grows out of them much faster. After that, the suspension seat can be saved for the next baby, passed on to friends or relatives, or sold.

If the upholstery is torn, dirty or frayed, you can sew or purchase a removable cover. Sometimes seat belts fail, equipped with not very high-quality plastic fasteners, which are just as easy to change by buying a suitable kit in a store. If the baby is uncomfortable in a hard plastic chair, the device can be easily equipped with a self-made or purchased soft seat.

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