Do You Need a High Chair? Yes, and Here’s Why

Watching your child grow and take on new life stages can be exciting, joyous, and fulfilling. However, it can also be expensive when you consider all that comes with these new life stages — cribs, strollers, diapers, and dresses. And that’s not even half of it. On top of this, the majority of baby gear comes with a relatively short life cycle: your child will seemingly grow out of these items in an instant.

Naturally, this begs the question: Do you really need a high chair for your child?

Although you might be tempted to skip this chair purchase to save money, don’t. These chairs play a pivotal role in the life of your growing child, in addition to offering convenience and safety that every parent will appreciate.

Here’s a rundown on why a high chair is necessary for babies, as well as the best and safest high chairs to use at mealtime with your little one.

Self-Feeding Support

The biggest reason for why you do need a high chair is that it will enable your child to rapidly learn how to feed themselves. That’s because these chairs give children the liberty of exploring, playing, and grabbing dishes and utensils, as well as eating their favorite foods by themselves.

The more that children learn how to feed themselves in these chairs, the more they will also learn about the foods they are eating. In addition, they will master navigating their hunger cues, which means they will learn how to eat only the amount they want in each sitting, a skill they’ll need for the rest of their life.

On top of this, your new eater will develop important motor skills, such as the pincer grasp, by practicing feeding themselves in their chair. Of course, while they’re practicing, they’re bound to mess up — so make sure they have a food-safe silicone baby bib on before trusting them with their own meals!

Easy Cleanup

A high chair also offers the benefit of making dinnertime cleanup a breeze — but you do need a high chair that is designed for it. With a modular high chair, the food tray is generally easy to remove, wash, and refit without a hassle. And other parts of the chairs are usually simple to clean with nothing more than soap and water

You can make post-meal cleanup even easier if you add a child’s dish with suction cups to the mix. Dishes with suction cups are designed to stay put on your child’s chair tray so that you can finally bid adieu to those mess-creating plate frisbees. With the combination of a chair and suction cup dishes, busy parents can spend less time tidying up after meals and therefore more time with their little ones.

Including Children at Mealtime

Do you need a high chair to include babies during mealtime? Well, no — but they absolutely make it easier by giving them their own seat that is level with the rest of the table. This is important because mealtimes are essential times for family members to take time to gather together after the hustle and bustle of their busy days.

By sitting with you at the “big people’s table,” your child will learn how to socialize at the dinner table, as they can see and interact with all family members in one space. So a high chair is necessary for more than just food — it’s also good for them to learn dinner table manners, which will benefit them long term.

Simplifying Mealtimes

Another reason you do need a high chair is to make feeding easier. These chairs’ food trays generally come with cup holders for holding their cups or bottles with ease.

In addition, you can feed your child without having to worry about them moving around and making you chase them. In other words, you can make them eat dinner before they play.

Providing Security and Safety

A child’s high chair is necessary for security and safety — one of the biggest reasons to add one to your family’s dining spot.

The best high chairs are customized with robust safety measures to comfortably and ergonomically accommodate growing infants. They also come with belts to ensure that your child remains secure while eating and drinking.

But here’s a unique factor to look for: you need a high chair that is adjustable, and not just small tilts. Babies grow fast and high chairs are expensive. Before long, the high chair you spent a ton of money on will be too small for them. You want a high chair that grows with your baby from an infant to well into childhood.

In addition, stick with chairs that are fabricated with wood. Modern wooden high chairs are safer and more environmentally friendly than their plastic counterparts are.

Benefits Outside of Mealtimes

Finally, you don’t just need a high chair for mealtime. They can be a major solution for managing your child while you’re busy working.

Let’s say you’re scrubbing dishes, handling laundry, or doing other chores that require you to move about frequently. Simply place your child in their chair and give them building blocks or other toys to keep them preoccupied. This way, you can keep a close watch on them and feel confident that they will be safe.

You can also use your little one’s chair to teach your child alphabets, colors, puzzles, and even handwriting using paper and pencils. The more you tap into the benefits of these versatile chairs, the more likely you are to create an independent child in the years ahead. That’s why a high chair is really necessary: how much it aids in making your life easier and fostering the growth of your little one. You do need a high chair for that.

You Do Need a High Chair — and Abiie® is Here to Help

At Abiie®, we are excited to offer our one-of-a-kind Beyond Junior Y chair, which is certified safe and designed to accommodate your child from infancy to toddlerhood and even adulthood. We also offer our convenient Octopod® baby plates, Huggs® Baby Carrier, and Ruby Wrapp® Bibb. Shop now to experience the Abiie® difference, and contact us if you have any questions!