Stokke Tripp Trapp Highchair review: a classic design still going strong 50+ years later

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How we tested the Stokke Tripp Trapp highchair

We evaluated the Tripp Trapp with two parent testers, covering different stages of childhood. Our original tester, Katrĩna, used the chair with her two-year-old toddler over several weeks, taking detailed notes on assembly, day-to-day use, safety, and overall practicality. To see how the chair performs years later, we also asked mum-of-two Sarah to test it over several months with her toddler and five-year-old, giving us insight into how well it adapts to different ages and stages of childhood.

While the test scores below are drawn from Sarah’s 2025 review, we’ve retained much of Katrĩna’s observations to show how this classic highchair stands the test of time (which is, after all, one of its unique selling points!)

This combination of short- and long-term testing provides a well-rounded picture of the chair’s durability, usability, and family-friendly features.

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Our verdict

The Stokke Tripp Trapp remains a standout highchair thanks to its exceptional build quality, timeless design, and adaptability from toddler years through to adulthood. Katrĩna’s original testing (conducted in 2017) highlighted its stability, ease of use and safety features, with her noting that the chair’s adjustable seat and footplate allow it to grow with a child while still feeling solid and reliable. Its design and variety of colours also make it a stylish addition to any home, while the thriving second-hand market ensures strong resale value.

Sarah’s more recent testing (2025) reinforces these strengths, emphasising how the chair seamlessly fits into daily family life. From meals to crafts and even as a perch for adults, the Tripp Trapp proved versatile, durable, and easy to maintain in testing, and its reputation promises years of consistent quality across multiple children. Both testers agreed that while it comes at a premium price, its longevity, quality, and practicality make it a worthwhile investment, truly earning its reputation as a classic piece of family furniture.

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Key features

• Solid wooden chair with plastic baby seat attachments and tray

• Can be used with newborn set from birth, with baby set from six months (sitting unaided), and after three years or 15kg until adulthood and beyond

• Comes in three wood types and 14 colours

• Five-point harness (sold separately)

• Dishwasher-safe tray (sold separately)

-Parent tester Sarah

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How easy is the Stokke Tripp Trapp to assemble?

Instructions are illustration-only and include the initial set-up as well as detailed instructions for future adjustment as your child grows. The leaflet also gives details of the seven-year warranty and there’s a different document listing the relevant legal safety directives. They’re available to download on Stokke’s website as well as an assembly video, if you need them.

Baby sets, newborn sets and the tray come with their own separate assembly instructions, and these are also available on the website for perusal. Our original tester, Katrĩna, spent 30 minutes on the assembly from opening the box to having the chair up and ready in the kitchen.

Sarah added: "The chair arrived in one large box, and was very easy to assemble. There are two legs that go on either side, two flat pieces (for the seat and the footrest), and a couple of bars that go on the back. The instructions are pretty clear and I was able to put it together easily just using an Allen key to tighten the nuts."

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How does the Stokke Tripp Trapp highchair look?

Originally designed in 1972, the Stokke Tripp Trapp was one of the first highchairs built to grow with your child and allow them to sit comfortably at the table with the rest of the family. It's become somewhat of a design phenomenon in its own right, gaining in popularity over the last 50 years.

The 14 colour and three material options Stokke offers for the Tripp Trapp mean you’ll be able to find a look that suits you, whatever your preferences. It’s a tasteful, minimalist chair that won’t look out of place if you do end up using it long-term.

“We chose the oak, which matches our table perfectly," said Sarah. "When it’s pushed in, the chair almost disappears, though the feet do stick out slightly. It feels more like a permanent piece of furniture than a typical highchair, which I love.”

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What’s the Stokke Tripp Trapp like to use?

Day-to-day, the Tripp Trapp is a quality and well-designed piece of equipment that won’t give you a moment’s anxiety about safety or comfort. Despite its heavyweight appearance, it can still be dragged across the floor with one hand while holding a baby with the other and the feet don’t leave marks on the floor as it’s moved. Katrĩna described it as solid, safe, and adaptable, handling wriggly toddlers with ease. Adjustments take a few minutes, but the seat grows with your child.

Sarah added that her son uses the chair daily, pointing out "before this he was perching on cushions at our table, with the Tripp Trapp he loves feeling taller. He uses it for meals, colouring and crafts."

Sarah also tested out the chair's claim that it can be used into adulthood, pointing out "my mum (Granny) has sat on it comfortably to have a cuppa and do some painting with the kids. While I don't think it would be as comfortable as a normal chair for an adult to use for eating a meal, I'm impressed it can hold an adult up to 300 lbs."

"I can see us using it for many years to come - we absolutely love it."

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How portable is the Tripp Trapp chair?

"It’s solid oak so it’s quite heavy* and needs two hands to lift and push in to the table once my child is seated on it," explained Sarah. "It’s not designed in a way he could pull himself in to the table as his feet aren’t on the ground. The chair doesn’t fold up for putting away so it’s definitely a piece of furniture you’d keep tucked under the dining table, so bear this in mind when choosing your colour/material as having one that fits your interiors and isn’t an eyesore is key." 

*Both the oak and the beech chairs weigh approximately 6.5kg without any extra additions.

How safe is the Tripp Trapp?

Once assembled, the Tripp Trapp appears nigh-on indestructible - one of the reasons it sells so well second-hand. It meets a large number of worldwide safety directives, including the EU directive EN 14988:2017, specifically for highchairs.

The footprint is 48cm x 46cm - smaller than some of its competitors (the Cybex Lemo, for example, is 56cm x 56cm), but Katrĩna still noted that the L-shaped legs could be a trip hazard, so it’s worth tucking the chair close to the table when not in use.

There are no sharp corners or edges and, when scrubbed hard with a new scouring sponge, Katrĩna said none of the finish came off.

The five-point harness is secured with a central clip, but because it doesn’t come as standard with the Stokke, we didn’t test it. In our drop test, the chair emerged completely unscathed and took the repeated weight of an adult both in the seat and the footplate. Even empty, it’s impossible to get the Tripp Trapp to rock, so there’s no danger of a child managing to do so.

-Parent-tester Sarah

Is the Stokke Tripp Trapp easy to clean?

Hardened food tends to cling on to wood more than plastic, so when Katrĩna tried our porridge test, she said it took several minutes of scrubbing to completely remove. Generally, though, the Tripp Trapp has no nooks and crannies for toast crumbs to hide in, and the smooth wood can be wiped down easily. Bolognese sauce also left no stains behind.

Sarah added, "As my [five-year-old] is no longer in the stage where lots of food gets spilt, we've not found it gets too dirty apart from the occasional rice grains or splash of porridge on the foot plate, which easily wipes off. As it’s not coated or varnished, if you spilt something with colouring in it (bolognese, curry) it may stain and it’s not as easy to wipe as a plastic chair. I can see that the grooves down both legs could get dirty and prove tricky to clean with little ones who are weaning."

What's the longevity like?

Both testers praised its lifespan. Katrĩna noted its ability to serve from birth to adulthood, and Sarah echoed that confidence: “The build quality is exceptional. I can see us using it for years, and the fact it can hold a 300lb adult is remarkable.”

What are the different stages of the Tripp Trapp Highchair?

The Tripp Trapp adjusts through four different stages according to the child's age, weight and stage of development. Although our two testers mostly used the highchair and freestanding chair stage, we have outlined each stage below, as well as the different bundle options available depending on what stage you're looking at, which extras you might like included and which you'd like as a optional purchase you can add on at a later date.

Chair alone: £199

Age: 3 years+ | Weight: 0+ | Optional extras: Newborn Set, Baby Set, Five-point harness, tray, cushion insert

If you're looking to purchase just the chair itself - perhaps for a child who isn't quite big enough for a regular chair but is too old to need a traditional highchair frame - this is the option for you. Available in variety of finishes from natural to black, teal and white, the chair is available in both beech and oak depending on your preference.

Chair + Newborn Set: £280

Age: Newborn - 6 months | Weight: 0 - 9kg | Optional extras: Baby Set2 (highchair baby frame or use after 6 months)

If you're just looking to buy a newborn set initially, the Newborn Set includes the Stokke Chair plus a bouncer-style newborn baby seat. The nest offers a baby up to 9 kg a reclining bouncer-type seat where they can rest comfortably and safely at the same level as the rest of the family around the table.

Chair + Baby Set 2: £268

Age: 6 months+ | Weight: 9kg+ | Optional extras: Five-point harness, tray, cushion insert

This set is for those who aren't interested in the newborn bouncer seat and are ready to transition straight to the traditional highchair configuration. Suitable from 6 months, or whenever your child is able to sit up unaided without sliding down in the chair, the baby set clips onto the base chair. You can choose to buy a cushion if you'd like an extra layer of comfort or to help your child fit better in the seat. There's also a optional tray which can be very handy during the messier first few months of weaning. Both the tray and the cushion are included in their own bundles too (below).

The baby seat is made from dishwasher-proof plastic – an added bonus when it comes to messy weaning. Should you buy the cushion insert, the material has an easy-wipe coating and is also machine-washable. The removable tray is dishwasher-safe too.

Chair + Newborn Set + Baby Set: £325

Age: Newborn - 3 years | Weight: 0+ | Optional extras: Five-point harness, tray, cushion insert

The Tripp Trapp baby set comes with both the newborn nest seat and a moulded plastic baby seat. Once your baby is able to sit up unaided (at around 6 months or 9 kg), you can fit on the plastic baby frame which clips onto the back of the chair without the need for tools. Or, if you've gone for the newborn set above, you can buy the baby highchair frame separately at £49.

There's an optional five-point harness, though this is not included with the baby set, but sold separately at £36, which seems to indicate that Stokke expect many parents to go without one. A younger weaning baby should sit safely without any issues, but an older, more adventurous one may need that extra harness restraint.

Without the tray, the Tripp Trapp allows your baby to sit comfortably at the table with the rest of the family, especially with the added cushion insert, which fits well and is padded nicely - although food may occasionally find its way to the floor.

Chair + Baby Set 2 + Tray: £280

Age: 6 months+ | Weight: 9kg+ | Optional extras: Five-point harness, cushion insert

Chair + Baby Set 2 + Cushion: £200

Age: 6 months+ | Weight: 9kg+ | Optional extras: Five-point harness, tray

- Parent-tester Sarah

Does the Tripp Trapp offer good value for money?

The fact the Tripp Trapp remains so popular despite its price is proof of its enduring quality and design. Katrĩna’s original testing found it robust, safe, and stylish - and Sarah’s more recent experience reinforces those points, adding praise for its role as an inclusive family chair that children (and adults) love to use.

- Parent tester Sarah

About the authors

Rachel Jeffcoat has worked for 15 years as an editor and writer, after starting her career managing science and technology journals. She now writes and edits for businesses, including some in the nursery retail sector, and has worked with the Mumsnet Reviews team for several years. She has also had essays and poetry published in Huff Post, Fourth Trimester Magazine and Dear Damsels. She has three small children.

She has written many reviews focused on feeding for Mumsnet over the years, including several highchair, steriliser and baby bottle features.

Jenny Wonnacott has been working as a Content Editor for Mumsnet since 2022 with a particular focus on pregnancy, child and baby care product guides, articles and reviews. As a mum of three, Jenny has extensive hands-on experience in all of the Mumsnet content she writes about.

As the Mumsnet Feeding & Changing editor, Jenny has spent many hours researching the best highchairs and liaising with parent testers, feeding experts and highchair manufacturers to find out which ones live up to their branding and which aren't worth the cost.

About Mumsnet Reviews

All Mumsnet baby and child product reviews are written by real parents after weeks of research and testing. We work hard to provide honest and independent advice you can trust. Sometimes, we earn revenue through affiliate (click-to-buy) links in our articles. However, we never allow this to influence our coverage.

All prices correct at time of publication.