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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

High chair escape artist!

18 replies

vvviola · 02/12/2012 05:46

Any hints to keep my nerves intact?

About a month ago DD2 (now 15 months) was sitting in her antilop high chair banging cups together as I prepared dinner. I hear a squeal of delight & turn around to see her standing on the seat. She has proceeded at repeat the feat a number of times.

We've now got a harness from a pair of reins attached to the seat but she seems to be able to get her feet up on to the seat and push upwards which is loosening it.

Any hints on how to keep her in her seat? (It's not about being finished or whatever, she seems to see it as a challenge

She's even worse when we are out somewhere & using a cafe high chair.

Help!

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twosquared · 02/12/2012 13:31

Is it time to take her out of a high chair and put her in a different one with less risk of hurting herself when trying to escape? A right pain having her free BUT at least less likely to be rushing off to get stitches.... She might just want to be like her older sibling.

Goldmandra · 02/12/2012 13:35

You just need to shorten the straps you clip the harness onto which come through the little slits in the seat. I did it by joining them together but I did make sure it didn't leave a loop underneath which a head could fit through.

seaweed74 · 02/12/2012 13:46

I second tying the straps together underneath to shorten the seatbelt. Also put shoes on her. Much harder to pull feet out!

ZuleikaD · 02/12/2012 15:22

Take her out of the highchair and put her on a normal chair. 15m is pretty old to be strapped in, tbh.

Jakeyblueblue · 02/12/2012 16:02

Booster seat at the table?

TwelveLeggedWalk · 02/12/2012 16:07

HOw does not strapping her in help? Surely then she'll just stand on the normal chair (or table....)?

ZuleikaD · 02/12/2012 17:20

She might stand on the normal chair, but she's old enough to understand NO and to be learning to sit in a chair to eat and that if she gets down then she's done.

Original poster

vvviola · 02/12/2012 18:19

On a normal chair?? Seriously??

Apart from the fact that she wouldn't stay on it for more than 3 seconds, she'd never be able to reach the table... and if she was propped up to reach the table then that's quite a height to tumble from.

I agree in theory about learning to sit at the table, but we start with the play table where she can get up and down easily. Not at the dining table where she can tumble from a height.

OP posts:

ZuleikaD · 02/12/2012 18:27

Both mine were clambering up and down off their own tripp trapps at that age. As another poster suggested though, a booster at the table is also very do-able.

Original poster

vvviola · 02/12/2012 18:42

To be fair, she probably could learn to climb up on a tripp trapp. She'd just use it as a starting point to climb on the table

Her big sister was never such a daredevil!

Might try a combination of everything - tie the straps together, take the tray off and move her up against the table, and look into a booster seat too.

Thanks everyone!

OP posts:

TaperJeanGirl · 02/12/2012 19:00

My 18 month old has been doing this on the antilop for a few months now, she actually balances on the tray , no amount of tightening the straps helps, but, helpfully she had learnt to hang drop off the side, landing safely......bloody climbing babies

CuriosityCola · 02/12/2012 19:03

I have had this problem since my ds was ten months old, now 15 months. If he isn't escaping, he manages to get his feet on the tray and push the food about.

Just got a booster seat today and he had dinner at the table tonight. Despite leaning as far to the right and left as possible, he was the most contained he has been in a long time. It was a very successful and stress free meal!

at the suggestion of 15 months being old enough to be unharnessed. We are still working on the 'no' concept. Some children just seem to be born daredevils. Unfortunately climbing onto anything the dining table is the holy grail for our ds at the moment.

CuriosityCola · 02/12/2012 19:04

P.s. my health visitor says the climbing is a sign of being inquisitive and therefore of high intelligence

bonzo77 · 02/12/2012 19:15

DS did this. I used reins tied together underneath as tight as possible. At 2.9 he's still a climber and has a harness (though just a waist strap, not reins) on his booster.

CecilyP · 02/12/2012 19:48

DS struggled out because he didn't like the high chair - not sure what age but between 15 and 18 months. When we use a big cushion on a normal chair by the table, he was quite happy and there were not further escape attempts.

mejon · 02/12/2012 20:44

My 22m old DD2 has been doing this for a few months. She can climb in and out of her high-chair but would not stay put in it until I realised the 5-point harness wasn't as tight as it could have been. Now I've adjusted the straps she does stay there until she's finished. We've tried a small table and chairs with little success. Ditto sitting on a chair by the table with or without booster seat as she just used her feet to push against the table and push herself away/risk toppling the chair . Having the highchair at the table with the tray removed resulted in the same. She'll be staying in the highchair with tightened straps until she's a bit older I think.

Goldmandra · 02/12/2012 21:32

It is appropriate for a child who will sit calmly and sensibly to use a normal chair with a cushion or a booster so they can reach the table.

However a child who stands up on a high chair seat with no fear of falling needs to be strapped in. Falling from that sort of height onto a hard floor can be enough to cause a serious head injury and with the best will in the world you can't be within arm's reach for every second.

CuriosityCola · 02/12/2012 21:49

I agree goldmantra. My booster straps ds in, so it's a good compromise.

I have just remembered. There is a plastic seat that you can get to place on a chair (instead of a booster). It is a little like a high chair, except the table can be pushed right into to suit the size of the child. My friend had one and ds couldn't escape or even put his feet on the tray. Hope this makes sense?

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