Portable highchair/booster seat

[Min]

Has anyone tried an inflatable highchair/booster seat? I saw it in Mothercare yesterday and it looked very compact and light for taking on holiday etc. Just wondered what it would actually be like to use! Have already got a clip on table seat but now have twins so need a second one.

The inflatable seats I have seen I think are meant to be used in a highchair.

DS2 (7 months) goes to a nursery a few days a week and they use them in the high chairs for some extra suport for him. He is able to sit up and eat well, but the high chair is a bit big yet so the inflatable seat makes it a little smaller and more comfortable for him.

Having looked at them I don't think they would be strong enough to support a child on their own.

What I used to do on hols for DS1 was to either feed in the pram, or use the short pieces you get in a set of reins to temporarily hold him on a chair. (Only works obviously if the chair back has spindles) Both solutions not ideal but OK for a short holiday.

We've got one, and it is useful to just keep in the car in case we're ever out and eating at friends/grandparents houses (or anywhere where there isn't a highchair available). Really comes into its own for travelling as it's quite light and compact so easy to pack (main reason we bought it). It's ok once they're able to sit well without support, and is still fine for DS at the moment (16 months) - but might not last much beyond about 2 years I wouldn't think. Only downside is that it's only a waist strap, not a full harness, and it only has soft sides, so it is possible if they're very wriggly that they could lean over far enough to tip a lightweight chair over. As long as you're aware of that, we've found it very useful.

Min- the one we have is a "Safety 1st" make I think - self-inflating one in a sort of royal blue colour with zips around the case to keep it deflated when not in use. Is theat the one you're looking at?

Thanks alot GillW - that's really useful. I'm not sure what the name of the seat was but it definitely had zips and was self inflating so sounds similar to yours. I need to take it on our next holiday (travelling by plane) so size and weight are important. The twins are 11 months so we should get enough use out of it to be worthwhile.

We've got the same one. I haven't used it in public yet - just at home when ds refuses to sit in the high chair, and at his grandmother's house. It seems to work OK and does fit on an ordinairy chair. Ds is just 2 and still fits in OK.

Had the inflatable one for dd (14m), but because she's fidgety when eating, and it's not quite stable, she was always listing to one side, and it didn't hold her securely at all (and not a heavy girl). So got the hard plastic mothercare fold up highchair/booster seat ... brilliant. Not as compact for sure, but you could loop it over the handle of the buggy. Very sturdy, secure, has own tray so transforms any chair into highchair. We used it all christmas at mum's then even used it on the train coming home to contain the little wriggler for a bit longer. Very recommended.

swear by the handysitt (availble from Dawson and Sons) for about £45. They look really good and are very practical from about 6mths. They are easy and secure to fit and attach to just about any dining chair but then fold neatly away afterwards. Once we got ours we got rid of the normal highchair as this was much better.

hi min, some discussion of handysitt and high chairs on this thread

Thanks everyone. I've now bought the inflatable and it's great for what we need - i.e. holidays and restaurants - and so light and easy to carry. DS2 sat in it for a long lunch on Sunday and it worked well.