Travel highchairs - any recommendations?

[munchbunch]

We are off on hols in a few weeks and now that dd (6m) is eating, wanted to take some kind of highchair with us which we could hopefully use on our return when we go out as well. All the booster seats I've seen seem to be fairly bulky other than the fabric ones that look like nappies and wrap around chair backs (if you know what I mean - I think one is called the Tamsit) and seem to be under £15. Does anyone have good/bad stories about these?

there's been quite a bit of talk about these - cut and paste this link www.mumsnet.com/Talk?topicid=1012&threadid=5525&stamp=030123002936 Personally I found the fabric kind not stable enough when dd was 6months, but handy now to have in bag and she is much sturdier sitting anyway (17months). Mothercare hard plastic folding booster / highchair is bulkier but very good.

The dangly ones that are made of material and clip onto the table.
Brilliant and very portable!

We have the Mothercare booster seat thingy. Fantastic investment as dd sits upright in it (slouches in anything else - must get it from her father), it is portable and easy to clean. It has also travelled with us for the last year so was worth every penny. (She absolutely hates the original one we bought so it is now reserved for her little guests.)

I have a Tamsit for my 8 month old DS and I'm really pleased with it. He is a sturdy sitter however and that makes a difference. Up until recently when we were out, he sat on one of our laps while the other fed him. That was partly so we could stop him putting his thumb in along with his food!

My sister has twins and she has both varities of seat high chairs, hard and fabric. The fabric one is quite clever as it has a bag underneath, and it straps on much like the plastic ones. But the plastic ones are more sturdier i would imagine. I know the fabric ones are less bulky to take on holiday. And i know my sister took her fabric ones to spain when she went.

Hope this is of help

The only problem we found with the tamsit was it would only fit certain chairs (Not really high backed ones, as the way it's designed you 'run out of material to sit them in). Personally I thought it was a waste of money. There is another type Here (scroll down to dining chair harness) which as it fits AROUND the back upright of the chair rather than ON TOP of, it would probably fit more types of chair. There are a few other different types on that page, unfortunately they're not handbag size though.

munchbunch - are you going abroad? In our last 2 holidays in Greece and Tenerife, I found that lots of cafes etc had highchairs, but no harness, so I took the harness from our highchair at home, which worked really well.
If you get stuck, you could always leave your baby in the pushchair at the table - that works quite well.
For visiting in laws etc, I use the mothercare plastic seat, which is OK but ds2 has a nasty habit of pushing off with his feet against the table, if I park him too close to it

The Handysitt is great. Its a wooden one which has hooks to fit over the back of the chair and a strap to secure it underneath. Looks good and works really well. It folds flat so great for taking out with you. Might be a bit too big to take overseas but probably no bigger than the plastic versions. Also has a carry bag I think.

When DS was small if we got caught out somewhere we would just use a scarf or something to tie around his waist and sit him on a few cushions. Never had any problems. I think think the idea of taking the harness is a good one.

We tend to use one of those cloth handbag highchairs from Blooming Marvellous. Its really useful and obviously far less bulky than most travel highchairs. It does have to fit around the particular chair but we have not found too many problems with it not fitting yet!

I got the tamsit & found it a waste of money - often didn't fot chairs or fitted poorly. Ds often lurching & slouching & if the chair is a folder, it usually would because you have to sit them right on the very back with the tamsit & it would sort of encourage the chair to self fold, with ds still tied to it!

I've always wondered about the ones that attatch to the table top but worried it would damage it, esp wooden tables - any views?

We had a Tamsit and it only worked IF it fitted the chair and IF dd didn't wriggle.
We now have a Handysitt which I couldn't fault. We bought it from Urchin. It folds flat so we've even managed to put it our suitcase when going abroad.

You can also get Handysitt from Dawson and Son - might be a bit cheaper as I always find Urchin a bit pricy. The Handysitt is brill though.

monkey, we have one of the scew on travel seats and it's brilliant, very light and easy to take everywhere, it fits most tables and you can use any type of harness with it. It was about 25 pounds from Mothercare.

Thanks all for your great advice

Furball - know what you mean about the Tamsit, that was my concern too, so as you say, the ones taht go round the back of the chair may be better

Iota - we are going to Spain self-catering and I wanted something (other than the pushchair which is obviously coming with us) we could use in teh villa and when out

Monkey - had the same concerns about the ones that fit to tables. If you're out and the cafe table is small and dd is wriggling, I was worried it might tip over. Also, our kitchen table has a lip and I understand they don't fit that sort of table (or glass apparently) which could make it a bit restrictive. Although from the pictures I've seen, the clamp varies between models in terms of how far it clips onto the table IYSWIM

We are hoping to use whatever we buy when we get back for grandparents, going out etc and depending on what we buy (eg the handisitt) even to use at home if suitable as we don't have a huge kitchen and a full size highchair would take up a lot of room. The whole thing is slightly complicated since dd isn't sitting upright yet - at present, I'm feeding her in her bouncy chair (which has an upright position and you can lock it to stop it rocking before this sounds like too much of a nightmare)- and we're not sure how wriggly she'll be

Wait, Wait. What about This?

Message withdrawn

I think those harness/reins idea are the best for ease of transport (nothing much to carry), cheap & fit to most types of chairs, you will still need a couple of cushions underneath. I go ours from Mothercare.

I do think those high chairs that screw onto table aren't very good for the table - i'll never forget the look on my DH's face when someone screwed one to our dining room table without even asking!

We bought a "handbag high chair" from Boots - a cloth one that fits over a chair back, wraps up around the child and then ties on to the chair. However, not all chairs are suitable, so we also found it useful to use a harness plus reins to wind around the seat and sort of "tie" ds into the chair. At 6/7 months, it really depends on how well your dd is sitting up.

We have first years inflatable booster seat and it's fantastic!! You can buy them in Tesco, Mothercare, Boots etc. We got ours in Asda and it was reduced from £24.99 to £9.99!!! A bargain!!

Re the harness - I bought mine from Tescos and it included a couple of little straps with loops which you can use to anchor to a chair and clip the harness to them, so no need to wind the reins around the seat.
It worked really well as a restraint for my 1 yr old, but my not be supportive enough for a 6 mth old.

we have a bumbo (www.grobag.co.uk) - looks like a potty but fab for sitting 4m+ in to eat - or play - or watch telly (bad mother)

Has anyone had problems with the inflatable booster seats tipping over? I've just read some reviews where the toddler leaned forward or backward and the chair fell over. Also, I really want to get something lightweight for travel to Italy and am torn between the cheap inflatable booster and the expensive Handysitt. I would only get the Handysitt if DD could use it as a booster at home too. Any suggestions? DD is 22 months old and weighs approx. 25 pounds.