is a high chair essential?

[moocowme]

we have a small flat and a high chair would not really fit in the kitchen with much room to move around.

DS is 11 months and we have just been sitting on a big plastic mat and eating from bowl or plate. can we contimue with this indefinately? I did think of getting him a little table and chair when he was a bit older.

he does tend to get up towrds tthe end and wander off a bit or chuck the plate upside down when he thinks he has finished.

I am sure the people in the flat below think i have OCD as I vacume 3 times a day now but only for a few mins each time.

If you think you don´t need one then you don´t need one. Maybe just think about buying the straps that secure a young child in a normal chair?

Do you have a table and chairs where you eat?

We didn't have room for a high chair so went straight for a "First Years" booster seat (with attachable tray). It has been great. DD can sit at the table and it takes up no room. Can easily remove for others to so sit on the chair or to take on outings.

I don't see anything wrong with feeding him on the floor at home, but might be tricky when out if he isn't used to a high chair? Personally my DD wouldn't sit down and eat properly if she had freedom to roam!

high chair wont stop the need for excessive hoovering as he will just throw the food over teh side when he is done

get one of these type pine cube which is a high chair but converts to a small table and chair.

We have a small house, just have a Handysitt on one of the chairs, so it doesn't take up any more room.

I don't think there's anything wrong with your arrangement but you may find when you want to eat together as a family it might be nicer if your DS is sitting with you at a table?

we don't have any tables and chairs besides a computer desk as our flat is to small. we just used to sit on the sofa and eat.

although we have noticed that if we all eat sitting on the floor DS eats more and more variety as well as he has a very determined 'i having what your having' attitude which we encourage as much as possible.

We sometimes feed DD on the floor e.g. at her grandparents' houses but she does tend to try and wander off ALL the time (8months). She rubs her food in the carpet, and then either eats it or wipes her hands all over my trousers . She's much better at concentrating when tied down in a high chair . If space is an issue I would try something that would fit on one of your existing chairs. The handy sitt is good when they can sit up well by themselves. but not really before.

after mumsnet research i also got the first years booster seat which seems to be discountinued looks like this a bit it can be strapped onto a chair or used on the floor, a tray can be useful for really messy things like lasagne, would also be useful when they want to start using cutlery, i paut mine on a high kitchen chair and dd can eat breakfast from the worktop, it folds up fairly small and all goes in the dishwasher