It has taken me too long to write a review for our Old Faithful, the high chair we’ve had for over three years. Our Baby Trend 2 High Chair is on Kid #2 right now and still going strong. It’s been an unexpected, unconventional focal point in our little home and I appreciate it very much. So I owe it its own review. (Ignore the over-personification of things, it’s a side effect of Chronic Mom Brain.)
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When our first kid was ready to start solids, we honestly didn’t do hours and hours of high chair research. Car seats and feeding and vaccines, yes. But a high chair? Mmm nope. This Baby Trend is affordable, easy to use, and easy to clean. Sold.
Man did we get lucky. The Baby Trend has been reliable: so reliable, in fact, that we have the same one and have had zero issues with it in three-plus years of baby led weaning, toddler tantrums, and messy fun meals.
Assembly and Adjustment
Just like your car seat, the Baby Trend has red handles on the sides to adjust height. It can raise or lower the entire seat so that you can have Baby up at the dinner table with you, or next to you on the couch. You can fold up the legs so that it fits in a tight space, and the entire tray hooks onto the legs. When it’s all folded up, it’s less than six inches across.
The tray has two pieces: the base piece, which is what you slide on and off of its track for your child to have a surface, and an easy-to-pop-off upper tray. We use the base only when we’re doing crafts like painting, Play-Doh, or “here kid amuse yourself while I get this out of the oven.” We have the snap-on top tray whenever we eat, since I can toss it on the counter or in the sink. (It is dishwasher safe but is quite large, so it may be easier to just hand wash it and let it air dry.) The heavy base piece technically shouldn’t get wet, since it has the locking mechanism (read: moving parts) underneath. Just wipe it down.
The fabric buckles go between your child’s legs and across their waist, and there are shoulder straps too. We honestly don’t use those, we didn’t feel they were necessary when the tray table is locked in place, and our daughter is quite short. But to each their own.
Safety parts of the high chair, labeled
The fabric is polyester with a bit of foam padding around the edge, and is easy to remove and clean: in your washing machine on cold (and then air dry). You can remove the buckles and straps, or wiggle the cover off by itself. It has little elastic loops which hook into the white plastic base. Once I learned how to do it, I’m set! (Do put the buckles and straps in a delicates bag so that they don’t snag on anything while being cleaned.)
As a side note, this pattern is called Supernova and I really like it. It hides stains well and it’s gender neutral (if you care about things like that).
Safety
Look for red on the high chair for pieces which lock and adjust. There are flip brakes on each wheel which can lock them one at a time. I don’t worry about it being locked when my kid is in it, but when she’s playing on the floor she just loves to flip those back and forth!
The vertical red paddle handles (on the white plastic frame) adjust the height of the seat; the tilted paddle handles (on the black part of the seat) fold up the base so that you can stand it up and store it.
If you properly use all of the fastening straps on your child, which are set up just like your car seat (except there’s just one buckle at waist level), plus lock the tray into place, there is no way your child can escape!
Of course, be sure that you read your safety manual, fill out the registration card in case of a recall, and always monitor your child while they’re in the high chair.
Functionality
Overall, this high chair is really easy to use. The tray stays hooked under the chair when not in use, and it can be folded up and put away if necessary.
- When you’re going to put your child into the high chair, always make sure they’re completely strapped in and then put the tray on.
- Sit your child into the high chair seat, and do both the waist buckle and the shoulder straps. Make sure that all straps are adjusted so that they’re holding your child, but not tightly.
- With one hand, reach down to get the tray (hooked under your child on the back half of the legs) and place it over the arm rest of the high chair. Push the locking mechanism on the tray with the heel of one hand so that it can “grab” the high chair, and slide it back to the correct position. Then let go of the mechanism. As soon as you release that front push panel, it will lock in place.
- The top tray piece can be snapped off by lifting one side and then the other, so that it can be washed. The heavier tray should not be submerged, but can be wiped down when necessary.
Stats
- Tallest height possible: 43″
- Shortest height possible: 35″
- Base is 23″ across (side to side) and 36″ deep (front to back)
- Tray is 22″ across
If you’re in the market for a high chair, I’ve been very happy with my Baby Trend! It’s still going strong, it’s easy to clean, and it’s designed well.
And if you are looking for more great stuff (that you’ll actually use) with your toddler at the table, check out my review of the best gear for baby led weaning!
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