B E F O R E  Y O U  B U Y 

A Mum's Grapevine Guide

Before You Buy a High Chair Ask Yourself...

Pine Lime Squiggle

Helping Australian mums make better buying decisions.

17-minute read.

Before You Buy guide to high chair illustration

Starting solids is one of the great milestones of babyhood, right up there with first steps, first words, and the first time avocado ends up on the ceiling. A good high chair keeps bub safe, supported and (mostly) contained while they learn to eat, and it'll be part of your kitchen furniture for years, so it's worth choosing well.

A great high chair doesn't have to cost a fortune. In fact, some of the cheapest chairs in Australia routinely beat the fancy ones in testing. Work through our key points below, and don't forget to print our handy High Chair Chooser Checklist before you hit the shops!

What to Know Before You Buy a High Chair

Before you decide what to buy, you need to know what you can buy and why. We've answered the basics so you can get your head around what's out there.

Is it essential: Yes, once bub starts solids around six months. Babies need to sit upright and well-supported to eat safely.

How much will it cost: $25 to $600+. The famous IKEA and Kmart chairs start around $25 to $45, mid-range chairs sit at $100 to $300, and premium grow-with-me timber chairs can top $600 once you add the baby accessories.

How long will you use it: 6 months to 3 years as a high chair, or right through primary school if you choose a convertible chair that grows into a kids' seat.

Should you purchase before baby arrives: No. You won't need it until solids start around six months, so save the space (and see what your floors and benchtops are in for first).

High chair accessories: Footrests, cushion inserts, food catchers, splash mats, baby cutlery and feeding sets, bibs and smocks, tray liners.

Can you buy secondhand: Yes. High chairs are one of the safest secondhand buys. Check that it meets AS 4684 (see Safety below), that the harness is complete and properly attached, that nothing wobbles, and that any folding mechanism still locks firmly.

Types of High Chairs

standard high chair

Standard freestanding

The classic: a seat on legs with a tray, usually plastic or plastic-and-metal. Simple, wipeable and often surprisingly cheap. The budget chairs in this category are the ones that keep winning Australian consumer tests.

Convertible timber high chair

Convertible

Adjustable seats and footrests that convert from baby high chair to toddler chair to a seat a school-aged kid (or let's be honest, an adult) can use at the table. Costs more upfront, lasts a decade.

Hi-low high chair with reclining seat

Hi-low chairs

Multiple height positions, reclining seats and adjustable footrests: the SUVs of the high chair world. The recline is handy for younger babies, but bub should always be upright for actual eating.

Folding portable high chair

Portable and travel

Fold-flat chairs, fabric seats that slip over a dining chair, and hook-on chairs that clamp to the table. Brilliant for Grandma's house, camping and cafés that only ever seem to have one high chair. Usually a second chair rather than your main one.

Booster feeding seat strapped to a dining chair

Booster feeding seats

A compact seat with a tray that straps onto an existing dining chair. Cheap, packable, and a good bridge once bub has outgrown the high chair but not the mess.

 

Hook-on high chair clamped to a table edge

Hook on high chair

Clamps straight to the edge of the table, so it needs no chair or floor space at all. The lightest and most packable option going. Needs a suitable table edge to grip, and suits babies who can already sit well unassisted.

 

Buying Decisions

What to Consider Before Buying
a High Chair

Illustration of high chair buying decisions

Whether your kitchen is a galley or a great hall, there's a high chair to suit. Just decide what matters most for your family.

Here's how to choose yours.

Lifestyle

Let's start with where and how you eat, because the right chair for a big open-plan kitchen isn't the right chair for a two-bedroom unit.

Things to consider:

What's your home like?

  • You're short on space - A slimline chair or a booster seat on an existing dining chair takes up next to no room, and a fold-flat chair can disappear into a cupboard between meals. Skip the wide-splayed-leg giants.
  • You've got room to spare - A grow-with-me timber chair earns its keep as permanent furniture, and you won't be tripping over it in a big kitchen.
  • You've got hard floors - Lucky you, everything wipes up. Look at chairs with lockable wheels so you can shift it for mopping, because there will be mopping.
  • You've got carpet under the dining table - Get a splash mat before the first spaghetti bolognese, not after. Trust us on the order of operations here.

How does your family eat?

  • Everyone eats together at the table - Choose a chair without a tray (or with a removable one) that pulls right up to the table, so bub is part of the family meal from day one.
  • Meals happen at the bench - Check the chair's maximum height actually reaches your benchtop. Standard high chairs suit standard tables; breakfast bars need a high-low chair on its tallest setting.
  • You eat out a lot - A hook-on or fabric travel chair in the car means you're never stuck jiggling a hungry baby while you wait for the café's one sticky high chair.
  • You're doing baby-led weaning - Upright posture and a footrest matter even more, and you'll want a chair you can hose down. Practically speaking: the whole chair, daily.

Sky blue Squiggle line illustration

Ease of Use

You'll be using this chair two to three times a day, every day. Small annoyances become large ones by week three.

Things to consider:

How easy is it to clean?

  • Count the crevices. Every seam, strap and padded corner is a place for banana to hide, and you'll find it a week later. Smooth, minimal designs clean fastest, which is a big reason the cheap one-piece plastic chairs test so well.
  • Check the harness is removable and machine-washable, and the tray is dishwasher-safe. A tray you can pop off with one hand (while the other holds a yoghurt-covered child) is worth its weight in gold.
  • Padded inserts look comfy in the shop and smell like old milk by month two unless they're washable. Wipeable beats plush.

How easy is it to use daily?

  • One-handed tray removal and one-handed harness buckling are the two moves you'll do thousands of times. Try both in the shop.
  • If it folds, can you fold it with one hand? And does it stand up on its own when folded, or does it slide down the wall like a drunk uncle?
  • Height adjustment should work without tools, because you'll change it more often than you think.

Sky blue Squiggle line illustration

Longevity

If you're keen to get your money's worth, think past the first purée.

Things to consider:

Will it grow with your child?

  • An adjustable footrest isn't a luxury. Dangling legs make kids squirm and slump, and feet-supported sitting genuinely helps them eat better. A chair with an adjustable footrest and seat depth stays useful for years.
  • Convertible chairs that become toddler and kids' seats can serve one child for a decade, or hand down through several bubs.

Will it survive your child?

  • Check the maximum weight rating. 15kg is common on budget chairs, which some toddlers hit before age two; convertible chairs often rate much higher.
  • Timber chairs handle years of scrubbing. Check plastic chairs for parts that yellow, crack or work loose.

Can you get spare parts in Australia?

  • Harnesses, trays, footrests and cushion inserts all wear out or wander off. Before buying, check replacements are stocked locally. Discovering the harness for your imported chair ships from overseas with a three-week wait is no fun when solids start Monday.
  • A brand with an Australian warranty and local customer support beats a marketplace bargain with neither.

Sky blue Squiggle line illustration

Storability

High chairs are the biggest thing you'll add to your kitchen since the fridge. Plan where it lives.

Things to consider:

Where will it live day to day?

  • If it stays at the table permanently, footprint matters less than looks. This is where the handsome timber chairs earn their price tag.
  • If it needs to pack away between meals, check the folded size and whether it actually stands up when folded. "Compact fold" on the box can still mean a metre-tall object leaning in your hallway.

What about travel and visits?

  • A fabric travel seat rolls up smaller than a nappy and lives in the car boot, which is the cheapest insurance against a chair-less holiday rental.
  • Grandparents doing regular care? A second cheap chair at their place beats lugging yours back and forth every week. At $25 to $45 for the top-testing budget chairs, it's an easy solve.

Safety First

High chair with a five-point safety harness

There isn't a mandatory Australian safety standard specifically for high chairs, but the ACCC publishes safety guidance, and manufacturers can voluntarily comply with AS 4684-2009 High chairs - Safety Requirements, the Australian Standard covering design, stability, harness and entrapment requirements.

Whether buying new or secondhand, check for:

  • Five-point harness - straps over the shoulders, around the hips and between the legs (a three-point harness is the minimum the ACCC guide accepts, but five-point is safer). Don't rely on the tray to hold bub in; climbing out is how most high chair falls happen.
  • Refit after washing - a harness that comes off for cleaning can also be forgotten on reassembly, so make refitting it part of your washing routine.
  • Stable base - wide, splayed legs that don't wobble when nudged. If it has wheels, they must lock.
  • Locking mechanisms - folding chairs and height adjustments must lock firmly into place so the chair can't collapse or slide with bub aboard.
  • No entrapment gaps - no spaces that can trap a head, limb or curious little fingers.
  • No sharp edges or small detachable parts - the ACCC guide flags both as choking and cut hazards, and reclining high chairs a baby can easily fall asleep in aren't recommended.
  • Use it safely - always on a flat surface, away from benches and walls bub can push off (little legs are stronger than you think), and never leave a baby unattended in the chair.

Bub should also be able to sit upright with good head control before starting solids, usually around six months. If you're unsure whether your baby's ready, have a chat with your child health nurse.

Optional Extras

The humble high chair has come a long way from the wooden ladder-back at Nanna's.

  • Footrest attachments - aftermarket footrests for the famous flat-pack chairs, because dangling feet are the enemy of a good dinner
  • Food catchers - a net that slings under the chair and catches what gravity claims, saving your floors and your sanity
  • Splash mats - a wipeable mat for under the chair; the carpet will thank you
  • Cushion inserts - extra support for smaller babies just starting out (washable ones only, see above)
  • Tray liners and suction plates - because the first thing every baby learns at the table is physics
  • Toy straps - tethers that stop the beloved spoon/cup/toy hitting the floor for the forty-seventh time
  • Wheels - lockable castors for shifting the chair to wherever the mess is happening

After You're Done

One day, sooner than you think, bub will climb onto a normal chair like a regular person, and the high chair will stand there holding nothing but a forgotten sultana. Here's what to do with it, and it's worth factoring in before you buy.

Reselling it

  • High chairs hold their value at the top end. Premium timber convertible chairs are in constant demand on Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree and routinely resell for around half their new price. That changes the buying maths: a $500 chair that resells for $250 costs less than it looks.
  • Budget chairs under $50 have little resale value, but they move fast as freebies or $10 pickups. Someone always needs one for Grandma's house.
  • Resale tips: keep the manual and any accessories together, give it the deep clean of its life (yes, the underside too), and photograph it assembled with the harness visible so buyers can see it's complete.

Passing it on

  • High chairs are one of the most welcome baby-gear donations, provided they're complete, clean and meet AS 4684. Charities like Our Village, Dandelion Support Network and Roundabout Canberra rehome baby equipment to families doing it tough. Check their current wishlist first, as requirements vary.
  • Op shops are hit and miss with baby equipment, so ring ahead before you lug it in.
  • Hand-me-downs to family and friends: pass on the manual too, and mention the harness-refitting habit if it's a chair with a removable harness.

Recycling it

  • A chair that's broken or missing its harness shouldn't be sold or donated. A chair that can't restrain a baby isn't a high chair, it's a hazard with a tray.
  • Timber chairs can be repurposed (plant stand, kids' desk chair, the Pinterest possibilities are endless) or broken down for kerbside collection. Plastic and metal chairs generally need council hard rubbish or a transfer station rather than the yellow bin, so check your council's rules.

Common Questions

In the Market for a High Chair?

Join the closed Mum's Grapevine due date and baby groups on Facebook and ask other mums what they love about their high chair. From the $25 flat-pack favourite to the timber heirloom, someone in your group has spent six months wiping down the exact chair you're considering.

Expecting mother whispering to a friend