Stokke Tripp Trapp Chair
I ended up purchasing three different highchairs and two booster seats by the time my first son turned 4 years old. With the arrival of our second son, I had already started scouting around trying to find a highchair that was functional and had a great appearance, so we didn’t have the same experience as last time. I was excited about reviewing the Stokke Tripp Trapp Chair (ours is a really pretty forest green) along with the Baby Set.
The Scandinavian designed highchair is specifically engineered to grow with your child, thus eliminating the need for multiple types of chairs. Between the appearance and functionality of the highchair, I had high hopes that this chair could solve my highchair dilemma.
My husband was tasked with putting the highchair together and was able to assemble it within thirty minutes. The manual is divided up into various languages, and there is the option to put together the chair using the written instructions or the illustrations toward the back of the manual. My husband said the highchair was not difficult to assemble, but there are a few changes which would have made the process even easier.
Having labels on the actual pieces to correspond with the directions would have been ideal, and he also suggested loosely tightening the pieces after each step and then fully tightening all the pieces at the very end to eliminate having to tighten and loosen the same pieces multiple times. Other than that, he said it was pretty simple.
The appearance of the Stokke Tripp Trapp Chair is one of the main reasons I was so drawn to this particular highchair. It has a classic design, but it is very sleek and modern. There are over 10 different color choices that the highchair comes in ranging from Heather Pink to Storm Grey. Although the chair is solid European beechwood, it is lighter than I expected. Unlike other highchairs where the legs are angled out to the sides taking up a lot of room and creating a tripping hazard, the Tripp Trapp Chair’s legs extend behind the seat giving it a smaller footprint than my other highchairs.
The highchair has a seat with a harness attached to the back of the chair and an adjustable seat and footrest. When a baby or child is using the chair, plastic pieces are added onto the end of the legs to help prevent the chair from tipping over. Stokke makes a variety of optional accessories to add to the Tripp Trapp Chair to customize it. We have the Baby Set which is for infants 6 months to 3 years old. Other accessories include a tray, table top and cushions, which come in different colors and patterns. If you buy the seat from the Stokke website, you can even have the highchair engraved. Having the ability to customize a highchair to your specific preference is ideal in my opinion.
The appearance of the Tripp Trapp Chair caught my eye, but the design is what really won me over. The all wood highchair is easy to clean by wiping it down, and there are not many cracks or crevices for food particles to hide in—which was a common problem for me in the past. The drawback to the easy cleaning is a hard surface to sit on. The wooden seat does not bother my 5 year old, but I may end up ordering a cushion when my baby starts using the seat to make it more comfortable for him.
One drawback to the Tripp Trapp Chair’s appearance is the harness. The straps are white and beige striped which not only makes the harness appear dirty, but both colors are light, which leaves me apprehensive about how to keep the straps clean. I would have rather had a dark colored harness since a baby or child is apt to make a mess.
We also assembled the Baby Set, which is made out of environmentally friendly plastic according to the Stokke Website. The Baby Set is a one size fits all from 6 months to 3 years of age, which could be a problem depending on if the baby or child is very small or very big. Trying to put a wiggling baby in a small seat and then buckling the harness could prove to be very challenging.
Although the price point for the Tripp Trapp Chair is high at $249 (and that is not including the Baby Set, cushion or tray), it can last well beyond the highchair years and eliminates the need for additional chairs for young children. Although the Tripp Trapp Chair is ultimately for my newborn son, my 5-year-old has been using it in the meantime and loves it. He is still too short to sit in a regular chair which makes it ideal for him. I would definitely recommend the Stokke Tripp Trapp Chair to any parent who wants to invest in a high quality highchair that will last beyond the infancy years.
I love the chair’s design, appearance and the option to customize it with accessories. The ability of the chair to grow with my child as well as the easy-to-clean design make this an ideal highchair in my opinion. This is a piece of furniture that will be in my kitchen for years, so I would rather get exactly what I want instead of buying multiple cheaper chairs that eventually cost more than this chair—which is exactly what I ended up doing the first time around.
Price: $249
To buy: amazon.com
