Chicco Happy Snack Highchair - Blue Scribble

I cannot praise this highchair enough. Its easy to put together, looks great, and my son is comfortable in it. It is also very easy to clean and the plastic insert bit gives peace of mind as it stops ...

I cannot praise this highchair enough. Its easy to put together, looks great, and my son is comfortable in it. It is also very easy to clean and the plastic insert bit gives peace of mind as it stops my son wriggling down in the seat. We bought this to replace the pine cube highchair as we really didnt get on with it, and are incredibly impressed with it, so much so that I have even bought one to keep at Nannys house and have recommended it to all my friends. I can see me using this for a long time as the quality is great and the seat is very generous (even my 4yr old can sit in it comfortably!)
All in all, a fantastic highchair at a great price!

I was pregnant with my son when I decided to buy this highchair as it was on sale - only £39.99 from Mothercare who can say no to that! The cover seat is in shades of blue with wordings like ...

I was pregnant with my son when I decided to buy this highchair as it was on sale - only £39.99 from Mothercare who can say no to that! The cover seat is in shades of blue with wordings like "fed me" "yum yum" etc..., but it does come with other colours to suit baby's gender or your own taste.

It's quite easy to assemble, but do read the instructions as there is only one way the legs can be fitted. If you follow the easy to read diagrams you won't have a problem putting this highchair together.

The reason I choose this chair was because it included the following features: removable tray, footrest, wipe clean seat padding, 3 position reclining backrest and the storage basket underneath. It also features a 5 point safety harness, but in my opinion it is a safety issue for the parents. To lock the harness you need to apply an enormous pressure and both mine and my husband's fingers were caught in the buckle in the process (very painful) - this is the first negative point on this chair.
* The tray is removable, but I wouldn't take this off with the baby still seated, because I'm afraid he tumbles forward! - even with the safety harness in place. In my opinion it would be a better feature if it had a second tray on top so you could remove that dirty tray and have a clean one ready for your baby to play while he waits for whatever you need to do (I see many highchairs have this feature and from experience I believe it's better that way).
* The footrest... he is to little to reach it, and now I might have prefered it to be adjustable (but again, this would increase the price of this very reasonable priced highchair), but still a nice feature once he grows.
* I haven't used the reclining positions (3 reclining positions available), I'm not sure I will use them in the future. I don't intend to let my baby fall asleep in this chair as I think it will be uncomfortable to sleep in. We are using it just for meals or playing, so I'm not sure if the reclining positions will ever suit our use. I also have to add that we follow the "Baby Led Weaning" approach on feeding our child, so if you spoon feed maybe the reclining positions will be more useful.
* The padding is soft and my son doesn't hurt himself when he bounces his head back. This can also be wiped clean and I normally use a baby wipe after each meal to clean the chair and the padding, but the bits of food normally go between the pading and the plastic seat and removing the padding it's the only way to reach them. To remove the padding you have to reach for 5 elastic loops underneath the seat and 2 more from the back - this is fiddly so I only do this every 2 weeks or so for cleaning.
*The basket underneath is ok. At first I was keeping bibs and toys underneath, but bits of food keep falling and it gets messy. Because it doesn't catch every bit of food, as some will eventually reach the floor, I have removed this. Now I only have to clean the floor instead of both.

I started using this highchair when my son was 6 months and had to use 2 pillows underneath him as the height of the seat is not adjustable. Otherwise the tray would reach is neck (although it's stated in the instructions booklet it can be used from 6 months to 3 years or 15Kg ). My son is now 7 months and I still have to use one pillow underneath him (just to clarify my son's height is on the 75 percentile). Once this adjustment is made he sits quite conformably in the chair, and the base is very sturdy and stable - meaning it doesn't wiggle.

To fold the chair you just have to press the orange buttons on each side and push the back base with your foot... or so it says in the instructions. I have been able to do it a couple of times in the beginning, but it seems to be stuck now. I don't mind that much as I believe the chair takes more or less the same space either is open or closed.

The advantages that I have found for this highchair are:
*very stable - it won't wiggle
*very safe for the child - 5 points harness plus a piece between the legs stops the child from accidentally sliding between the seat and the tray.
* great price - if bought on sale
* good choice of colours
*very light

The disadvantages I have found are:
* very limited adjusting as child grows - only the tray can be adjustable in length placement, the seat cannot be lifted neither the footrest
* tray can only be removed safely if the child is not in the chair
* difficult to store - it will take some space even if folded
* difficult to clean underneath the seat padding
* "unsafe" for parents hands - the harness lock is VERY stiff
* the basket is useless as storage because food also falls into it
* sharp plastic edges makes it a bit dangerous for a curious child

I would not recommend this chair for anyone.