BabyBjörn Booster Chair

We have long believed that our kids should sit pulled up to the table. It’s one of the main reasons we bought two IKEA Antilop high chairs – because once you remove the tray, it’s perfect table-height and makes even wee babies feel like they’re part of the meal.

And, boy, have those $25 high chairs been a killer investment. Miss Q still uses hers every day, and The K Man used his until he was four. FOUR! (My dear boy is nothing if not nostalgic for babyhood. He still tries to crawl into sleep sacks and when he’s upset, he curls up on me and cries that he wants to go back into my warm and cosy tummy.)

We told our son to let us know when he was ready for a booster seat. So when The K Man decided one day that he was done with the high chair, I whisked it off to storage and pulled out our trusty Safety 1st Comfy Cushy Baby Seat as a temporary measure. While the three-point harness didn’t have a hope of going around him, it wasn’t too bad a fit considering we used that seat when he was six months old.

It was good timing when BabyBjörn came knocking, then, asking if I wanted to review its booster chair. We’ve been testing it three to five times a day for about six weeks.

Playing Angry Birds at the table, which means no microwaves on The K Man’s lap.

THE GOOD

Designed and manufactured in Sweden, this super-sleek booster seat will complement even the most contemporary chair. The BabyBjörn Booster Chair is to boosters what a low-profile bed is to bed frames. It’s simple and  modern. And white. It fits into my kitchen décor seamlessly.

If you’ve ever fiddled with the safety straps that harness booster seats to dining chairs, you will seriously appreciate the ease with which the Björn booster tightens. A few turns of a knob located at the back of the booster takes in or lets out the seatbelt-style straps (and sports a two-stage lock that only grown-ups will be able to navigate). This means that you can rest easy knowing that you’re basically strangling your chair and that booster ain’t going anywhere. Just don’t use it on a round seat, will ya?!

At about two-and-a-half pounds, it’s pretty light. Light enough that if you had a ridiculously large diaper bag and wanted to cart it with you to a restaurant with all your other baby accoutrements, you could. (I don’t.) With it’s handy built-in handle on the bottom, you really could travel with it if you needed to.

One of the other reasons we love the IKEA high chair is because it’s so damn easy to clean. So is the BabyBjörn booster. A warm, wet cloth and it looks brand new after every meal.

Should you use it directly on a chair, you’ll appreciate the non-slip pads on the bottom of the booster. I, however, use it in tandem with a Prince Lionheart seatNEAT (which I scored at Target last year for less than $10 and I la-la-love) to keep my white leather kitchen chairs looking like I don’t have small children.

THE GAFFE

Since there’s no “back” to the booster, and since it doesn’t sit flush with the back of the chair, The K Man tends to have really poor posture when he’s eating. It’s a constant reminder – at Every.Single.Meal – to “sit up straight!” Maybe it will turn out to be a blessing in disguise…

There’s no harness, so you need to be sure that your child is old enough to sit on a booster without falling off. Though that can be funny.

The BabyBjörn Booster Chair is a heart-stopping $89.99 in Canada. Despite all of its many fab features, I would not spend $101 (taking tax into consideration) on this product. Yes – price per use is very good, but at the end of the day, it’s a piece of plastic with a seatbelt. A price point around $50 would have earned this seat a better rating, so be sure to watch for a sale price.

THE GEARS

3.5/5

So…where can you buy it?

• Moms to Be…and More
• Lussobaby
• Amazon