When to Move from the High Chair to the Table

In my child care, they can be from 18 months to 2 years usually depending on the child's ability to focus on eating and not wanting to get up and run around. We have two tables with four chairs each. I have had a few children that were in high chairs unto they were older because they would not leave the other chldren alone (later were found to be special needs). For my own kids I used booster chairs so that they could sit at the big table with us during meals and that worked well. It was wonderful family time. But for the children in our child care it is safer to have the small tables and little chairs where their feet can reach the floor. I bought them at Lakeshore.
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My son is 22 months and sits in a booster with straps at the adult table. I got the booster at Target for 15 or 20 dollars, and it's nice because he is sitting at the table but he's still strapped in. He is pretty well-behaved and loves joining us at the table. I will admit it is messier (food that missed the bib lands on his pants) but I think it's worth it. It sounds to me like your son is ready. Happy dining!

We switched our daughter to the table around 18 months, but had a booster type chiar that strapped to the regular kitchen chairs and had a removable tray. If she got too distracted, we pulled her back and put her tray on. She also loved to sit in it during Dora with her snack, so we could pull the chair into the family room and she could sit and watch her show and I dodnt have to worry about finding dry cereal all over the house!

I got my son a small wooden table and chairs set when he was around 12 months old that he eats his meals and snacks at..i often join him there...or he sits in a booster seat at the dining table with us. I think your son is definetly ready to be out of the highchair. good luck!

We switched both of my kids to a booster at the table at 12 months. Our kitchen is small and we didn't have room for the high chair. They both loved being at the table and actually ate very well with us. It helped that they always ate what we ate for dinner. We started with a booster that we could strap them into (more for safety than anything else), but by about 18 months, they both didn't even need to be strapped in anymore. I think it is better to have them at the table and feel included in the family then separate in a highchair. It worked well for us, but I am sure each child is different. You can always try it but keep the highchair in case it doesn't work out.

You may want to try a 'Me too' seat that clamps right on to the table - that way he's right there w/you, but safely strapped in his seat. We've been using one since 11 months or so for our 14 mo. old and it's worked well. We too use it as a space-saver for a small kitchen table, but have ended up really liking the feeling of everybody eating together. The only negative is that quite a lot of food fall through the gap between the table and seat when our messy little guy eats.

My son is 22mon old and has been sitting at the table for about 6mon now. We have this great plastic booster seat that straps to a dinner chair. It has a tray, but we detached it and push him right up to the table. Its great. I am sure your son is ready to switch, as long as he has something to sit on that raises him up a bit.

Why move him all at once? Maybe start with snacks (least likely to be messy) at the table, and go from there, keeping him in the high chair for the messiest meals. It sounds like he's ready. My 22-month-old manages plate, cup, and bowl all right, but isn't so great with the utensils yet (but we haven't emphasized it much, either)--and she's going to have to start eating at the table in a couple or three months, because her baby brother's almost ready for the high chair!

Well, there's no reason you can't get a booster for him and see how he likes it. We got a Cooshie Booster and my daughter loves it. She has been in the booster since she was around your son's age and I've been surprised that it's not much of an issue keeping her in the seat. (She used to be a real escape artist when we had the high chair, so I was worried!)

i used a portable high chair that was inflatable on the bottom. i felt safe using this b/c it strapped to the chair AND it had a belt to keep my son in place. i think the brand was First Years.

Children in a daycare setting normally move from a high chair to a table as soon as they reach their first birthday and move into a toddler room. Of course they are sitting at a child height table, but with your regular table, use a booster seat (or even the old fashioned way - a couple of thick catalogs or telephone books wrapped in a towel) to put him at the proper height to reach the table well. Do be sure your chairs will hold the seat securely. Most boosters have straps to take care of that issue. Kids love feeling like they are really included in the family activities and eating at the 'big' table is a great way to give them that feeling.

Although my daughter is capable of sitting in a chair (she is 3)and she sits on a high stool at my Mom's house and a normal chair or booster seat at restaurants she still ike to sit in a highchair (without a tray) pulled up to the table to eat dinner at home. This is because she is then the right height to reach the table and can sit and eat with her own place setting at the table like us.

My little boy started to sit at the table when he was less than 18 mos. We let him sit on a large flat chest that he can climb up and down from with the help of a small footstool. When we are in restaurants, he still gets the high chair (now 23 mos). At home, we keep the high chair out just in case. But our high chair is kind that has the baby sit close to the table--the main deal for him is that it has straps. If he gets too wiggly sitting on the chest and doesn't respond to "Please sit down and eat like a human being," we give him a warning and then strap him in.

Our solution was to just use the highchair without the buckles and tray at the table. I got wooden chairs at goodwill and my sons still prefer them, they are similar enough to the other chairs as they are wood and make their dining, coloring, games, etc. at the table really easy as they are at the right height. My four year old still loves his tall chair. They both could climb in and out around 2 and they feel very independent.

Sounds like your DS is doing really well in the dining department - how about telling him you're proud of how well he's doing and you'll try having him eat at the 'big table', but if he gets too distracted he'll be back to the high chair? Can your son's high chair scoot up to the regular table okay or is it too bulky to fit there? Our twins used the chairs (like this one: http://www.learningcurve.com/product/detail/Y4615A1?local... ) that strapped on to regular chairs so it's easy to use them either as high chairs with the tray attached or scooted up to the table without the tray attached. They're 7YO now so I don't remember when we started using the chairs scooted up to the table, but I'd guess it was somewhere between ages 2 and 3.
Good luck!