Tripp Trapp Question

[craigy]

quick bit of info from all you tripp trapp owners out there..

i am going to buy one for my 15 month old but am a little confused by the baby set/ harness..

obviously i need something to keep her in the chair as she is a climber but when i have looked at the baby set online is it all in one or can i have the bar on without the back rest? and could i get away with just a harness on rather than the babyset? she is used to wearing a harness at mealtimes at nursery..

any advice welcomed as i am really loath to spend an additional ?40 on accessories i don't need as this will be my 3rd highchair

thanks

[snowboarder]

For both our children we only have the high chair and the baby set - no cushions and no need for the harness as the ergonomics of it seems to mean they cannot escape (well, mine couldn't!). The baby set is the bar and plastic back rest.

[gwod]

I agree with Snowboarder - the front bar is usually enough, however, one of mine was a bit of a super escaper so I just added a bog standard ?6 mothercare harness until we were both in agreement about sitting up at the table!

[craigy]

thanks, thats what i thought, and there is room to get child in and out easily with the back rest in?

[snowboarder]

Both mine are fairly sturdy and I think that (and setting it up right) helps keep them imprisoned. I could actually hardly get my eldest son out towards the end. He now doesn't have the baby set as is 2.5 and he keeps escaping - annoying.

[snowboarder]

Yes there is room but sometimes had to take shoes off!!

[nymom]

When my son used the trip trapp he could never get out and we only had the baby set. My daughter is now almost 13 months and she can stand up in the seat if I turn my back for one second. I have just ordered the harness. When I had my son I could never see why the harness was necessary. I think his legs were too big to allow him enough space to get up.

[crystal7]

Think it depends on the size of the child. My daughter is very small and could climb out with the baby set on (we didn't buy the harness). Luckily the novelty of escaping wore off and we finally removed the front bar a few weeks ago aged nearly 3!

[Pickle]

When my son first got his Tripp Trapp (about 15 months from memory) we just used the front bar and it was fine, although he has never been a climber (still isn't, aged nearly 5!). Daughter had one right from day 1, so we used the baby set at first then removed it and went to just using the front bar when she was a bit more mobile. We had a harness, but I found it really fiddly and more trouble than it was worth.

Daughter definitely pushed the "you must stay sitting" boundaries a lot more, but they learn pretty quickly if you're consistent. I removed the front bar at the point that she started climbing up and down by herself (she's quite petite, so climbing out with the bar on was easy, but means they climb higher than they would without it on). They are the best seats ever, my two love theirs, we're going to end up a 3 Tripp Trapp family once the baby arrives.

[EmilyE]

My 17 month old hasn't had the bar on for a while, because he just climbed out. We didn't bother with anything to replace it, but feel sure you could rig up some kind of harness. I did at some stage have the Stokke one, (a past version, I think) and it was really awkward to install.

[Longlad]

One word of caution

On the one we have the bottom sticks out much more than you think so causes endless stubbed toes and children tripping over it.

Sounds ridiculous I know, but I would definitely think about getting a different one if I could go back in time.

[scareyt]

Hi I wouldn't bother with the babyset, we took ours off at around 16 months as baby was climbing over it to get in and out. I found the trip trap harness really fiddly to use and ended up cutting the shoulder straps off it. We now just use the lap belt from the harness which works fine. Also without the babyset you can get the chair much closer to the table so it's less messy. So I would just get the chair plus a cheap lap belt harness.

[Sanne Panne]

With obsessive climbers like our little one it may be worth going without the babyset even at this tender age, just teach them to get down safely. But each child is obviously different. It does save a lot of lifting...

And yes the bottom "legs" do stick out quite far back and caused all of us a bruised toe at some stage - we ordered a large roll of prince lionheart cushiony table edge guard and covered the top and sides of the tripp trapp legs in it. Helps!

[edanna]

There is an old and new style of babyset - the old one has a backrest and a wooden bar, plus leather strap going between the legs. The new one has a slightly different backrest and one moulded plastic bit at the front. They must have changed it for a reason and I'm wondering whether it was to make escape more difficult. You may well be fine without a baby set for a 15 month old, though they're really helpful for smaller ones. If you do decide you would like one I have the newer version, which I could sell to you very reasonably! PM me if you're interested.