by Joyce Slaton posted in Products & Prizes

Your baby starts eating solid foods at around 4 to 6 months, and can't sit by herself in a big chair until age 3 or 4. That's an eon in kid-time, and it leads to a purchasing conundrum: How are you supposed to buy one highchair that will safely and sensibly hold your child from droopy-newborn to wiggly-preschooler"
The answer used to be: You can't. You'd buy a standalone highchair for your infant, then a booster for your older child, or you'd try wonky workarounds like sitting on the floor to feed your baby in her bouncer, or seating your toddler on a phone book.
But a few years back, manufacturers got wise to the fact that consumers would really prefer to buy one thing to go the distance. You may be familiar with the first big blockbuster do-it-all highchair:
Stokke's Tripp Trapp chair, designed by iconic Norwegian industrial designer Peter Opsvik in 1972, started heating up in the U.S. around 2005 -- I know, because that's when I had my daughter -- and ever since has been a sturdy and stylish choice for the "buy less" crowd. It can hold human people from 6 months all the way up to 300 pounds.
But the price -- outfitting it for your infant can bring it to over $400! -- is hard to swallow. There are other options that will seat your child until she's ready for the Big Girl Chair.

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