Design
The OXO Tot Sprout High Chair was designed for your child to be able to
have a place to eat and learn for the first five years of their life. The first stage of the high chair is for six-month-olds (when a child is strong enough to hold themselves up and sit up on their own) to eighteen-month-olds. In this early stage of your child’s development, the OXO Tot Sprout High Chair will give your child the comfort and safety they need to stay in the
chair and eat. The seat comes with a five-point harness system that adds to the safety of your child. The tray is also recessed to catch any spills that may occur. At this primary stage, the seat will be placed in the highest position possible.
The second stage of the OXO Tot Sprout High Chair is for eighteen-month-olds to three-year-olds. During this time, the chair still works as it would for an infant except the seat can be lowered to the middle stage. Like the infant stage of stage one, there is a seat post between your child’s legs to prevent slipping out of the chair, and the five-point harness is still available to strap your child into the seat. The cushioning remains the same to give your toddler the comfort they need to sit and learn how to eat with their own
silverware and drink from their own cup.
The third and final stage of the
high chair is designed for children from the ages of three-years-old to five-years-old. During this stage, the tray, the harness, and the cushioning come off, creating a high backed stool for your child. At this stage, the seat is lowered to its lowest position and your child can sit at the dinner table as the rest of the family before graduating to an ordinary chair at the age of five-years-old. This stage allows your child to eat from the table and experience and learn table manners.
Safety
The OXO Tot Sprout High Chair has been developed around safety. From the first time your child uses the chair at six months to when they graduate from toddler to young child at three-years-old, safety is the number one priority for the high chair. From six months old to three-years-old, there is a
harness system that keeps your child strapped in secure while they are in the high chair. The system is the typical system you would find in a car seat. There are two straps that go over your baby’s shoulders and arms and they
clip together in the front over your baby’s abdomen. There is a buckle that rests between your baby’s legs where the clipped straps clip into the buckle creating a full harness that keeps your baby from sliding.
In addition to the harness, there is a seat post between your baby’s legs as well that also prevents them from sliding out of the high chair in case something happens with the harness and it comes unclipped.
It is always recommended that you never leave your baby unattended in a high chair as accidents may happen at any time, especially when your child is using silverware for the first time.
The Tray
The tray of the OXO Tot Sprout High Chair is completely adjustable to your child’s growth. In the front, there is a small handle, that when pressed and pulled, will allow you to adjust the tray by pushing it closer to your child or pulling it away from them. If you pull the tray all the way out toward yourself, you can take it off completely for the last stage of the chair or to simply clean it. If you have a spill that needs to be cleaned, you can place the tray on any flat surface and it will not tip or fall over. The tray of the OXO Tot Sprout High Chair is recessed creating a small wall around the edges of the tray. The recess and small walls are great for capturing any
spills that may occur. The tray size and recess can hold up to seven ounces of spilled liquid. The tray can easily be cleaned by wiping it down with a household cleaning wipe or a wet paper towel.
It should be noted, however, that the main complaint of the OXO Tot Sprout High Chair is that the tray produces mold. Several parents have learned that liquids find a way to seep into the tray, and when parents have taken the tray off and unscrewed the bottom to clean inside of the tray, the found pink and black mold. It may be in your best interest to routinely clean the tray by taking it apart and ensuring that spills have not created a problem underneath the tray. Some parents have had the tray replaced, but the company that produces the OXO Tot Sprout High Chair have not yet indicated if the tray will be redesigned.
Changing the Chair For Each Stage
The creators of the OXO Tot Sprout High Chair did a great job of creating a convertible chair that does not require any tools. Every piece of the chair is clipped into the “skeleton” of the chair and can easily be pulled off for the advancing stages of the chair. As it has already been stated, the tray is easily taken off by simply pressing and pulling the handle located underneath the tray top. When your child no longer needs the tray, that is the first accessory to go. Next, the seat post that prevents your child from slipping out of the seat is pulled on and detached from the chair, giving your child an open seat where their legs can dangle. After the seat post is removed, then the extra cushioning that also houses the
harness is removed next. By the age of three, your child will be too big for the type of protection the harness provides, rendering the harness useless. In that case, you can pull on the cushion, which is connected by velcro, and detach it from the chair giving your child even more room when they sit on the chair. The chair is then easily lowered to its lowest position allowing for your child’s feet to touch the rest bar at the bottom of the chair where they will be even more comfortable.
All the removable parts can be
stored until the chair is no longer needed, and you can pass it on to another child or reassemble the chair for resale or donation.
Cleaning
Cleaning the OXO Tot Sprout High Chair is simple. Everything should be surface and spot cleaned. The cushions are removable at any time allowing for you to place them on a flat surface for a deeper
wipe down and clean. Even attached to the chair, the cushions can be wiped down and spot cleaned. The tray can be removed for a thorough clean in the sink or on a flat surface where you can use a little elbow grease to get out some spills.
It is not recommended that you take the
cushions off and put them in a household washer and dryer as the material may come apart or you may damage the material making the chair and the harness system ineffective.
Color Scheme
The OXO Tot Sprout High Chair comes in 30 different color combinations. You can basically choose from every color of the rainbow. Some parents like to match the colors to the decor of their
kitchen considering that the chair is going to be in the kitchen for up to five years at least. You may find that if you have more than one child and you hand the chair down, it could be in your kitchen a lot longer than five years. The wooden base comes in three colors from white, to tan, to dark wood.
The chair has also been designed to be a bit more narrow and a bit sleeker than most high chairs allowing for the OXO Tot Sprout High Chair to be stored in any kind of area where it won’t be in the way or take away from the decor of your kitchen.
Price
The OXO Tot Sprout High Chair is expensive. There are several justifications for the price. For one, the chair is convertible and will last until your kid turns five. It actually is a smart investment. Also, you get to choose from over 30
colors as to how you want the chair to complement your home decor. The chair will be with your child through all the stages of their development and will give them a sense of place at the family dinner table. The chair is easy to clean and easy to transition as there are no tools required to change the chair from stage to stage. Although it may not fit into your budget initially, if you can make it work, it may worth the money in the long run especially if you have more than one child and they can both utilize the chair at certain stages.
Conclusion
The OXO Tot Sprout High Chair is a great investment for any parent. Although it may be priced too high for some budgets, it’s an investment worth looking into. The chair will help you teach your child social skills, table manners, and how to properly interact at the dinner table with family and friends by giving your child a sense of place where they are free to develop. The chair will be their place for five years, and it will help transition them from babies who need to be fed to young children who can not only feed themselves but can now sit at the table with the rest of the family. The OXO Tot Sprout High Chair has been well received by many parents and the chair can have a longer life span when passed on to younger children who are also in need of a place at the family table. It’s an
all-in-one high chair that comes down to being more of an investment than a quick purchase.