High Chair Review – The Oxo Tot Sprout chair

High Chair Review – The Oxo Tot Sprout chair

My new high chair arrived last week and with 3 meals and 2 snacks a day, I have gotten to know it quite well. I love everything about it and considering it is also very handsome, I might just have a place for it in our bed.

In case you haven’t read my last post, I had the opportunity to test drive a high chair so I could learn exactly what features were important to us and our lifestyle. Once we figured this out I began researching all the high chairs that met those new defined needs. Something I’ve learned is that there are three things you should consider investing in to make your life easier as a parent. Those things include: A car seat, a stroller and a high chair. Based on that, price wasn’t a factor for us…it was a matter of finding good value for the price. We looked at some of the cheapest chairs on the market including the antilop chair at ikea, the safety first posh pod and the juice high chair by mamas & papas. We also looked at high-end chairs including the kekaroo, the boon flare, the tripp trapp by stokke, babybjorn, and the phil & teds highpod. After countless hours of internet research and trying out chairs in the stores, we ended up purchasing the oxo tot sprout high chair!

If you recall, the biggest complaint I had about my old high chair was the cracks and crevices that collected old food and crumbs making cleaning a major hassle. I said, screw a vinyl seat cover…an easy clean high chair is all about being seamless.  So, of course the oxo tot sprout high chair is in fact seamless! The chair has stain proof cushions on the seat and back for optimal comfort that easily remove for deep cleaning and stay in place with high quality stain proof velcro. The absolute best feature of this high chair is the pop out seat. There are levers on either side of the seat that you pull out and push down on and effortlessly the seat pops right out towards you. The intended purpose of this feature is for ease of adjustment when you slide the seat into a lower setting on the chair base as the child grows, eventually converting it to a youth chair that can be used at the dining room table without the tray. Sadly, oxo has overlooked this being one of the best cleaning features I have ever come across! Oxo, if you are listening… you MUST remake your product video to include this…it is brilliant.

Basically, you take that light weight seat and walk over to your sink or garbage can and shake off the excess food and crumbs and wipe it down right there. No food on the floor to sweep up later and that is pretty much the only cleaning required other than the tray itself. Absolute genius!

My second favorite thing about the oxo tot sprout high chair is how well Chase fits in it! The seat back is at the perfect angle for comfortable eating and the tray sits just above the waist so he has the full range of arm movement to eat comfortably. The tray is “u” shaped so he has a comfortable place to rest his elbows instead of having his arms dangle in the seat. The tray also slides in nice and deep so it fits snug against the belly, eliminating that black hole that sucks up all the dropped food.

Another feature I’d like to expand on is the tray. It is super lightweight and easy to clean. The lip contains spills and when removed and placed on the counter, it lies flat so nothing falls off. I love that it has easy one hand access so I can slide out the tray while I have my little one in my arms and there is no need for me to bend over to retrieve a tray hanging off the back.

Other notable features include an adjustable foot rest, a machine washable and adjustable 5 point safety harness, a removable crotch bar attached to the seat base and easy assembly. Tools are not required for almost all of the adjustments when accommodating your growing child. The chair was designed to be the perfect height for most dining room tables and is lightweight enough to easily pick up or slide around on the floor. It has such a small footprint, it takes up minimal space in the dining room.

In case you didn’t pick up on this the first time, this chair is very attractive… I don’t even consider it baby gear…to me it’s a piece of our furniture.

This wasn’t on my list of needs or wants for a high chair but it definitely came as a bonus. It comes in 4 modern colors and 2 wood finish options, plus you can purchase replacement cushions. This is a great option to ensure the chair matches your home decor should you move or decide to redecorate. We like the idea of swapping the green cushions for pink if a baby girl is in our future.

Although I did appreciate the wheels and the height adjustment features on my old chair, I realize like when buying a house, a car or a stroller…you can’t get everything you want in one place and you have to decide what you are willing to sacrifice for the features you really want. It also doesn’t have the option to fold but because it converts into a youth chair, i foresee us using it until we need to convert it back into a high chair for our next child in which case we can convert it back into the youth chair again, so we shouldn’t ever have the need to fold and store it.

Although I’m sure I’ve made it quite obvious by now…I would 100% recommend this high chair should you find your needs comparable to mine. It is a thoughtful, clever and innovative design with the perfect blend of style, comfort and safety features. It came in minimal packaging and is BPA, phthalate free. I am now looking forward to much happier meal times for years to come with my growing family!

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12 Comments

  1. Unknown - July 27, 2012

    I want one 😛 Wish they came in a height suitable to our table!

  2. Q - July 27, 2012

    The OXO Chair also has the best warranty in the industry; Seven Years!

  3. Q - September 3, 2012

    For a "Bar Height" High Chair, check out the HiLo High Chair from Age Design

  4. Anonymous - January 5, 2013

    Hello, I have enjoyed reading your review, but have a few questions I wonder if you could help me with?

    1) Is it possible to strap a baby (6 months ish) in and push the chair up against the table, rather than using the tray?

    2) I want to know whether the chair will tuck under our table properly rather than sticking out, but nowhere can I find the dimesions. If you get a minte could you please be kind enough to post on here the dimesions of: a) the height of the bottom of the tray above the ground
    b) the height of the arm resty bits above the ground.

    Many thanks

  5. Sarah Barah - January 5, 2013

    Thanks for stopping by, I'm glad you found the review enjoyable. 🙂

    I know this chair was designed to slide under the standard table so baby can join you without the tray. Since every dining room table is a little different, here are the measurements:

    6-18 months height setting:
    – floor to top of arm rest – 29in
    – floor to top of tray – 29.5in

    18-36 months height setting:
    – floor to top of arm rest – 27.5in
    – floor to top of tray – 28in

    3-5 years months height setting:
    – floor to top of arm rest – 26in
    – floor to top of tray – 26.5in

    – So yes, a 6 month old could be strapped in and slid up to the table, provided your table falls below the measurements listed above depending on what seat height you are comfortable with for your child.

    – As the height adjustments go up in age, the gap between the seat and chair back begins to increase. Height adjustments are as easy as the press of a button.

    -When Chase was 6 months we had him at the 18-36 setting but he is a good sized boy and was sitting very well. I think at 14 months we would have no problem lowering the height again in order to get him up to the table easily

    – the chair is meant to convert into a youth chair eventually so many of the settings that allow you to do this can be adapted at any time to accommodate your table i.e. remove the crotch bar and rely on harness only if interfering with table

    – The steps to convert to youth chair: remove second foot rest bar, swap seat cushion, lower to 3-5 year height adjustment, remove crotch bar, remove harness

    I hope you found these details helpful and let me know if you have any other questions!

    – SaRaH

  6. Anonymous - March 30, 2014

    D'oh – sorry, Sarah! I see you responded to the Anon. poster.

  7. Anonymous - March 30, 2014

    Hi there – I know this is quite late, but I have to answer the first question in case anyone is curious about the same thing… You can strap the baby in and push up to the table sans tray, but there is a post in the middle (between the legs) that you have to leave attached. Hopefully that doesn't pose a clearance problem if sliding the chair up under the table. We tried to remove the post — hoping to use the chair without tray but still being able to strap baby in, but it doesn't work (the seatbelt system includes the post).

  8. Anonymous - August 17, 2015

    Sorry I also meant to ask what the measurements are for the floor space it takes up. Hope you can help – Many thanks, Emma

  9. Anonymous - August 17, 2015

    Hi thanks for writing the review it is really useful. Are you still using the chair? Do you still rate it highly? I would like to buy it but I'm a little unsure if it will fit under my table. I see you have posted the dimensions but I wonder if you could check for me (if you still have the chair) if on the lowest setting it would fit under a table that is 24.5 inches high. Many thanks, Emma

    • Sarah Banks - November 16, 2015

      Hi Emma,

      Sorry for the delay in responding to your comment. I was away from my blog for a while but getting things back up and running again. I’m not sure if you are still highchair shopping but if so, I would say this chair would likely not fit under a table 24.5 inches high. I used this chair way beyond when my son would need a high chair just because i loved it so much! He was 3.5 and we’d use it so we still had all 4 chairs available at our dining room table for adults. He never felt like he was in a baby chair since it converted to a youth chair. I’m in the process now of converting it back to a high chair for my newest addition who is 4 month old and just a few months away from solids! I would still rate this chair highly and its still going strong after many years of use! Good luck with your little one!

  10. Ali - August 14, 2016

    I have read a few reviews where parents complain about mold growing in the tray. They end up popping open the tray (I guess it is two pieces) and find mold throughout. Have you experienced this at all?

    Thanks!

    • Sarah Barah - August 25, 2016

      Hi,
      Thanks for your comment. Hmmm interesting! I havent popped my tray open but a litte curious and a litte scared to be honest. I dont usually immerse the tray in water but i know some babysitters have and where where is water and darkness there can be mould! The folks who popped open the tray, where they able to clean it and reattach or close it again?

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