TMI Tuesday: No More Highchair!

For well over a year our son has been using a highchair at home and at restaurants for all of his meals and snacks. Wheeling the cumbersome contraption had become part of our daily routine at home but one thing that we had been noticing whenever we would go out to eat lately was that our son really enjoyed being at the table rather than eating off a tray. We put off looking for a home alternative for some time but it finally got to the point that it was time to switch him over to a booster seat.

So, with a few ideas in mind as to what we were looking for, all three of us headed over to the local Walmart and made the trek to the back of the store where all the baby and toddler equipment lined the shelves. Once my wife and I found a few options we turned to our son, who was not annoyed and fascinated at the process, and let him pick out his new chair. Surprisingly, he was pretty concise in his selection process almost immediately pointing to the one he wanted and watch me as I put it in the cart behind him.

Within the week, we had switched him over at home, without the tray of course, so now he sits at the table with mommy and daddy proudly feeding himself as he enjoys the additional freedom that his new chair has to offer. And, of course, since then we have picked up place mats and other toddler accouterments which he seems to be enjoying as well. However, we still ask for a highchair whenever we go out to dinner as the boosters are a little too precarious for our squirming toddler and we don’t want to have to pick him up off the floor along with his crayons.

He doesn’t seem to be bothered by the different seating arrangements as he is simply enjoying being at the table. For me and my wife, it is just amazing how quickly time is going by and how many changes keep happening. He is becoming a little more independent with each change that we make with this being only the most recent. But, the most important thing is that he remains a happy and energetic toddler that enjoys reading and playing with mommy and daddy. So, for now it is time to wave bye bye to the highchair as we take it upstairs and put it into our storage area.