In a nutshell

A basic highchair that's best for small babies and mums who aren't looking for cutting-edge design

What we tested

  • Ease of use
    A star rating of 2.5 out of 5.
  • Ease of cleaning
    A star rating of 4.0 out of 5.
  • Comfort
    A star rating of 2.5 out of 5.
  • Style
    A star rating of 1.0 out of 5.
  • Durability
    A star rating of 2.0 out of 5.
  • Worth the money
    A star rating of 3.0 out of 5.
Overall Rating
A star rating of 2.5 out of 5.

Pros

  • A highchair that's easy to fold, easy to clean and easy to move around

Cons

  • The tray is fixed so it can be hard to get your child in and out, and it takes up a lot of room when unfolded.

The Mothercare Barcelona highchair has a great price tag and can be folded away after use, however it does have some niggles.

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Mothercare’s website lists 90 highchairs and related products, ranging in price from a staggering £279.99 to £26.99. The Barcelona highchair is almost the cheapest option, at £39.99 for the Fun At The Zoo style, or £44.99 for In The Night Garden.

Martha, 2, was attracted to this highchair – we had the Barcelona in the Fun at the Zoo design, which is very bright and cheerful. The frame is made of metal, and it has one height and sitting position. t folds up so that it can be stored between meals. The main outer tray is fixed, but there is a removable inner tray that you can pop out to clean. The footrest has two positions, so you can adjust it as your child grows.

What we love

This highchair is fairly simple to assemble, easy to clean, and cheap compared to a lot of others on the market.

Once in the seat, Martha seemed to find it comfortable.

If you just get the chair out for mealtimes, and then want to fold it up and put it away, it’s light and easy to move around.

The tray is really big and without the inner part, is good for doing drawing or craft.

What to watch out for

The highchair’s specifications list the tray as removable, which is misleading, as only the inner part can be taken off. The main outer tray is fixed with four screws, so unless you want to get the Philips screwdriver out every five minutes, you won’t be taking the tray off very often! One disadvantage of this is that it’s a really tight squeeze to get a bigger baby or toddler out of the chair. I banged and scratched Martha’s legs every time, and after three goes, she refused to get in again. Of course, you’re not going to have this problem with a 6-month old – but 6-month olds soon become1-year-olds etc, etc, so you may well find that this highchair becomes difficult to use long before your child is ready to sit in an adult chair.

The other disadvantage of the fixed tray is that you can’t really pull the highchair up to the table so that your baby can be part of the family meal.

The bonus of removing the inner part of the tray is supposed to be for cleaning, but it’s very big to fit in the sink, and can’t be put in the dishwasher.

The instruction manual also says that the legs can be easily removed for travel or longer-term storage. But when I tried to take the legs off, I broke one of the clips that pops up to secure the bottom half of the legs to the seat part of the chair. I think the chair would still be safe to use, as the legs are not going to fall off when they’re opened up and in position, but it didn’t give me any faith in the quality of the product.

It’s also a very big highchair – it takes up lots of space when in use and would be impractical in a small kitchen.

Who is the Mothercare Barcelona highchair best for?

Mums or grandmas after a cheap chair that can be folded up when it’s not needed.

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MadeForMums verdict

This is a no-frills highchair that’s good for a small baby or toddler. However, it takes up a lot of room when in use, has some drawbacks that you could find annoying and isn’t as well-made as others on the market.

Product Specifications

Product
BrandMothercare
ModelBarcelona Highchair
Price£39.99
Suitable for
Child age (approx)From 6 months
Dimensions & Weight
DimensionsH:99.5cm W:78cm D:61cm
Dimensions (folded)H:121cm W:61cm D:28cm
Features
Seat height positions1
Recline positions1
Features
  • Stable wide-based design
  • Adjustable footrest
  • Removable inner tray for easy cleaning
  • 5-Point safety harness
  • Wipe-clean seat
  • Ultra-lightweight
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