The versatility of the chair is its greatest strength with 3 different positions for eating, relaxing and sleeping. This also makes the chair useful from birth, unlike other high chairs on the market.
Unfortunately, the tray cover doesn’t secure to the chair so it’s easily knocked off exposing the tray underneath, which has proven near impossible to clean.
The Highpod is fully certified in 3 positions, to sit, relax and sleep, how does it work in those three positions?
We didn’t get the Highpod until Emily was six months old, but the fully reclined position would be perfect for having a newborn in the kitchen for short periods of time. I don’t think we would have used it for naps for the same reasons I wouldn’t have used her carseat: it doesn’t allow the baby to lie flat. At almost eight months, there’s no way Emily would nap in the middle of the kitchen, now – it’s far too exciting! She loves sitting up in it, however, and watching everything that’s happening around her.
I think having the chair when she was a newborn could have been very useful and a good alternative to babywearing. Being able to have her close in the kitchen and up high would have been great as having her in the sling wasn’t an option when I wanted to cook at the stove. With her reflux, the relax, semi-reclined position would have been more comfortable for her and easier for me.
Even the fully upright position slopes backward a little, so we find the lumbar support pillow essential. Any toys or spoons placed on the tray tend to roll back into her lap. This can be a bit annoying as I have to fish them out regularly, but it’s far from a deal-breaker.
Is it easy to clean?
This was the main flaw of the unit. The tray has lots of nooks and crannies that filled with food after the first meal and which I haven’t managed to get clean, yet. I wiped it immediately after Emily ate and even took a nail brush to the narrow spaces, but I can’t get the food out no matter what I do. The straps are permanently attached to the chair so they can’t be washed.
The product is sold on the fact that the aerocore seat liner is removable and dishwasher safe. This is the only part of the unit that was easy to clean.
The Highpod comes with a cover for the tray but it doesn’t secure in any way, so Emily immediately knocked it off, sending her lunch all over the floor. For me, the worst part is the dried food inside the grooves of the tray and it’s a serious problem with the chair.
How much room did it take up? Was it portable around the house?
Even in our small flat, the Highpod fit nicely. The footprint is about as deep as other high chairs but it is narrower. This might be due to the narrow seat, which works great for Emily at seven months, but I wonder if she will outgrow it before she’s quite ready to move on to a regular seat at the table.
The tray is smaller than other high chairs, but this wasn’t a big problem for us. The tidy sillouhette, makes up for the lack of tray space – babies make a mess regardless of how big the tray is! Still, if you want a larger tray, £19 will buy you the Highpod Extra Large Food Tray.
We moved the chair to and from the table for each meal and, although it doesn’t have wheels, it wasn’t too taxing to do so.
We've got more highchairs...
From box to feeding
The Highpod was very simple to put together. I just snapped the legs into the base and we were ready for our first meal. Phil & Ted’s suggest that the chair can be taken apart for easy storage and while this certainly decreases the size of the unit, I wouldn’t want to be doing it on a daily basis. It takes a bit of strength to clip the legs into the base.
The lumbar support pillow and high-heels footrest make the chair suitable for smaller babies through to taller toddlers.
The chair is very sturdy and will wear well, other than the cleaning issues.
No extra accessories are needed but you have the option to purchase:
Extra Large Food Tray £19
Cushy Ride Double Kit Seat Liner £25
Is the product value for money?
At £199, the Highpod is an expensive highchair and while the option to put a newborn in the chair is excellent and the chair is definitely one of the most stylish, the fact that it’s so difficult to clean is frustrating.
With its stylish look, there would no doubt be a resale market for this chair, but I can’t see it reselling for close to the original value given the initial price difference between this chair and classic models, which mainly retail for under £100.
You can buy this highchair from Peppermint London, Uber Kids and Buggy Baby
The Highpod might have all the style and varied settings that make it suitable for newborns through toddlers, but, given how often a high chair is used and how messy weaning already is, the fact that it’s so difficult to clean is a deal breaker.
If you like this highchair check these out...
MadeForMums product reviews are independent, honest and provide advice you can have confidence in. Sometimes, we earn revenue through affiliate (click-to-buy) links. However we never allow this to influence our coverage. Our reviews and articles are written by parents who are professional journalists, and we also include feedback from our parent community and industry experts.
