High Chair with Tray by Svan at Magic Beans

Svan, the Swedish word for swan, is an apt name for this beautiful bent birch wood chair that can be used both as a baby high chair or youth chair. The seat and footrest can be freely adjusted along the main beam, so the chair can be adjusted anytime to fit precisely, be it seat depth, seat height and footrest height. (It even accommodates adults up to 250 pounds.)

The Svan Chair is petite; appropriately scaled for a child. Babies often seem overwhelmed in plastic high chairs; not so in the Svan. Babies in Svan chairs look like they are sitting naturally at the table with their parents. The Svan is ergonomically designed so babies sit up straight. They can look around, satisfying natural curiosity and practicing good posture from the start. This aids in cleanup too, because when a child sits up straight, stray food falls onto the tray, rather than into his lap, as is the case in oversize high chairs, which tend to leave a large gap between the tray and the child.

The Svan chair has a three-point safety harness which is recommended for use with kids up to age three. When no longer needed, the harness can be removed.

The seat can be used with our without the included tray, which can be stored on the back of the chair when not in use. To use, the tray clips into two small holes on either side of the safety guard. When the tray is removed, the safety guard remains in place, so your child can eat safely when pushed right up to the table.

Once the infant safety guard is removed, the tray can no longer be attached, but toddlers can climb in and out on their own, giving them some independence.

The chair is compact, yet solid and sturdy. It is also very lightweight and easy to move. This is a great benefit if you need to maneuver the chair with one hand when you’ve got a squirming baby in the other.

Spilling the beans: The tray is a bit small and doesn’t have any side lips to catch stuff so make sure to look into the Tray Cover for messier babies. That said, this chair is really a gem for use at the family table, which is where your child will eat once he becomes a toddler anyway.