If high chair safety is not high on your list of concerns, it's about to be. For the first time in 10 years, researchers have looked into trends in injuries related to high chair use, and it does not look good. According to a new study published this week in the journal Clinical Pediatrics, the number of children who went to emergency rooms because of injuries related to high chairs increased 22% from 2003 to 2010. Nearly all of those injuries, 93%, were the result of children falling out of high chairs, the authors found. And because high chairs are usually in kitchens or dining rooms, the children often fall onto hard tile or wood floors.Indeed, 37% of the injuries were "closed head injuries" like concussions and internal head trauma. Thirty-three percent who fell had bumps and bruises, and 19% had cuts."I tell parents that the top three things you can do to prevent high chair injuries is use the restraint system in the chair, use the restraint system and use the restraint system," said Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital He was the lead author of the study.
Smith noted that two-thirds of the reported high chair injuries occurred when children were standing in high chairs or climbing out of them."That leads us to conclude that many of those kids were not adequately restrained in the chair or not restrained at all," he said. "We don't want to be alarmist. We just want to let parents know that here is an injury that is on the rise, and there is a way to prevent it." The data in the study were collected by the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, which gathers information from about 100 hospitals in the United States. Therefore, it measured just the number of children who went to emergency rooms because of high chair injuries. It did not include children who had fallen from chairs and either did not see doctors or were taken directly to their pediatricians.Smith said he didn't know why high chair injuries were increasing. He said it is possible that parents are more aware of the danger of head injuries and therefore are more likely to bring their children to emergency rooms after falls.
Another possibility is that more high chairs were in use in 2010 than in 2003, or that parents have kept high chairs that have been recalled."I think the most likely answer is that there are many factors involved," he said.Aside from telling parents to get into the habit of buckling their children into high chairs -- and not thinking of the tray table as a restraint system, which it is not -- Smith suggests that parents stay with their children during meal time and check www.recalls.gov to make sure their high chairs have not been recalled. Good luck moms and dads! And follow me on Twitter for more parenting stories like this.Researchers: Regular bedtimes lead to better behaved kidsSpanking your child could affect their vocabulary down the road Grouchy, angry, irritable and depressed: the hard cases, study saysSvan Signet's High Chair We spend so much time in the kitchen. We spend so much time on our kitchens. The last thing you want to plonk in that space is a great big hunk of rainforest-themed plastic!
Here are some high chairs that are good looking and long wearing, that you will use many kids over and never tire of seeing (and wiping down) day in, day out. 1. Svan Signet's High Chair. A customizable chair with optional seat cover, wrap around bentwood bucket seat. Like the Tripp Trapp, this chair can grow with your child. 2. Ovo By Micuna. This thing is just gorgeous. The Eames DFAW chair of high chairs. 3. The Stokke Tripp Trapp. Adjustable for use from infancy to adulthood. Available in a rainbow's worth of color options.Pops up for a high chair and down for a stool! How neat is that! 5. The Tavo High Chair. With a wipe-able bonded leather seat (in white, brown or black) and solid wood construction, this chair is luxe, and made to last. 6. IKEA's Blames High Chair. For a pop of color without the price tag of the Tripp Trapp, check out the Blames. In red or black. 7. The Carota High Chair. The baby guard can later be removed to form a tall chair for older kids.
The lesser known sibling of the Tripp Trapp, but just as pretty. A padded oval shaped seat can also be bought and fitted into the Step to invite even the youngest baby to join in with the family meal fun. 9. Baby Bjorn's High Chair. Folds flat for small space kitchens. In red or white. 10. Restaurant-Style High Chairs. The "why didn't I think of that?" option - a number of AT readers use these in their homes as a low-cost, solid wood highchair that can sit snug against their dining table. 11. Bloom Baby's Nano Urban High Chair. A little more like what you would regularly expect from a high chair, but with a nod to minimalism all the same. Folds flat like the Baby Bjorn chair for easy storage, and has a leather seat option, too. 12. IKEA's Antilop High Chair. There's a reason we see this high chair everywhere. It's simple, clean design and exceptionally low price tag ($24.99 in the US) makes it perfect for a design loving parent on a budget.Crazy but true: you saw the legs off this high-chair at pre-marked notches as your baby grows.
14. The Onni High Chair. Could it get any simpler than this? Pop the baby in and pull her right up to you with this clever design from Finland. 15. Bambini High Chair. Quite possibly the only high chair in the world that is also a rocking horse! Comes in five colors. Fisher-Price® Healthy Care™ Deluxe Booster Seat in Grey Graco® SimpleSwitch™ High Chair in Finch™ Cosco® Simple Fold™ High Chair in Posey Pop Fisher-Price® SpaceSaver High Chair in Lime Links OXO Tot® Perch Booster Seat with Straps in Grey Baby Trend® Aspen LX High Chair in Mod Dot Eric Carle The Very Hungry Caterpillar Happy and Hungry Booster Seat Cosco® Simple Fold™ Elephant Squares High Chair Ingenuity™ SmartClean™ Toddler Booster in Aqua Inglesina Fast Table Chair in Black bloom® fresco chrome™ Seat Pad Starter Kit Inglesina Fast Table Chair in Cream phil&teds® Lobster Black High Chair Keekaroo® Height Right High Chair Mahogany with Cherry Infant Insert and Tray