High Chair Safety Testing with @consumerreports Joan Muratore

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There were a couple of chairs that didn't have a passive crotch restraint, so that was a strangulation risk for any child that was not harnessed in there. One chair was recalled because I think there was a cover on the screw and it the cover came off. So it was like a laceration hazard if the child fell against it. If you drop the tray, sometimes if a crack or a sharp edge can develop that will sometimes lead to a recall.

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Hey there, I'm Katie Ferraro, registered dietician, college nutrition professor and mom of seven specializing in baby led weaning here on the baby led weaning with Katie Ferraro podcast. I help you strip out all of the noise and nonsense about feeding, giving you the confidence and knowledge you need to give you baby a safe start to Solid Foods using baby led weaning. Okay, choosing a highchair so overwhelming, there's not really any stores that you can go to anymore to see your future highchair and try it out in action. And your highchair is a product that you are going to use at least three times a day, if not more for the foreseeable future.

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So yeah, it is important to make the right decision when you're selecting a safe seat where your baby will eat. And when you're considering a high chair, of course you are going to probably include some of the vanity stuff like, oh what does it look like? You know, how big is the footprint? Is this high chair going to eat up my entire kitchen? Do I like the design? And then of course there are considerations about ease of cleaning or functionality. For example, will this particular chair convert to a toddler chair when my baby outgrows it? But of course our first concern with our children is always their safety and there's a whole battery of tests that highchairs sold in the United States have to undergo before they can even come to market. So my guest today knows a lot about highchairs and highchair safety.

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Her name is Joan Mori and Joan has worked for Consumer Reports for 37 years. Joan is the person in charge of the Consumer Reports highchair testing lab. So if you listen to this show regularly, you might notice that we have consumer reports testing experts on the show for a variety of things related to infant feeding. Their chief scientist has been on talking about, you know, whether or not can tuna is safe for baby. And we've had their scientists talking about heavy metals in baby food. I recently interviewed their breast pump tester about the best type of breast pump to buy, but Joan is the highchair person and in this interview she's going to tell you about all of the different types of tests that your highchair has to pass in order to end up in your kitchen.

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Joan's gonna talk about the stability test, so not just your baby, like not tipping the highchair over backward, but what about the front and the side stability when your toddler is gonna be pulling on the highchair when you're babysitting in there and pulling on the tray. You know, how many pounds of force does it have to withstand in order to pass Buster? Joan will talk a little bit about how highchair design has changed over the years and then how the testing process at Consumer Reports has evolved as well. She's gonna do a little historical deep dive on highchair recalls that sent me down a rabbit hole after our conversation. It is insane what used to be permissible on a highchair that you can't have now. And we're also gonna talk about Footrests on highchair and I was very surprised to hear the Consumer Reports testing team's stance on Footrests and I think you will be too.

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So with no further ado, here is Joan Ator who's the consumer Reports test program leader in the baby department. And she's talking about how consumer reports tests highchairs for highchair safety.

2 (4m 59s):

One thing that we observe is there's such a range, it's like from one extreme to the other, from like the bare bones kind of thing. There's one that we tested last year from major retailer from Sweden and they sell a $30 high share and it's basically, it's all plastic with an aluminum frame, but it's like, it's so bare bones. So you instead of having to clean it, you probably just take it outside and hose it down. And then you have the other extremes. So like we, we tested one that was, it's basically looks like a humongous barber chair. It has like that big wide base that spins 360 degrees and it looks, the seat itself from a distance looks like a giant egg. So it's kind of like, to me it was like a Jetson's height chair where you kind of expect it could it to come down from outta the ceiling, you know?

2 (5m 43s):

And it was just like things like that, like the contrast and the extremes.

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Yeah, you can't argue that every highchair looks exactly the same because they certainly don't and they also have a lot of different functions sometimes that aren't obvious at the outset. So we'll have you explain some of those. I was curious, Joan, if you could walk us through the process that consumer reports uses to test highchair. So what is this just for safety? Is it aesthetics? Like what specific factors are you looking at?

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Well, I mean as, because it's a children's product, we always, safety is always first and foremost so that that's a given. We have to go through that. But for something like highchairs, we also look at ease of use, which is basically, I have some trained panelists and we basically walk through using every single feature of the highchair from opening it. If it folds, you know, folding, unfolding, attaching the tray, adjusting the harness, fastening the harness, just basically walking through every single feature. And then ease of, we actually do ease of cleaning too. And we look at basically the design of the chair, like from the frame to the seat the tray, like for the frame for example, is it you assume it's wiped clean all, I would assume all frames are wiped clean, but are there grooves or gaps spaces in there where like stuff could collect that you might have to get into with a toothbrush or something.

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And then when it comes to this seat, things like is the seat all one piece or does it have multiple parts like the bottom is one part and the back rest is another. There might be gaps in between there that where food can get in. Is it a smooth surface, are there seams in the surface, that kind of thing. And then if, if there is a seat pad, is it machine washable, does it cover the seat completely so there's no gaps in there. Does it have like seams and quilting and things like that that can collect dirt? And then how much of the seat surface does it cover? Like sometimes there are flaps along the seat sides, we can get stuff underneath it again, kind of disgusting. And again, is it cushioned? So there's like spaces that can develop in there.

2 (7m 42s):

And then the tray, we always look for a dishwasher safe tray as opposed to I wipe clean is fine, but dishwasher safe is even better. And does it have a smooth surface? Like sometimes there are some hydrair trays that look almost like a TV dinner tray where there's compartments and there's anything with seeming like that, there's always more opportunity to collect gook. So we prefer a smooth surface and then if's nice if there's an insert or a top tray to cover so you're protecting the main tray. The best one would be something that fits over it completely so you can just lift it off and put it in the dishwasher when you're done.

0 (8m 17s):

Okay. So that is a lot of focus on ease of cleaning for sure. And our audience knows that learning how to eat is a full sensory experience. And our goal here is not to prevent the mess of course, because the baby touching the food and smashing it and squishing it, that's all part of the sensory experience of learning how to eat. But there is some residual it's gonna end up on the highchair. So I know there's a lot of detail in your reviews about ease of cleaning. Could you talk about the safety features though? What, what is required? What do you analyze on top of that? What's kind of maybe areas that parents are interested in that aren't regulated?

2 (8m 47s):

Basically, let, lemme give some background for pro juvenile product safety in general. In 2008 there was something called the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which basically made all juvenile product safety standards mandatory. Previously they had been voluntary, so a manufacturer could have had their product tested to make sure it was following the then voluntary safety standard, but they didn't have to. Now they are required to have the product tested by an accredited lab. So the highchair standard in particular, it looks at a bunch of different things and please stop me if I'm going into too much depth. You know, it, it just, you know, say tone it down a little bit, whatever.

2 (9m 29s):

But basically it's the safety valuations in the required, in the mandatory standard. Look at the harness integrity, which is basically, you know, you have your five point harness, the shoulder straps, the waist straps and the crotch strap. You wanna make sure that that harness is attached firmly. It has to withstand a pull. I think it's, I wanna say 45 pounds. I'm not a hundred percent sure about that, but it's got to be able to withstand that pull without coming out from the back of the chair. There's also the retention of the harness system, which basically how well does it keep the child inside the harness once it's fastened? So the test involves, actually you fasten the harness on a, a cami dummy.

2 (10m 9s):

It's a 17 and a half pound dummy that is, it's called Cami Mark two. It's meant to replicate a 12 month old, which is a little bit, you know, beyond the first solid food child. But basically you fasten the dummy with the harness and then you pull with like, again, I think it's 45 pounds, you pull on the leg of the dummy and you wanna make sure that the dummy's rear end doesn't come off the seat. And then there's another test to the, for the harness integrity where you actually, there's a special test harness that you put on the dummy and then you fasten the chair harness and you literally, we pull upwards on the test harness to make sure that the baby, that the feet don't touch the bottom of the seat. So you're basically seeing if it can withstand a child, like putting their feet up on the seat of the highchair, trying to get out of the harness.

2 (10m 55s):

A more important safety feature. I, well the harness is always the most important, but another one especially for highchair is what's called the passive crotch restraint. And I printed a page for more from CRO today that's actually, this is actually the passive crotch restraint. It's either attached to the base of the seat to the top of the seat surface or the base of the tray that prevents a child from slipping under the tray if, if they're not harnessed. And or my big thing is always to use the harness no matter what. I know people don't like to do it sometimes, but you always should. But this is like a second level of safety. It will keep the baby from slipping under the tray where if they're not harnessed, they could potentially catch their chin on there and basically be hanged.

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Okay. Obviously there is also the five point harness and the straps and the manufacturers all recommend using those at all times. But if you push the baby up to the chair and they're in one of those baby guards where their legs, there's their legs are split and resting flat on a solid foot plate, there's no risk of slipping underneath a tray if there's no tray. Right, because you're eating at the table.

2 (14m 10s):

It's basically the same thing that the, those guards, like a bugaboo giraffe has one of those, or Stokey trip trap also has that little, yeah, I think they used to call it a baby set. But yeah, that the post in the middle is basically the same thing as the passive crotch restraint.

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Okay. I was gonna ask you, is that plastic guardrail on the baby set, for example, on the trip trap, is that considered a passive crotch restraint or, I mean it's a hard plastic material that's passive.

2 (14m 33s):

Passive just means you don't have to do anything. It's already in position. Got it. It just means that it's not like, like a harness. You have to fasten it but it, once you place the baby into that baby set, they're all their legs are gonna go through and they're basically being retained by the, the piece around their waist and that that crotch restraint.

0 (14m 49s):

Okay. So you've got, you've addressed, you know, the ability to keep it clean, which isn't necessarily related to safety other than, you know, from a food safety standpoint, if there is food accumulating that you can't get out or there's mold because it's not really dishwasher safe, that could be problematic. We've got the harnesses and the crotch restraints. What about the ability of a chair to tip over, not tip over? How, how do we test for that?

2 (15m 11s):

There are several stability standards, stability tests rather that we look at you. You look at the forward stability is basically you place a test weight in the chair and you pull as if like picture the, there's an older sibling that's pulling at the front of the tray. They try, you know, trying to maybe get the tray off or whatever. So that's a test for forward stability so it can't tip over. It's something like maybe about 18 pounds of force, which is about what a, a slightly older child could pull with. You also look at the sideways stability where, so you're pulling with a force on this arm and seeing if it tip sideways. Same thing on this side. And then there's a rear word stability test where you basically, you're pulling until you tip it over.

2 (15m 56s):

But what you're looking for is there's a formula that you have to use to calculate, it's basically the distance and the force and that equation has to provide a value that's greater than a certain number. So it's basically the higher the number, the more stable it is rear word.

0 (16m 13s):

And all of these are standards that if you were a manufacturer and you wanted to sell a highchair in the United States of America, you would have to be compliant with these standards in order to even get on the market. But then does consumer reports go and test all that again but hasn't already been tested if it got approved to go into the

2 (16m 28s):

Market? It has been, but we, I mean in the past before standards became mandatory, we used to find frequently things that did not comply with the standards even though they were then voluntary. So what we try to do is do a check test on basically pulling out what I think are the most likely to show problems, the tests that are most likely to show problems. Yeah, we don't do every single thing in the, the, the mandatory standards. Like there are requirements for labeling and things like that that we don't, you know, it's not our purview really. There there's like mandatory warnings and things like that that we don't look at.

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Joan, one thing I noticed when I was reviewing the consumer reports, highchair recommendations and your buying guides is that there's no mention of a footrest, you know, whether or not a highchair has a footrest, is it an adjustable footrest? Can a six month old feet reach that footrest? And from a feeding safety standpoint, it's very important that a baby has their feet resting flat on a solid foot plate that helps support a safe swallow. And I was just curious, have you noticed parents asking more about footrests or how does consumer reports address footrests or is there a reason why you're not? Yeah,

2 (17m 37s):

I mean we do see a lot of chairs that where it's either not adjustable or there is none, but I have seen a couple of redesigns, like one, if we talk about specific models later, one that we tested a couple of years ago that did really well, they actually added an adjustable footrest.

0 (17m 54s):

And I know you're not looking for additional work, but if there was anything you could add to your panel, I really, as a feeding expert would recommend whether or not there is an adjustable footrest and can that baby's feet be resting flat on that solid foot plate from six months of age? 'cause the biggest problem is these manufacturers make chairs that fit two year olds, but your baby who's starting solid foods at six months of age when they're showing those reliable signs of readiness to eat, which do include the ability to sit relatively unassisted. So they, they come in with their own trunk strength in their head and neck control, but they need that foot rest so that when they gag on food they place their feet down and they can use their mouth muscles to push that food forward and prevent themselves from choking. It's, it's not required but it's so important from a developmental standpoint.

0 (18m 36s):

And I know anecdotally our audience is looking at a few number of things for a high chair can it safely come up to the table so you can avoid the whole tray thing but obviously for parents that have, you know, counter height or bar height, high tears can't go that high. They would never pass any of these tests. So you may need a tray or if you like to eat outside or travel, but they're also looking at that adjustable footrest. And so I think that would be a nice piece of data to add. And I think increasingly you, you will see parents asking more about that, especially the families that are interested in doing baby led weaning.

2 (19m 5s):

I'm trying to think of how I would know it's high enough for like a six month old.

0 (19m 10s):

How much is that doll that you guys use? I think I looked at it, I asked consumer reports, which doll you guys use in your testing was like $8,000 or something.

2 (19m 17s):

Yeah, it's like $8,000. It's bananas. It's crazy expensive and it doesn't, it doesn't do any, it it's

0 (19m 22s):

Just, well I mean you're potentially injuring the baby. I, again, I'm, I'm feeding typically developing six month old babies and you need to be able to push their bottom forward so that their waist is at a 90 degree angles, their knees are at a 90 degree angle and their ankles are at a 90 degree angle. So if their legs are sticking straight out, as is the case in most standard height chairs that doesn't cut it, we need to roll up receiving blankets or pillows, put it behind their back to support them so their back is flat, get those knees hanging over. And then we have lots of parents who are very creative about adjusting their highchair footrest. I'll send you some pictures and some videos of what our families have done using, you know, Amazon boxes or yoga blocks. We do textbooks or cookbooks of fixed just with bungee cords to elevate that footrest so that that baby, that six month old needs their feet resting flat on the footrest.

0 (20m 4s):

They don't need a high chair where the footrest will only work when they're two 'cause by the time they're two they know how to eat and they should be sitting in a regular chair with the rest of the family, you know. So I think it would be a great addition because it is an important safety consideration from promoting a safe swallow standpoint.

2 (20m 19s):

That's good to know.

0 (20m 20s):

Okay. Are there any particular features that you think parents should look for in a highchair or like any red flags like oh you see this highchair, you shouldn't buy the highchair. Of course. Not saying any brands, but anything in particular that you think is like gimmicky or not worth considering? Like I know everyone's putting bells and whistles on the highchair, many of which you know you really don't need. And I'm just curious what your thoughts are having looked at these for so many years.

2 (20m 40s):

I mean we don't see so many red flags because of the mandatory standard. But I mean I have seen for example the the passive cross restraint made of cloth, which gets the job done but it's gonna be disgusting within a very short period of time. It's gonna be really hard to clean

0 (20m 56s):

A hundred percent. I think that's the mo that's the one that when I look at it, I'm like, have you ever actually fed a baby the per to the person who designed this high chair? 'cause there's absolutely no way this is gonna make it a week at my house.

2 (21m 6s):

Yeah, no it, it's awful. We consumer reports prefers five point harnesses as opposed to just a three because it's, I think it's always better to have the baby's shoulders contained as well. So that's something it's not, I wouldn't say it's a red flag to have a three because only a three point is required. But to us the five point is preferred and sometimes the harness can convert as your child gets a little older. They can convert from a five point to a three point.

0 (21m 31s):

Can I ask how consumer reports determines which highchairs to test? Is it based on popularity or requests? Are there other criteria and do brands pay or can they pay to be included in your reviews or is this completely a non-paid objective review?

2 (21m 46s):

It's always non-paid. I mean they, they can send us information, you know say Hey we have this new highchair, you know, can you test it? And we will always consider it. But basically typically there's a market analyst on each project team. So the market analyst kind of looks at, you know, top sellers things with interesting features, new models, things like that. That's basically how they start. And then we usually pick from there, you know, things that are pop nowadays with Amazon, things that are popular on Amazon and then we try to make sure it's a range of prices. Oh, a range, like a range of features and sizes. Like some people don't have a lot of space so they want something compact maybe either folds or it's just, you know, small footprint to begin with.

2 (22m 30s):

You know, things that convert maybe to a booster seat or to a toddler seat later on. So it's more useful over a longer period of time. I

0 (22m 37s):

Think that's such a funny marketing angle. Now we recently at a baby trade show and looking at some new high chairs and brands, you know, this is my three in one, this is our five in one. I was like, tell me the five different things that this high share does. Some of them are kind of funny. I, there is a really cool one from a German brand though that actually then converts into a learning tower so that you can like push up against the counter so that your toddler can help you cook. And I was like, okay, you know, rather than having to have the highchair and the booster and the learning tower, that really is like a useful, this was a quote unquote five in one product, but some of them I'm like, no, all your, your chair does not actually do five different things and it's fine. Do the one thing that you're supposed to do very well, which is provide a safe seat for your baby to eat. What are some common issues or failures that you guys see when testing high chairs?

0 (23m 18s):

I know you, you talked about the stability, the forward, the sideways, the rear stability. Do they ever fail? And then what happens if you have a chair that's approved for sale in the United States and they quote unquote pass the standards but then they fail your test? Are you obligated to report them or how do you deal with that?

2 (23m 32s):

Yeah, I mean we haven't, honestly since the standard became mandatory, we have not seen any high chair failures in the past. Before that though, what we would do is basically buy another sample of the same chair, retest it, see if it had the same problem and then we would contact the consumer Product Safety commission and report it to them that in our tests, you know, because we can't say whether it complies with the standard or not. That's their purview. Yep. But we would just say that in our tests that the chair failed whatever test and we would usually provide video of that to them.

0 (24m 9s):

What about when highchair get recalled? Do you then go back into your reports and flag that or how do you guys handle recalls?

2 (24m 15s):

Yes. Yeah we do. There's a flag that we can add to any ratings if, if it's in, if it appears in our ratings table

0 (24m 23s):

And without mentioning brands, but I mean you've, you've worked for Consumer Reports for 37 years, you've seen lots of different trends in high chairs. Can you think of things in particular in highchairs that may have elicited a recall in the past?

2 (24m 34s):

Yeah, definitely. And then again, this is maybe 10, 15 years ago there were some, there were a couple of chairs that didn't have a passive crotch restraint. So that was a strangulation risk for any child that was not harnessed in there. There were some, there's tray storage on the back of a chair on the legs. Sometimes there's like little bolts that ha that the tray can hang on. One chair was recalled because I think there was a cover on the screw and it, this, the cover came off so it was like a laceration hazard if the child fell against it. It's a safety issue. Yes, but it's not really related to its function. As a high chair, if you drop the tray, sometimes if a crack or a sharp edge can develop that will sometimes lead to a recall 'cause it, that should not happen.

2 (25m 17s):

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0 (25m 17s):

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0 (26m 49s):

Joan, how often does Consumer Reports update the highchair ratings? I know you guys have done a big focus and push, there's a lot more content on Baby coming out of Consumer Reports. So I think you, you said you used to do highchairs pretty regularly like 10 years ago and now there's more of a focus on it. When do you decide to do updates and is it like a brand reaching out and saying, Hey we refreshed this highchair or parent request? How, how do you decide the content calendar essentially for reviewing highchairs?

2 (27m 13s):

Typically with Highchairs we've been doing it recently maybe every 18 to 24 months and we actually, it's been almost 24 months now and we're, we're starting a new batch in January, so, so yeah say 2 24 months basically, you know, when we see new things coming out like, you know, going to to the A BC kids show or something like that, new models that come out or just like with the top rated chair in our current ratings had some changes to it. So that's definitely, we're gonna be retesting that in our next batch as well, I'm sure. But yes, we will like, we'll we'll take information from manufacturers but we cannot accept a chair from them to test. We always have to buy our own samples.

2 (27m 54s):

And I actually, I should mention you asked if someone could pay to have us test. We do offer and I've never done it. We do offer now an advisory service where if a manufacturer wants to work on their design they can ask or they could pay, well they pay us to test user, do our own, you know, test methodology on their product and then report back to them. But we will never publish those results. So it's not like they're paying us to test and publicizing it.

0 (28m 24s):

But the brand could then go and publicize your results if they wanted to, right?

2 (28m 27s):

I suppose they could. I mean, again, I, I've not, I haven't done that so I'm not sure exactly what the limitations are, but I suppose they could.

0 (28m 34s):

Do you review portable high chairs and do you have a separate standard of tests that you would do? 'cause obviously not every portable highchair is gonna have a five point harness. It's just not feasible when you're selling a 20 or $30 product. And for older babies, again it might, I don't know if the regulations change maybe not as required. How, where do portable high chairs stand? Because a lot of families are interested in those and many, especially in small spaces where they just don't wanna buy a full blown everyday high chair. They'll use their portable for every day. How do you handle portable high chairs?

2 (29m 1s):

We are actually, there's only one in our ratings right now, it's the Fisher Price Space Saver because that's both tech technically a, a high chair and a booster. We're actually gonna be expanding boosters in the near future. So there's, the tests are very similar but it's actually a separate safety standard. But like there is a lot of commonality in the tests. So what we would do in our rate, we would probably have a separate ratings table for those 'cause they are slightly different. And we, we might include clip-on chairs in that as well 'cause I know those are popular.

0 (29m 32s):

What advice would you give to parents who are feeling very overwhelmed? Like you get out there, you know, you look online 'cause there's no stores left anymore and you're like, my gosh there's a million different high chairs. What should they be considering when they're picking a chair for maintenance, for safety? And then where do you recommend that parents go to learn more about the work that your team is doing at Consumer Reports?

2 (29m 51s):

In terms of what to look for? I mean you can, you can always come to consumer reports.org and if you're a member you can actually look at ratings and things like that. There's also a lot of what we call buying guides and there is one for hide shares. But what I would tell parents, I mean every parent and I, I remember being a first time parent, you, you feel like you know absolutely nothing. And back then it wasn't like the internet was there to, to make you crazy. It was like you had to go to stores or talk to people and things like that. But now it must be so much harder to have to deal with everything online. 'cause you get so you get bombarded really. I mean, you know, if you have friends with babies, you know, see what they're using, come to consumer reports and look at our ratings and just, I mean what I would focus on is, is consider how much space you have.

2 (30m 36s):

Obviously, you know, do you have a dining room where You don you don't really care if the chair folds or if it takes up a lot of space 'cause it's gonna be out the way. I think most people don't have that or they, even if they do, they don't want it. Some massive thing. Taking up all that space, that's a big, a big thing. I would also look for things with dishwasher safe tray or tray insert. 'cause you know it's gonna get gunky and the easier you can make it for yourself when you have an infant, anything that helps is, is just, just look at that and, and along those same lines, consider a chair without a seat pad. If you want something super, the the easy.

0 (31m 13s):

I agree. Unless you like doing extra laundry, like your baby's butt comes with its own padding, you're fine. Don't make extra work for yourself. And it's, these are not developmental, they're purely aesthetic.

2 (31m 24s):

Yes, exactly. Yeah. And it's, I mean, you know, people see like you don't wanna put your baby in a crib without pillows and all that stuff because oh, they're gonna be cold. No, they're not. Just put 'em in a sleeper. They don't need pillows, they don't need blankets, anything like that. So your baby will be fine eating in a chair without a pad and you'll be easier, it'll be easier for you to clean it. Well,

0 (31m 41s):

Thank you, I appreciate it. It was great chatting with you. And we will link to all of the resources, including the buying guides. I think those are so helpful because you can kind of see, you know, right off the bat, is this in my price point? Is this gonna fit the aesthetic of my house? Is it gonna fit the space of my kitchen? And then of course, how much time is it gonna take me to clean up after each meal is important as well.

2 (31m 59s):

Yes, definitely.

0 (32m 1s):

Well, I hope you enjoyed that conversation with Joan Atory from Consumer Reports. I know personally I would love to see foot rests reviewed and whether or not a footrest is adjustable and does it actually reach the feet of a six month old baby when they're starting solid foods. That's just on my consumer reports wishlist if they're listening. If you are interested in Consumer Reports and signing up for a membership, you can get $10 off the first year of Consumer Reports membership when you sign up@crconsumerreports.org slash bw. A special thank you to our partners at AirWave Media. If you like podcasts that feature food and science and using your brain, check out some of the podcasts from AirWave.

0 (32m 43s):

We are online@blwpodcast.com. You can find the links to all of the Highchair Buying Guides and the Consumer reports, highchair safety reporting, as well as the link to sign up for a Consumer Reports membership if that is something you are interested in. That will all be linked on the show notes@blwpodcast.com slash 4 8 2. And thank you so much for listening

4 (33m 11s):

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