Whining and Dining Guest Review: My Little Seat

Here's another guest review from my fellow Bay Area pal Janet. She is a lawyer currently taking a year off to hang out with her sweet and precocious Norah. Even though Norah's main hobbies include not napping and chewing on electrical cords, motherhood is Janet's most joyful and rewarding challenge to date.

I am not a germ-a-phobe in the least bit. I frequently wipe the sippy cup off on my shirt, employ the "10 second rule" when a toy falls on the floor, and have been known to look the other way when my girl licks the stroller wheel. There is one thing that consistently skeeves me out, though, and that’s the restaurant high chair. It is always slimy and/or sticky, and my girl has an innate ability to find the grossest spots in seconds. With her mouth. Plus, the straps never seem to work properly and I spend most of the meal making sure she doesn’t flip herself right out of the chair. Those high chair covers are a partial solution to the problem, but are extremely bulky and always end up forgotten in the truck of the car.

My Little Seat provides a great alternative. A simple fabric design transforms any standard chair into a comfy high chair. It is so compact that you can easily tote it to restaurants, grandparents’ houses, or anyplace lacking a traditional high chair.

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All ratings based on 4 stars.

Functionality *** -
Developed by an inventive mom of two who often resorted to securing her kids to chairs with sarongs, the seat is designed for babes who can sit up unassisted (approximately six months) and has a weight limit of 35 lbs. It is extremely easy to secure to any chair — basically you hook a fabric panel over the back of a chair, tighten it, and secure it with two separate sets of straps. It took about two minutes to get my girl situated in it, and she stayed content for the duration of the meal.

At first I was concerned because while she was strapped in the chair she was unable to reach the actual table. That was until my husband reminded me that last time she was at the table she shoved her fist into the guacamole and knocked over two glasses of water within the first five minutes.

Now, she’s only eight months and is relatively limited as far as food goes (mostly spoon-fed purees and the occasional Cheerio), so it isn’t a problem not to have her up at the table. As she gets older, though, and starts to actively participate in meals, it may be somewhat problematic to have her sitting so much lower than everyone else at the table.

It works with all kinds of different chairs — so far we’ve used it on a plastic deck-type chair, a nice fabric chair, and a hard wooden one, and my girl has tolerated it very well each time. Chairs with high backs and booths (obviously) would be no-go’s, but otherwise it is accommodating to all types of restaurants.

The straps keep the child very snug in the seat and I felt confident she was secure. My girl is pretty mellow and she is content to play with her toys and books while we eat at restaurants (I think it is her way of making up for the fact that she’s STILL not sleeping through the night). A kid who isn’t quite so mellow (or a walker) might feel a bit too confined.

Style **** -
My Little Seat comes in six adorable styles, of which five are totally gender- neutral. None of the patterns scream "baby", and each seat comes with a matching bag. The best part is that once it is folded up and tucked in its bag, the whole shebang easily fits in the side of your diaper bag or purse. The website lauds that when folded up the chair is the size of a diaper, and it is absolutely true.

Price *** 1/2 -
At $39.99, My Little Seat is an affordable investment, especially given the fact that it can be used from babyhood to toddlerdom. It would make a fantastic shower gift.

Overall *** 1/2 -
Every time we have used the My Little Seat someone has approached us and asked where they could get one. It allows us to be a little more conspicuous at restaurants (no need for the server to lug a bulky high chair out), and I can worry about communicable diseases a little less. All in all, a great product.