Luc had a more traditional padded high chair originally, but there was an unpleasant incident where he vomited all down himself and the chair and the floor and although we washed the cover immediately and scrubbed the chair we could not get the smell out. I washed the cover four times and it still reeked and the smell had seeped into the straps. So to the landfill it went unfortunately. That weekend I was heading to a big kids consignment sale and I picked up a used Antilop for all of $8 with the tray to use until we decided which new chair to buy.
We all liked it so much that we now would not dream of getting any other. Luc has always had a hatred of being restrained, and the Antilop only has a waist strap rather than a five-point harness so he is much happier in it and is more interested in eating rather than fighting to get out. The best part though is that it`s so easy to clean. No cover to wash, no crevices for food to get caught in and you can just wipe the whole thing down. It`s also easy to take apart and store or travel with if you need to.
While I have mixed feeling about the Swedish mega-retailer, I have been very pleased with the quality of design and construction of several of their children`s products.
What are some of your favourite IKEA kids products?
I also hate Eric's traditional high chair. Although it seems comfortable to him and is sturdy, it's terrible to clean. Ikea does have many quality products for babies with parents in mind and getting these products second hand it's a bonus for parents, environment and local economy! :)
ReplyDeleteAbout your mixed feelings concerning IKEA, in the section "the never ending list" of their website, you can get interesting numbers and infos. Sure, they're the ones posting them and true we don't know the work conditions of their 1 220 suppliers throughout 55 countries, but hey, they're doing some good.
ReplyDeleteMy issues with IKEA aren't so much based on work conditions or environmental standards, which in many cases are actually better than many of their competitors (i.e. no formaldehyde in any particle board products, etc.) What makes me uncomfortable is the disposability of many of their products and the messages behind some of their advertising (along the lines of "it's inexpensive so change things on a whim"). Much of their stuff is not well-made and is meant to break after little use and head to the landfill. That being said, some of their stuff it actually well designed, decently constructed, and will last awhile -- I think you just have to look at each product a little more critically if you care about it holding up and not heading quickly to the trash.
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