Hippo Hookon High Chair - Nature
by Chicco
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Category: Baby Product See more product details |
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Baby Products Reviews of Hippo Hookon High Chair - Nature
Customer Review: As good as it gets
Summary: 5 Stars
Ok...no I've never been inclined to write a baby product review until now but this story needs to be told and goes like this.
When our baby was approaching the sitting up stage, my wife asked me do some research and pick out a hi-chair. I went on consumer reports, I went into many baby sites and I finally chose the Hippo hook-on. It just seemed so practical and since neither my wife or I have any aversion to returning a poorly performing product I felt we had nothing to lose.
So we get to the store and my wife quickly decides a standing chair with cute sounds and colorful images was a better choice at $80.00 and my review and research time went hurriedly out the window.
Because she never even looked at the Chicco product and went straight to the traditional chairs I quickly became annoyed and frustrated and expressed those feelings freely at every opportunity I had.
We got home, I assembled the chair as any well-trained husband would and you might think the story was over there. Then again I would be writing about THAT chair instead of this one wouldn't I? In fact I wouldn't be writing at all...I digress.
Being the intuitive and loving wife that she is, she went out a few days later and got the Hippo hook-on...TOO. She actually bought both and SHE agreed they could both find use in our happy home. I figured I had won a moral victory in the least, pushing out of my mind that we now had $130.00 worth of feeding chairs that no less than half of which was unneccessary. I shredded the divorce papers and we went on feeding our baby.
I lowered and secured our little girl into her standing chair and she fussed every time, equating it I guess to every other restraint equipped device we hook her into. But the hook-on chair was different...she was at the same table, at the same level as the rest of us and she was smiling and playing. And that was one of those unexpected intangibles that don't get onto the labeling or specification lists of baby products.
And you may think the story was over there but it wasn't...we took our hook-on chair to restaurants, to friend's and families' homes and I would be lying if I told you it fit on ALL tables because it didn't. But it has only NOT fit (in 3 months time) on two tables that we've attempted, and that's pretty good odds.
As the story ends, my fair and lovely wife watched the hi-chair she bought get tripped over, pushed aside unused, and ultimately collect dust as so many primary colored baby items do over time.
In the end, she saw $80.00 sitting there and quietly returned her chair.
Now I have nothing against traditional standing chairs and perhaps if this chair hadn't been invented we would be just silly listening to the cutesy sea-themed jingles over and over again. But...this thing rocks and our little girl of 10 months now just loves it!
Pros: read moral victory above. cleans easy, travels easy, still looks new, super sturdy, takes up no extra floor space
Cons: still looking, truly no complaints
Customer Review: What a great chair!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have a 4 year old son, 25 month old daughter, and 11 month old twin sons. I love this chair, as it saves more chairs and space at our table, and its so amazingly easy to use!
This chair can hold up to 37 pounds, even my SMALL daughter could fit in it! It can also hold young children, as long as they sit-up unassisted, than this chair should be great! It has a 3 point harness, also known as a lap belt, and a fabric piece that blocks the front of the chair so they really cant slide out the bottom! I dont mind it not having a 5 point because theres nothing under their feet so the wont be able to squirm out un-detected! Theres even a cute hippo on the sides, and the top part of the clamps (the part that sits ontop of the table) are two little hippos! The chair is easy to clamp on and off of the table, and has a few adjusting parts so that it can fit on almost any table, except that tables with a lip that bends down are usually much better. I can fit two on either my round kitchen table, or my rectangular dinning room table. I also love to bring it to restaurants because its very sanitary and easy to attatch two to the table, and I have never come face to face with a table that didnt accomidate this chair, even picnic tables where regular boosters couldnt fit! The fabric is dark and easily hides stains, although it is not vinyl, but cloth. Its really "snapped" onto the metal frame, so its easy to purposfully take off to wash (which it does easily and safely!) but if you dont want it to come off, trust me, it wont, (as long as you are in the weight limit!) There is a little gap between the chair and some tables, but thats not such a problem! Its a little tough to fold and pack away, in the VERY nice and handy carrier that you get with the chair, although fitting them in the trunk un-folded is easy to do. Theres enough room for a plate (we use ones with a suction cup on the bottom) between the two "hippos" on the table, so its just like having a tray that wont budge... or you can use table toppers and put the Hippo hook-on-chair onto the table.
Sure it doesnt reqline and it doesnt have foot rests and extra features, but those are all features that are un-needed and cause the chair to be hard to clean!
My sons love to be at the table with everyone, it saves MUCH loved space that highchairs would take up, and it gives us all of our chairs which most other boosters would need. This chair is safe, easy to clean, easy to use, and actually has improved my sons behavior at the table. Even if you have the room for a highchair(s), these are much easier to use, and save all of your space! We love em'!
Customer Review: Another twin momma aproves!
Summary: 5 Stars
We have twins as well, and they are now 7 months old.
FEATURES
* Two hippo grips. They protect your table, and also little hands! They dont move or cause a potential hazard for a baby. I also find them to be incredibly cute!
* A large cloth seat. Its sort of free-hanging, but is very sturdy. Its removable, and easy to wash in the machine. We are also able to dry it, on LOW, in the drier.
* A lap belt for protection. It adjusts, and is permanently attached to the seat.
* A high back. This was SO important being that we wanted the boys to be comfortable!
* Easily portable, and also comes with a carry case! Its "fold-able" as well, and is very compact.
* The seat can hold up to (I think) 35 lbs.
Other things you may want to know
* We found it easy to use these chairs on almost any table. For tables with only one leg, you have to get creative. Sometimes we sit the kids across from each other, so they balance out with their weight. Other times we use a restaurant chair, with a booster (just ask for one when you arrive) to hold the chairs up. If not, we ask for a booth and place the chairs INSIDE the booth. The backs, and seats of the booth enable to chairs to be "weightless".
* The kids cant get out. Its that simple, there's just really no way I can see a child of a responsible parent climb out of this thing!
* On most tables you get a large gap between the table and the baby. We found this okay since the chair is easy to clean (and we use large plastic bibs with the pocket, or a bibsters) and the floor/table is much easier to clean that nooks and crannies in most highchairs!
* We really wish there was an attachable tray offered. Now we have resorted to placemats (trying desperately to find ones with the suction cups!).
* The chair is lightweight, but REALLY HARD to disassemble so it will fit in the bag! We usually just throw them in the trunk (fully assembled) and take them out when we get to the restaurant. Its not the best solution, but much easier than taking the chair apart.
* Assembly was easy and simple, and the chair is easy to take off and put on different tables. Although removing it is easy, I find the chairs to be very sturdy and safe!
I cant imagine owning bulky highchairs, even with the space! The hippos are more portable, easier to clean, more comfortable, and brings the baby(s) closer to the table/meal, which is VERY important. All in all we have saved money, and our sanity "buy" (pun intended) purchasing the hippo hookon high chairs!
Customer Review: A pain to clean and my daughter can climb out!
Summary: 2 Stars
I bought this item after reading the good reviews, but I really haven't been happy with it from day one. I find the item to be a constant chore in cleaning. With any normal child, the cover is going to get dirty--I have to wash it 1-2 times a week depending on what I serve--spaghetti and bananas are the worst.
It's difficult to take the cover off the bar around the back because of the angle and I have to wash the hippos, the bars, the table surface and everything in between with soapy warm water and a sponge. I use Simple Green and wipe down the table top after every use, but food inevitably gets trapped under the hippos and will dry there and along the table's edge where I miss on occasion. Therefore, everything has to get a good cleaning 1-2 times a week!! I use a dustbuster for crumbs as well. It's a chore--I have found it to be more work than I bargained for. With all the washing the cover has now gone through (I air dry), the seams have now torn in one spot.
(One thing I do is to place a children's placemat underneath the hippos and then attach and lock in place. This way the placemat takes a beating from the constant cleaning--3x a day--and not my table).
Furthermore, how the heck am I supposed to take that to a restaurant?? It doesn't just come off the table--you have to unlock and seperate the three pieces and put them back together again--unless I have missed something and there is an easier way to break it down, but I don't think so!
The one last drawback is that my daughter can weasel herself out of the chair. I have tightened the belt around her tummy to what appears to be a very uncomfortable point, but she can still prop her foot on part of the chair that latches to under the table and get out. She has nearly climbed onto the table more than once. I can never turn my back on her for fear that she will climb out and end up on the floor from a three foot drop.
Needless to say, I wasn't terribly impressed or happy with the chair and will start looking for a booster seat that will sit on a dining chair and is made of plastic.
Customer Review: Wishing I'd known about this sooner!
Summary: 5 Stars
I put two of these on my registry. We have an 18 mos old who uses a regular highchair and we're expecting twins. We don't have space for loads of high chairs and plan to use the Hippos mainly at home.
We received one of these chairs at a shower the other day and I popped it open to figure out how to use it. I couldn't believe how simple it was to set up - the directions fell behind the couch and I didn't even need them to put it together! We have a rather deep skirt on our table and the chair cleared it with ease. I immediately tried our 18 mos old in the chair. She loves it! It puts her actually at the table with us for meals or when I'm crafting and she seems very comfortable - the chair is padded better than her highchair! I think that she has laid claim to this chair and that we'll have to hope she'll use a booster by the time our babies are ready for their Hippos!
I haven't taken the chair apart for cleaning yet, but I can see how to get the cover off. I imagine it would take a strong tug or two to get it off, but I'd rather tug a bit to get it off than have a cover that slips and slides while the chair is in use. It seems very sturdy. I tried to adjust the chair while our 18 mos old was in it and it didn't budge, which pleases me. Yes, admittedly, she is a little bit out from the table (mere inches), but closer than she was when we tried to pull her high chair up to the table.
I'm enamoured with this chair and wish we'd known about it before our 18 mos old was born - I'd never have bought her highchair! I don't know how much 'public' use our chairs will see (not going to be going out to eat very often with 4 young kids!), but I am happy to know I have sturdy chairs that can easily go to Grandma's house.
Bottom line - if space is an issue, this is a great product. If portability is an issue, this is a great product. If having a family table for meals is important to you, this is a great product. I would definitely buy this again and I highly recommend it.