Cheap and practical (Cosco Sit 'n' Grow Highchair)

Member Name: Gwenick

Product:	Cosco Sit 'n' Grow Highchair
Date:	13/06/01 (370 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: cheap, easy to clean, sturdy

Disadvantages: instructions hard to follow, doesn't fold away

When my son was almost 9 months old and STILL eating his food sitting in his bouncy chair we decided that it was time to buy him a highchair. We'd been meaning to for months but had simply never got round to, or more to the point when we got round to it we couldn't afford one. However, just before we went to purchase a seat my cousin told me that we could have hers if we waited for just a few more months.

Now, obviously it wouldn't have been practical to wait for a few months with no highchair at all so we decided to buy the cheapest one available in Argos. This turned out to be the Lipski Sit'n'Grow Highchair (I have just discovered that this chair is advertised as Cosco Sit'n'Grow - though my box and instructions definitely state Lipski).

This chair is made completely from plastic and is supposed to convert from a highchair, to infant seat (booster), to 'youth chair' - meaning the manufacturers believe that this chair will last until the child is 10yrs old.

After bringing it home, on the bus, it only weighs 6.5kgs, I told my husband to sit down and let ME put it together. I'm not a particularly technically minded person and usually when instructions are involved hubby sorts it out.

Once I had battled my way into the box and taken out the pieces I looked at the instructions in horror. They consisted of a row of 6 pictures each around 3cm square in black and white, with a small piece of writing next to each. This applied for the instructions to convert to infant seat and youth chair too. However, despite the difficult to follow pictures I managed to put the chair together (all be it with the Argos catalogue open next to me - it showed how it should look more clearly).

About 30mins after starting the assembling of the chair it was ready for use. As I have already mentioned it is made entirely of plastic and when I looked at it I saw straight away that it would be quite uncomfort
able for my son to sit on for any length of time. However, the tray is a good size, comes off easily and the waist strap is very easy to use, with a simple clip.

When I placed my son in the seat for the first time he seemed to quite enjoy it, and didn't seem too concerned by the hard, red plastic seat. However, despite being able to sit unaided extremely well, he kept slipping on the plastic. This problem was easily rectified using a small cushion, this stopped him slipping and he stayed in there for almost 1hr.

Cleaning the chair is very easy as it is all plastic, there are no covers to take off and wash so this reduces the cleaning time dramatically. Another plus point for this chair was the fact that no tools were required for assembly, a plastic 'key' was supplied. This highchair is feels and looks very sturdy, and although not recommended, is light enough to move around with my son in it.

The main disadvantage of this chair is that it can not be folded away after use, although it doesn't take up too much room. Also as already mentioned the seat is rather uncomfortable and the tray height is non-adjustable.

However, despite these drawbacks this seat was very good value for £19.99 and, if the manufactures are correct, it should last me for several years.

Summary: