I’ll come right out and say it: my baby hates high chairs.

I know exactly why. She has two older siblings, whom she can plainly see do not use high chairs, because they are Big Kids, and Big Kids are extremely cool. I’m not sure how an 18-month-old knows about what’s cool, but anyway. The minute I try to strap her into any kind of baby seat at the table, she engages hover-mode — you know that thing where they won’t put their legs down and suspend themselves above their chair using the sheer force of their own will? Yeah, that.

The minute I try to strap her into any kind of baby seat at the table, she engages hover-mode.

I did perk up when they said I’d been designated to review the Nuna ZAAZ high chair, because I love Nuna gear. It’s always super streamlined, modern-looking, and awesomely solid. But a high chair? Emily, you’d better co-operate with this one.

Okay. Thank you. A smile would have been nice, but I won’t push my luck. So far so good!

The chair height is adjustable, which is great for non-standard-height tables — just raise the foot-rest and slide the ZAAZ seat up or down. You can also remove the tray but keep the belly bar attached, and pull it right up the the dining table for a great compromise between little-kid and big-kid eating styles. Both styles can be pretty messy, of course. I asked Emily to put the ZAAZ to the Toast Test, since every morning, she manages to produce the most toast crumbs I have ever seen from a human child. The ZAAZ has almost no crevices for food to get stuck in, which made cleanup surprisingly easy.

The ZAAZ has almost no crevices for food to get stuck in, which made cleanup surprisingly easy.

But the really cool thing about the ZAAZ is this: your Big Kids are going to want one, too. I have a petite 4-year-old and a fidgety 7-year-old; no seat is exactly the right height for Panda, and no seat quite keeps Andrew’s interest long enough to finish a meal. They’re always standing up on the banquette bench or clattering around on the grownup chairs. Guess what? The ZAAZ is perfect for them. Take the belly bar and restraints off, and you’ve got a fun and neat-looking chair that can grow with your kids, whether it’s mealtime, homework time, or time to mix all the Play Doh colours together into a cake shape with dried-out markers in it for candles.

But the really cool thing about the ZAAZ is this: your Big Kids are going to want one, too.

Heck, even a grownup can sit in the ZAAZ (it’s really quite comfy!): it can hold up to 220 lbs.

Once she saw her siblings sitting in the ZAAZ, Emily’s possessive toddler instinct kicked in — “MINE!” Definitely not something she’s said about a high chair before. Of course, we’ve never had a ZAAZ before. Among the three of them, I’m confident this seat will get a lot of use. I might have to get another one. Hm. Maybe purple next time …

Congratulations to Theresa Kinchen of Calgary for winning the Nuna ZAAZ!