Consumer Reports tests high chairs
Consumer Reports has partnered exclusively with 7 On Your Side for a report on high chair safety.
Feeding a hungry baby isn't always a picnic, but it shouldn't be dangerous. A recent study in the Clinical Pediatrics journal reports an alarming number of children suffer injuries from high chair accidents.
Consumer Reports tells us how to find and safely use a high chair.
More than 9,400 kids a year come into the E.R. with high chair related injuries. That's an average of one child every hour. Emergency room Dr. Darshan Patel at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital has seen many injuries from high chair falls.
"These could be anything from a bump and a bruise that could result in a mild concussion, to a fracture of the skull itself or to intracranial bleeding," said Patel.
Consumer Reports does extensive testing to assess high chair safety.
One test uses more than 60 pounds of force to determine whether straps and buckles are strong enough to withstand a wriggling child. They also checked the size of the leg openings to make sure a child can't slip through. Consumer Reports says the safest high chairs have a five-point harness.
"Meaning the harness attaches to the chair at five points -- one over each shoulder, one on either side of the waist and one between the legs," said a Consumer Reports researcher.
Top rated is this Peg Perego Prima Pappa best, which has the five-point harness and scored excellent for safety, for $250.
The Fisher-Price E-Z Clean also has the five-point harness and is very safe. At $85, it's a Consumer Reports best buy. And remember: a safe child is a buckled child.
Consumer Reports says although it may seem like obvious advice, make sure you always keep an eye on children when they are in the high chair even if they are buckled in.
Consumer Reports is published by Consumers Union. Both Consumer Reports and Consumers Union are not-for-profit organizations that accept no advertising. Neither has any commercial relationship with any advertiser or sponsor on this site.
