Safe counter height chair?

[theresa1]

I need a way for my three year old to sit at our kitchen counter. We often eat there and he wants to help with cooking too. A leaning tower doesn't work well because he plays instead of eats and drops a lot on the floor. Not his fault, just not a great set up for him. A chair that clips right to the counter and hangs there like the phil and teds one is what we have been using. It works great and my son eats well sitting in it but he has out grown it.  I am afraid to let him sit on a stool even though it has a back because he has the ability to tip it over or fall out and it just seems like a long way to the floor compared to a regular chair.  I have though about a booster seat on a counter height chair, but there is still the tipping over issue. Any ideas? 

[EzzysMom]

Not sure there's any other option than the stool then. Stay nearby and remind him to sit correctly. My almost 3 DD has a hard time sitting still well too, but has no problem with stools at people's houses, even backless ones.

[bobandjess99]

This *sounds* really bad, but I swear it's not.  You can tie him to the chair.  Unless you believe he will deliberately lunge so hard as to tip the entire chair over. But if it's just to prevent a "omg i lost my balance" type deal, it's fine.  A SSC or sling actually works great for this purpose..you tie the straps around the child, but instead of onto your body, it's to the chair.  It's used here by a lot of families i work with who are immigrants because high chairs are expensive/a total luxury in their home country.  

[ChinaDoll]

Originally Posted by bobandjess99 

This *sounds* really bad, but I swear it's not.  You can tie him to the chair.  Unless you believe he will deliberately lunge so hard as to tip the entire chair over. But if it's just to prevent a "omg i lost my balance" type deal, it's fine.  A SSC or sling actually works great for this purpose..you tie the straps around the child, but instead of onto your body, it's to the chair.  It's used here by a lot of families i work with who are immigrants because high chairs are expensive/a total luxury in their home country.  

we did that with a ring sling when we lived overseas, because high chairs were not available in restaurants.

[theresa1]

Hi, thank you all for the replies. I guess I am afraid he will knock the whole chair over if her kicks his feet aganist the wall under the counter or pushes himself back from the counter and the chair tips over. What if I didn't catch him?  Maybe this isn't really a rational fear, but he would only have to tip the chair over once...

Tying him to the chair got me thinking though, I am thinking about installing/screwing eye hooks into the bottom of the counter and tying the chair to the counter somehow. Any ideas about how to try this? Or other ideas to keep the chair from being able to fall over?

[TheGirls]

We have counter height chairs in our kitchen, and my DD (now nearly 3) has sat in them since she was a bit over 2, without any sort of restraint.  We've not had any trouble with tipping, but she does forget and stand in the chairs sometimes.  She's fallen off that way at least twice, and not been seriously injured (crying, yes, ER visit, no).  We have hardwood floors in our kitchen.  Usually she is careful, which is why it's only happened twice in a year or so of daily chair use.  It's been months since her last fall (which is when she learned not to reach for something far away while standing in the chair...)

[Mom2M]

We use a step stool that has a bar on it because that's something we already had and she likes to climb up and down. There are bar stools that have backs on them and if you used one, you could put a belt around it for a restraint.

[Mom2M]

This is the kind I was thinking of http://www.amazon.com/Satin-Black-Finish-Metal-Swivel/dp/B00025L2TG/ref=sr_1_9?s=furniture&ie=UTF8&qid=1302360519&sr=1-9
They're really stable and swivel around.