When Is My Daughter Ready for the "Grown Up" Chair?

Yep, my son is going through this now also. Every once in a while he will chose to sit in his booster but most of the time he wants to be like the rest of us in a chair. It does create more mess, but he eats great & doesn't get down. Even in resteraunts he refuses the booster seat now. I think it's important to let them express their independence a little and I believe in chosing my battles. If he wants to feel like a big boy & sit in the chair, go for it! If he wants to not hold my hand in the street, well that is when I will put my foot down.
My son also refuses to use his toddler silverwear. He tells me no & ask's for a "daddy spoon". I think he is just wanting to be like the rest of the family.

Hi my daughter was around that age to. She just sits on her knees if she can't reach the table and she did fine. I would just try it and see how she does.

Hi D.,
First off, I do not think there is anything wrong or stupid about your question. The more knowledge we have, the more we can grow and the less we fear.
One thing i can say about independent kids is you have to let them try new things. My advice is that if she tries sitting in a big chair and then doesen't like it, you will then know for sure. Each child is very different. However, most children, and adults for that matter need to try new things to know if it is time for them. I have a very independent daughter who is 14 months and she is the same way. She can now climb up to the big chair. Every single day she tries something new and I am blown away. My husband wanted to begin time outs with her. I asked a question about that to mamasource and got 1 response. To me, either moms didn't like the question, or didn't know the answer. Essentially I realized that until Sarah, my daughter could understand the reason behind timeouts, w should not start them. The question you are asking is similar. If your child can understand what the big chair is, then I say go for it and have no fear. :) Hope this helps... I live in Redmond,WA and moved here abt 3 years ago. Take care and good luck with the resolution.

Blessings,

K

My son did the same thing..I just figured why not let him try it?
So now he can sit in the grown up chair as long as he's acting like a grown up..sitting in a booster..(or high chair) is a common threat to help keep him on track.

Hi D.,
We have gone through the same thing with our son recently and have decided to let him sit at the table. Our reasoning is that since eating is also a social behavior he will feel more part of the family. I also think that when it comes time to use the big potty (or whatever else I encoursge him to do in a more "grown up" way) will be better received in the future. If your worried that she might fall off the chairbecause it's wood put something anti slip on it with a towel over it or use just the towel on a cloth covered chair.

Hi D., both of our daughters were this age when we let them sit in booster chairs.they want to be with us like little people. I say let her sit with you both and start having that structure of family sitting together at the table.if she starts getting up and down just maybe remind her she sits like a little person in the chair or back she goes to the high chair.but I would maybe let her try it and praise her when she does sit there with you both,just remember her time frame won't be long.like ours but good luck!~L.~

IF SHE IS NOT IN THE HIGH CHAIR THEN AT THAT AGE SHE IS IN A BIG GIRL SEAT. IF SHE WOULD BE SITTING WITHOUT THE BOSTER SHE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO REACH HER FOOD. NO SEAT MEANS SITTING ON THE KNEES-NO BIG DEAL? NO SEAT-SHE MAY FALL OFF BUT SHE WILL ALSO LEARN TO SIT STILL. LOVE THIS AGE THEY ARE LEARNING THEY CAN DO THINGS ON THEIR OWN.

Definitly let her sit in the big chair. My daughter is small for her age, and doesn't like to eat much, so the only way to get her to eat better was to let her have her way. They all have to learn eventually, just be prepared for more of a mess on the floor! And it really DOES help to sit together as a family-that way, there is less getting up and down from the table!

Hi D.,
I have 2 year old twin boys. We never made it to the booster seat stage of meal time. We bought them a little table and chair set that allows them to mimmic what mommy and daddy do. We also have three older boys. At lunch time, We would take turns sitting at their table to show them how "cool" it is that they have their own special big boy table just like mommy and daddy. It is probably easier for us since they are eachothers dining buddy. My sister just made a lunch date with a friend who had a daughter the same age once a week to encourage my niece to use her own table.

My kids have a little table of their own to sit at which is toddler sized, and they are very proud of their little table. It's great for me because I can move it around and store it away when we are not using it and bring it out for eating, crafts, and just about anything else. We don't have a large kitchen so we don't have a real kitchen table and chairs (the adults of the house eat in the living room at our computer desks, and the kids eat in the same room with us, but on their little table). I know a few moms who have kid table and chairs even with having an adult sized version. Might be something useful to look into.

If that doesn't intrest you, most of those booster chairs will strap to the bottom of an adult chair as well, which makes them a real booster instead of just attaching to the table. If you are worried that she can't reach the table by sitting on her own, have her convert her booster into a "big girl chair" with you.

Hi there my suggestion would be to go a head and try jer out in the big chair to see how she does or set up a smaller table for her with a big chair she can reach so she can eat and explain to her she needs to keep her food at that table and eat......P.

I think she would be okay if she can reach the table and it is not a danger for her to sit in a grown-up chair. My son will be 3 in may and I stopped using a booster seat with him shortly after his 2nd birthday. He was just fine to sit w/o it so i figured he was okay and he has been fine ever since.
Hope this helps!

Lauren

If you're home for lunch, breakfast, snack, etc. I would think about allowing her to sit in the "big chairs" during these less formal "family" times. I would use this time to teach her that if she is going sit in the big chair, she has to act like a big girl... sit still, sit on her bottom, etc. When she can do that, she can be allowed to sit at the dinner table without the "baby chair". However... can she reach the table easily sitting on her bottom in the big chair? My 7 year old still sits in a booster any chance he gets simply because he is so small that it's hard for him to reach the table without sitting on his knees, etc. which I don't allow because he seems to be all over the place and I think feet on other peoples chairs, in public, etc. is rude. If I had a booster seat at home, he would use it in a heart beat!

we just allowed our daughter to take it off and she figured out how to reach. with her kneess or whatever.. just reaching.. then a few months later she wanted it back.

Someone once gave me the best advice ever...
"Pick your battles"
I look at a situation and ask, what is it hurting, if it isn't hurting anyone or anything I allow it and let my kids problem solve to figure it out.
goog luck.

Yup the kid needs to feel as she is a big person too like mom and dad. Let her feel good about herself and allow it. Just wait till she wants to shave like daddy =)

My honest opinion when it comes to these little ones stretching their independance is to ask "will they get hurt?" "is it against proper behavior?" and "why not?". I dont see why she couldnt sit in a big chair. Maybe she will decide that since it is harder to reach the table she wont want to after trying it for a bit. Maybe ask your husband why he is reluctant to have her sitting in the big chair. If its due to the extra mess, a towel or sheet under it will catch the mess and wash up easy. Good luck. Jen

Well she is going to have to learn someday. Why she is sitting in the booster seat? She's going to have to learn cause and affect with her asking and her decisions. How else is she going to learn? Then you can ask her if she now wants to sit back in her booster seat.

I have a 2 1/2 year old and he has refused to sit in a booster since he was about 1 1/2. He does hust fine on a regular chair on his knees. Just make sure the chair is sturdy and does not have wheels.

My daughter did the exact same thing. She would have a royal fit about having to sit in her high chair OR a booster seat. She was about the same age, so I'm thinking it may be pretty common. What we did was take one of our breakfast bar chairs and use it at the table. It was a bit higher than the regular chairs but she still saw it as a grown up chair. Not sure if that would work for you. But I'd say just let her try it! It might be a bit messier but there isn't much harm in it. Good luck! :-)

D.,

I totally went through this with my middle son. When we moved here this past August, he was 20 months. He decided he would no longer sit in his booster chair at the kitchen table. He wanted to sit on his own in a grown up chair. At the end of the day I let him have his way. Mealtime was becoming a battle with the screaming because he was restrained in the chair. He could climb in and out of the chair successfully, so my dh and I decided to let the booster chair go. If you choose to go this route though, be prepared that she might be in and out of the chair during mealtime. This has gotten better over time though.
Good luck. I hope you find a solution that works for you.