Not so Neat Seat (Graco Neat Seat Reclining Adjustable)
Written: Mar 03 '00 (Updated May 17 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: easy cleaning, over-the-arm restraints
Cons: difficult to put together
The Bottom Line: Hard to put together, Doesn't work right....not worth the money!
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| CJsMommy's Full Review: Graco Neat Seat Reclining Adjustable |
I will admit that the seat does serve it's purpose, but getting to that point wasn't easy. I bought this high chair with high hopes, since I was getting tired of feeding my baby in his car seat. The in store model looked great, had an easy to clean seat, and was reclining, which I thought would be great. But, once I got it home, it was another story.
Not only did it take me three hours to put this thing together, I cut myself four times on the metal, and put it together wrong two times before it was right. And it still doesn't recline the way it is supposed to. First off, the instructions are not explained very well. They use few words and poor pictures. Two of the parts on the chair were labelled backwards, leading to putting it together wrong the first time. And once you get to a certain point, you can't take it back apart to fix it. My husband almost had to break it to get it back apart.
Once I finally got it together, I was very excited to try it. But then I discovered that not only does it not recline back like it was supposed to...it only reclines forward. Now, I don't know about your baby, but I'm sure mine doesn't want to lean forward at a forty-five degree angle when he is eating!!!
Other than that, it is a good chair if you don't mind that it doesn't recline back. And I love the fact that the restraints go over the arms. Another problem is the easy one-hand tray which you need both hands to adjust. Over-all, the time put into it to put it together isn't really worth the money......these things should come pre-assembled!!!
The chair itself is pretty self-explanatory. The seat has a plastic covering in a blue/white design. You can easily wipe this off, and it comes off very easily. Almost too easily. There is a 5 point harness to hold your child in. The seat supposedly adjusts up and down, as well as reclines (which, as discussed before, it doesn't). There is also a "foot rest", which my son's feet do not reach. The tray is made of white plastic, and slides in and out.
Overall, not the most recommended of high chairs. It is relatively easy to clean, but very difficult to maneuver and put together. Not the neatest of seats!
UPDATE: September 18, 2000
Now, months later, my love for this seat has not grown. In fact, there's been many a day when I've wanted to throw it out the window! The Graco High Chair is supposed to be able to grow with your child. It is supposed to be able to be raised and reclined to fit a toddler. It does not. I have found that the larger my son gets, the harder time he has in the high chair.
First of all, I don't suggest putting shoes on your child if you plan on feeding them in this high chair. It is very difficult to put them in and out of the high chair with shoes on. Now, I know what you are thinking....why don't you just take the tray off? Sure, and then I would never get it back on! The tray fell off once when I was trying to get my son out. I had to wait til my husband got home from work so that he could put it back on.... It's not exactly a user-friendly chair....
Second...the easy cleaning has gotten not-so-easy. The five-point harness is forever caked with crumbs of various food particles. I can't seem to get anything out of the crevices in the harness. The white tray is also not-so-white anymore. I clean it right away, I swear, but there is still a spaghetti colored stain on it, as well as some peas and carrots.
Finally, back to the harness. It is getting very difficult to put the harness around my son's arms. He's not a fat baby by any means, but the harness just isn't long enough. No matter how much we adjust, there's just no easy way to get him in there!
I have changed my rating from 3 stars to 2. The Graco High Chair is definitely worse for the wear. It does not get better with age, and does not grow with your child! The product is definitely not worth the price, and will not be kept around for my next child.
Recommended:
No
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CJsMommy
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Member: Jennifer Boyle
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Reviews written: 267
Trusted by: 227 members
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