THE HIGH CHAIR FOR CHILDHOOD TO ADULTHOOD: BEYOND JUNIOR Y

by Kenneth C. Children's furniture store in Austin, Texas

We’ve tried out several different high chairs with the girls. I’d like to think I know what I like and need to work with the girls and in our kitchen. With 6 people total, we have to have a high chair that works in our space.

We previously had a chair that was supposed to be a “space saver” because it sits on one of your chairs. The problem? It also takes up one of your chairs! Plus, it takes up a ton of space and prevents the chair from being able to go under the table when not in use.

I came across the Abiie Beyond Junior Y Chair and had to get a closer look!

First things to note, it works for kids approximately 6 months (sitting) and up. All the way to adult! So, I can use the chair at the table when there isn’t a kid sitting in it! The box was nice and flat and well packaged and included an allen key as the only tool needed to assemble the seat. I did it in less than 10 minutes (and this is only because I scrutinize the directions and read every page!)

It has a revolutionary EZ-Seat technology that makes the sitting area easy to clean and it also enables a quick adjustment of the seat in less than 20 seconds. You just have to push a button on either side and slide the seat bottom and/or foot rest out and back into it’s new spot. Honestly, I think 20 seconds is a over-estimate!

This eco-friendly high chair is made from top-quality European cultivated beech wood. It comes with the included food tray and dishwasher safe cover (that I took off for the pictures!) Because you have to push the buttons in on the side of the tray, it is a little harder to adjust and you definitely need two hands. I think there is a learning curve to it. But, there is also great appeal in not using the tray at all and pushing your child up to the table.

You can see on the picture of B above that it includes waterproof seat and backrest cushions and comes with the 5-point and 3-pt restraint system (as shown below on on E). According to the manual and testing, the 5-pt harness must be used on children under 36 months. If I adjust the straps just so for B, I’m able to keep the shoulder straps up, but more often than not because she is taller than the harness, they slipped off her shoulders. In personal use, I don’t think she needs more than the 3-pt harness, but the manufacturer can’t state that.

I really like that there is a bar between the legs attached to the seat. It prevents me from pushing B all the way up to the table, but it also gives me that added security of knowing she can’t fall down the middle of the seat.

Also, when the child is under 36 months, the seat needs to be in the first and highest position (as shown in the pictures with B above). This is because the safety testing is done here. I feel that B sits up a little too high in that position as well as it’s a little difficult to push up to our table. I would love to see testing done on the second seat position as I feel she fits in the seat better. However, in all pictures here, B is in the top position as suggested by the manufacturer.

I really like the foot rest for B, too. She seems to prefer it over our old seat where her feet dangled. On that old seat, she often had her feet up on the tray because it seemed like she wanted a place for them. Not with the Beyond Junior Y chair. She lets her feet rest on the footrest.

Because this chair is for kids and adults, I wanted E (and myself) to try it out. E is 40 months (I had to do the math, I really had no idea!), so I first had her in the seat with the padded seat and the 3-pt harness and the seat in the second position (looking at the pictures, I forgot to move the footrest down). It took just a couple seconds to remove the top part of the 5-pt harness and adjust the seat down.

For older kids and adults, you can remove the child seat portion completely and use the “footrest” as the actual chair. This also can be adjusted in just seconds to the desired height.

In both of these positions it was easy to push E and the chair right up to the table so she could eat with the family.

The Beyond Junior Y Chair is overall a win for us and we’ve moved the older “space saving” seat out of the house. I don’t know if it’s possible, but I’d love to see the same EZ-seat technology applied to the tray and I’d like to see it approved for babies to have the seat one position lower so they sit a little further down in the seat.

Often when we have family over, after the kids go to bed, we sit at the kitchen table and have to remove highchairs and booster seats, but with the Beyond Junior Y, we just take a couple seconds and remove the child seat and we have a seat for an adult, too!