Don’t be alarmed.
We don’t believe that high chairs are less safe than in years past. The rise in the number of hospital visits for head injuries is likely due to more concussion awareness, as the article states. Awareness is a good thing although can inflate the numbers.
At the same time, there is room to improve safety. We’ve seen the roll out of new designs that are all about high-tech comfort and less about safety. More often chairs are coming with reclining features yet are still marketed as ‘newborn friendly’. That means instead of putting a kid in a high chair at four or five months old when solid foods begin, parents are starting earlier. The thing is…Earlier start + not using the restraint system = more injuries.
Heed the warnings and check out these safety tips from the AAP before making the leap to a high chair.
Ari Brown, MD
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