Silver Cross Eat and Play Highchair review

When you start your baby's weaning journey, it can be difficult choosing a highchair for your baby, because you want something that will hopefully last them and messy mealtimes, but something practical, comfortable and that's not an eye sore too. The Silver Cross Eat&Play Highchair offers all of the above, with its stylish and comfortable padded seat and its 4-in-1 design.

I tested the Silver Cross Eat&Play Highchair with my two-year-old daughter, in both highchair and table and chair form. I looked at its practicality, the comfort level for my daughter, as well as how easy it was to clean after mealtimes.

Testing the Silver Cross Eat&Play Highchair

Design

One of the main features of the Silver Cross Eat&Play Highchair is the fact that it's a four-in-one design. Not only can it be used as a standalone highchair with a tray, but it can be used without the tray at a smaller height and as just a table and chair too. This makes it incredibly practical for using at mealtimes, as you can have the highchair at the table, or when your child is older, as a miniature table and chair for them to sit at.

The table has four sections that the chair can slot into to make it a standard highchair, but the design of these is done quite clever, as little fingers won't get stuck, as it's a pushdown feature with no awkward gaps. The buttons to release the chair are underneath the table and aren't easy for little ones to spot.

Another thing I loved about the Silver Cross Eat&Play Highchair was that the tray was removable so that you could have it at a table or as a chair, or to feed anywhere else in the house. I liked that it had two cup grooves as well, to help with the positioning of cups or bottles.

Usability

In all its functions, the Silver Cross Eat&Play Highchair was easy to use. It literally takes a few seconds to convert it from a highchair to a table and chair set, giving reassurance that the highchair is secure when it's a full highchair.

I found the five-point harness system extremely convenient too and easy to buckle up which is incredibly helpful, as it meant I could fasten my daughter in quickly and it prevented her from trying to climb out of the highchair, like she would with a three-point harness.

When using as a table and chair, I found my daughter struggled to climb in and out if the chair was tucked quite close to the table. The chair and table both have rubber grips on the legs, which is a great safety feature as it prevents sliding and tipping, however for usability as an independent toddler, it did mean she struggled sometimes as she couldn't gently slide back the chair to climb out.

Another good thing about the highchair is it's incredibly lightweight. The rubber grips on the bottom of the legs give it stability, and make it hard to move, but when lifting the highchair, it's incredibly easy. I love that it's lightweight, as it makes it easy to move around the house to where I need it.

Performance

I couldn't fault the performance of the highchair. It did the job while providing comfort and looking stylish. The only minor issue is that it can't be folded to store away when not in use and takes up a little space. However, to combat this you could easily just convert it into a table and chair for your living room.

My daughter looks comfortable in the highchair and eats all her meals in it as a highchair, and in the day uses the table and chair set to play on and have snacks. It's incredibly practical, and I've not found it tedious converting it from table to highchair after every use.

Final verdict

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with the Eat&Play Highchair. There were a few minor problems such as the difficulty my toddler had using the table and chair set independently, but otherwise, I found the highchair incredibly easy to use and easy to clean too.

While the Silver Cross Eat&Play Highchair is a stylish design too, I think if you don't have a big space and are looking for something more practical for storing away when not in use, it wouldn't be a great choice. The only benefit for practicality is the fact it can convert into a table and chair, but otherwise, it wouldn't be easy to store away.

However, in saying that, I loved the design and the fact it had multiple uses and will save us from having to invest in a table and chair for playtime. So if you're looking for a highchair with multiple functions, then the Silver Cross Eat&Play Highchair is a great choice.

Silver Cross Eat&Play Highchair FAQs

Can I let my baby play in the highchair?

While you might just think that the highchair is for feeding, it's a great place for short-term play too. The great thing about the Silver Cross Eat&Play is that when your little one can walk, you can convert the highchair into a table and chairs so that they can use the table to play on.

Samantha Ball is a Commercial Content Writer and freelanced for the Mother&Baby website for two years before joining the team full-time. She's a mum of two and loves browsing for the best products and cute outfits.