I never imagined the baby and toddler stuff would consume our home.  Despite the fact that I told everyone not to buy us much more than a few outfits, we’ve still managed to accumulate a lot of gear…gear that takes up a lot of space in our home.  I’ve tried to eliminate the duplicates and utilize smaller, space-saving options when possible.

When my son was a baby, we were given a portable high chair.  It was great for toting to the grandparents’ house, on trips with my husband for business, and into restaurants.  The only problem was that it was bulky and didn’t transport well.  What a stark contrast compared to the minui Handysitt seating system.  Designed for babies and children ages 6 months to 5 years old, the minui Handysitt seating system can be used as a high chair, chair for older children, and step stool.

Even before I lived in Europe, I was partial to European-made products.  I remember walking the streets of Edinburgh as mothers pushed their babies in prams.  Wasn’t it just a few years ago that strollers with bassinets (i.e. prams) were showing up at trendy U.S. baby boutiques?  Europeans have a flair for style and design.  And their products are backed by quality craftsmanship and high safety standards.

This European-made high chair gleans inspiration from the Danes.  The company was started by two men in Denmark looking for a safe, portable high chair.  The minui Handysitt seating system is now sold in 25 countries across the world.

The seating system, although not complicated to set-up or use, involves several aspects.  You start with the Portable Seat which comes fully assembled.  It’s a wooden high chair built with FSC-certified birch and steel.  Used alone, this makes a compact, portable high chair that can be used with *most* chairs safely.  Here is a little video describing how it works, from the site:

The portable seat comes assembled and includes a safety guard (designed for use with children under the age of 3).  If you have a younger child, you might want to consider investing in either the baby cushion or basic cushion.  We received the baby cushion, which I think makes the seat more comfortable for children.  My son isn’t the speediest eater and spends a lot of time in his high chair, so a cushion is a requisite for us.  Some children (like my son) do not like to be restrained, despite the fact that they need to be protected from falling out.  My son was not a fan of the safety guard, and thankfully we received a 3-point harness with the seat.  While I appreciate the range of accessories offered, they’re all sold separately.  You can pick and choose which accessories you want to make the seat most comfortable for your child.  The two accessories I’d like to complete this seat include the Travel Bag (so I can put everything neatly inside and carry it with me on trips and such) and the StandAlone legs. The StandAlone legs allow the portable seat to be used as a floor chair (my son and I would LOVE this).

I’ve always preferred wooden high chairs to plastic ones.  Wood is much more complimentary to our home decor, is sturdier, and safer (I don’t have to worry about BPA).  The minui Handysitt portable high chair is stylish, compact, and offers children the opportunity to eat at the table with parents.  At only 5 pounds, I would readily take this with me to restaurants and overnight trips.

New for the company is the expansion of their seating system to include a chair.  When you combine the minui HandySitt Chair and Portable Seat, the result is a freestanding high chair.  The chair by itself is a stylish seat for older children and a sturdy step stool.  It’s not available yet, but I hear by the end of the month you’ll be able to purchase it.

The portable seat ($129.95) and chair ($169.95) are definitely an investment.  However, the seat and chair are crafted well and designed to be used until your child is 5 years old.  It’s really the only chair you would need for your baby, toddler, child.  For information about where the seat is sold, visit their website.

I did not receive compensation for this post.  I did received a product, courtesy of the company, in order to facilitate my review.