Has your baby outgrown the original Upseat? It might be time for a traditional booster seat for your dinner table. The Upseat Boost is a toddler booster seat designed for toddlers who can sit unassisted (usually starting around 18 months of age) up to 5 years old (or 50 pounds, whichever comes first). The biggest reason you might prefer the Upseat Boost over other booster seats is because it encourages proper upright posture instead of slouching, but we’ll go over all the details and features in this article.
For a full review of the Upseat baby floor seat, click here!
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Let’s take a look at all the features of the Upseat Boost!
- Table of Contents: Upseat Boost
Upseat Boost Pros and Cons
The Upseat Boost gives your toddler an extra 4 – 5″ (10-12 cm) of height, which should bring them comfortably up towards your regular dining table. It comes with a three point harness to strap your toddler in securely, as well as the straps needed to secure it to an adult chair. Regular dining chairs are often too low for toddlers to sit on comfortably so toddler booster seats are designed to solve this problem.
- Pros
- Encourages upright seated posture (less slouching)
- Carry handle for portability
- Easy to wipe clean
- Lifetime warranty
- Made from soft material
- Made in Canada
- Cons
- Only fits certain sizes of chairs safely
- Price
Upseat Boost Pros
The Upseat Boost was designed with the help of physical therapists and features a slight angle forwards which encourages a forward pelvis rotation and a good upright seated posture. This helps encourage good posture and less slouching. Being in an upright position has the additional benefit of helping with digestion too.
The Upseat Boost isn’t just good for at home, it’s a good option for a travel booster seat that you could bring to your friends’ or family’s house. It has a nice sturdy handle on the back which makes it easy to move around or take with you on the go as needed, without a carry bag. It’s lightweight and easy to pack even if you have limited space.
The Upseat Boost is also made from soft, strong foam that has a lifetime warranty against manufacturer’s defects. The Upseat Company really stands behind the quality of their products.
Because the Upseat Boost is one continuous piece with very few spaces for food to get stuck, it’s quite easy to clean off.
It’s also made with quality components, in North America, where, personally, I trust the quality of manufacturing and safety standards more than if it was made elsewhere.
Upseat Boost Cons
Like any booster seat that is capable of being strapped to an adult chair, the straps only fit a certain size. You should measure your dining room chair before making a purchase to ensure it will fit what you have at home. If the straps are too loose, the booster might wiggle around too much and your toddler could fall off their chair.
The price of the Upseat Boost is higher than some other standard boosters on the market, but I can understand why, since it is manufactured in Canada. Paying employees a fair wage and using quality materials might contribute to the higher price.
Longevity, how long can you use the Upseat Boost?
It’s generally safe to use the Upseat Boost starting at 18 months of age or when your toddler is sturdy and able to sit completely unassisted. Every child is different so you may want to take into account your child’s muscle tone or ask for advice from your pediatrician.
You can use the Upseat Boost up to 5 years of age or until your child is at a maximum weight of about 50 pounds. Basically, it’s safe to use until your child probably doesn’t require a booster at all to sit at your regular table.
Price
The Upseat Boost is usually available for $69 USD when it’s not on sale ($89 Canadian). You can click here to check the price on Amazon.
Is it easy to clean the Upseat Boost?
The Upseat Boost is definitely easy to clean. I wash mine with a warm soapy cloth when it gets messy, which works just fine. The straps are durable fabric and can be wiped down too if they get food stuck to them. Easy cleaning is important for a product like this that is used at meal times. Many of the other top contenders in the booster seat business have a lot more nooks and crannies for food to get stuck in. It’s also possible to remove the fabric harness straps if you need better access to wash them. They don’t come out super easily (nor would you want them to) but it is possible to take them off from the bottom.
Upseat Boost safety features
The Upseat Boost has safety straps to secure it tightly to an adult chair. It also has an adjustable three-point harness to make sure young, distracted toddlers don’t slide out of it.
Alternatives
There are some other toddler booster seats on the market that also work well at a kitchen table and attach to a regular adult chair. However, none of the current competitors on the market feature the same kind of slope towards the front, which encourages the proper position of your toddler’s growing spine.
Skip Hop Sleek Seat retails for around $35 ($57 Canadian). Although this seat is less expensive than the Upseat Boost, it slants slightly backwards, which might encourage slouching. It also doesn’t have a carry-handle.
Oxo Tot Perch retails for about $43 ($75 Canadian). It has a 3 point harness included to secure smaller toddlers to the seat. It also includes the straps needed to attach it to an adult chair. It’s a fairly flat seat, unlike the Upseat Boost, and it doesn’t have a carry-handle. Read my full review of the OXO Tot Perch here.
BabyBjorn Booster retails for around $45 ($68 Canadian). It doesn’t come with straps that secure your child to the seat so it’s not able to be used with younger toddlers. This limits its use to roughly ages 3-5 years old. The lack of straps on top does, however, make it very nice and easy to clean.
Conclusion:
Although it’s slightly more expensive than the competition, the quality of the product, easy cleaning, and the fact that it was developed with input from leading physiotherapists makes the Upseat Boost a very desirable choice for a great toddler dining room booster seat. I was initially worried that sitting more upright might be uncomfortable for my toddler, but he’s enjoyed using this product. I was also curious to know if it really works very well or if it’s a gimmick, and it actually does seem to encourage better posture than a completely flat surface does.
Check out more of our articles on the best infant floor seats and toddler booster seats:
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