How to Choose a Safe Seat for Your Baby to Eat with High Chair Designer Kirsti Vandraas

#92: Have you ever looked at your baby’s high chair and wondered, “Who in the world designed this thing?” In this episode I’m joined by Kirsti Vandraas, a physiotherapist and ergonomist who works closely with Peter Opsvik, designer of the Tripp Trapp and Nomi high chairs.  Kirsti is taking us on a tour behind the design of Opsvik’s Tripp Trapp and Nomi high chairs, including how they promote freedom and fellowship at mealtimes from baby’s first bites. From the absence of a tray, to the inclusion of an adjustable footplate and why European versions of these chairs do not include straps, prepare yourself to learn more about your child’s chair design than you ever thought imaginable! Listen to this episode to learn:  How American and European safety standards differ and how that results in different expectations about what a high chair is for and what role it plays in the family...particularly important is why Peter Opsvik designed the Tripp Trapp and the Nomi to NOT have a tray and instead come right up to the table for family meals. How straps can be encumbering and don’t promote freedom or function at meals. Kirsti uses her ergonomics background to explain the benefits of allowing children to climb in and out of their chairs, and she shares about her own grandchildren teaching her when they were ready to have the guard from the infant feeding chair removed. Why an adjustable footrest or footplate is essential for torso control and she shares great analogies about stable feet supporting a “victorious” posture...something we can implement even from baby’s first bites.  Shownotes for this episode can be found here: https://www.babyledweaning.co/podcast/92 Links from This Episode: Peter Opsvik’s company page at opsvik.no - here you can learn about the Tripp Trapp and Nomi design, features and benefits as well as Peter’s other iconic design work Stokke has sold over 12 million Tripp Trapp chairs - this is an investment but certainly one that grows with your child. Click here for the Tripp Trapp on Amazon (this is an affiliate link). The Nomi is the next generation high chair Peter Opsvik designed and dedicated to his grandchildren. It is available in a number of colors with varying wood choices to suit your aesthetic and design preferences. Click here for the Nomi on Amazon (this is an affiliate link). Be sure to select the Nomi high chair vs. the Nomi chair (the high chair setup is for babies age 6m+) Follow @peteropsvik on Instagram  Baby-Led Weaning with Katie Ferraro program with the 100 First Foods™ Daily Meal Plan, join here: https://babyledweaning.co/program   Baby-Led Weaning for Beginners free online workshop with 100 First Foods™ list to all attendees, register here: https://babyledweaning.co/baby-led-weaning-for-beginners 🌱 🌱🌱🌱 🌱 Not sure about which foods to offer your baby next? Get your copy of my original 100 FIRST FOODS list on my free online video workshop called BABY-LED WEANING FOR BEGINNERS. 💯 💯 💯 💯 💯 Want guided help on how to make all of the 100 FIRST FOODS™ safely for your baby? My program BABY-LED WEANING WITH KATIE FERRARO has a 100 FIRST FOODS daily meal plan and everything else you need to start solid foods safely with baby-led weaning. CLICK HERE TO JOIN. 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 Be sure to follow @babyledweanteam on Instagram and our Baby-Led Weaning YouTube channel for more information about helping your baby transition to solid foods safely. 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 If you learned something from this episode and like this podcast, your review means the WORLD to us and helps other parents find this important evidence-based infant feeding info. Click here to leave a review on Apple podcasts or rate this show on Spotify podcasts and thanks for being a part of this amazing and supportive baby-led weaning community! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices