Customer Reviews

Fisher-Price Zen Collection High Chair

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

We liked the look of this high chair and being first time parents believed it had the functionality we needed. The chair is fine overall, but very difficult to clean. The removable dishwasher tray is easily removable - so easy to remove that it is the first thing my 9 month old son does when he gets in the chair. So that's useless and he just eats on the main tray, which is not easy to clean. The tray has many places for food to get stuck, which are very difficult to clean, and I would say the same thing for the rest of the chair. As the tray does not extend out very far over the sides of the chair it is easy for my son to reach down and grab them, getting food stuck in the cracks where the pieces come together. Without a taking the entire chair apart (and I mean into pieces using a screwdriver) you'll never be able to get it really clean. I wouldn't buy this chair again or recommend it to a friend for that reason.

We purchased the Fisher Price Zen High Chair for all of the obvious reasons: it looks like a top quality high chair, is pleasing to the eye, has a softer more secure padding system than others, is safe and easy to operate, etc. In light of long-term usage, however, this product has some serious drawbacks that shoppers should be aware of (Fisher Price certainly won't tell you).

The majority of the problems with this product concern the food tray, which is the surface area that your child will do most of their eating on. This aspect is where the Fisher Price product falls apart. The food tray is poorly designed in several regards:

1) As other reviewers have mentioned, the insert tray that fits over the main tray is virtually useless. Your child will quickly discover how easily it slips off of the main tray and onto the floor, taking all of their cereal, orange juice, spoons and play toys along with it. But this is a small concern compared to the next one.

2) The main tray itself is a SERIOUS HEALTH HAZARD. If you inspect the tray closely, you will see that it is composed of two opposing pieces of plastic (a top piece and a bottom piece) that are held together by a system of perhaps a dozen small phillips head screws. These top and bottom sections are hollow on the inside. Because water and other fluids will seep in between these sections, and because condensation gathers there, the space in between these pieces of plastic becomes a hothouse for mould and other fungi. Since the time I purchased the high chair, I have taken the trouble to unscrew the sections of the food tray several times to clean it out, and on each occasion have been greeted by a gelatinous gob of mould that has been festering inside. Naturally, the laws of physics assure us that what goes in must come out, and you can be sure that trace amounts of mould, bacteria and microbes squirm their way back out of the tray and onto your youngsters hands, etc. I have a set of photographs of this mould for anyone who is interested.

3) The belt and harness system for this chair is made of the cheapest nylon webbing possible. This webbing will rub your child's thighs raw during the summer months if they are not wearing long pants (say they are in their onesie, for example). The webbing is also white in color, which stains a strange orange/purple shade when it has had a chance to connect with a sufficient amount of Gerber's mashed carrots, beets, peas, etc.

All of the above criticisms are, in my opinion, serious design flaws that could (and should) be avoided in the production of a high end chair such as the Fisher Price Zen Series. In the final run, we paid top wallet for this chair because we thought it would be the best possible product our little guy could eat on. There are good aspects to it, but Fisher Price should see to these design issues before marketing this high chair as a flagship product to their customers ... particularly the aspects that could be hazardous to your toddler's health.

Bought this chair in November 2008. While it matches my decor very nicely, the functionality is horrible. First, the removable tray is so easy to remove that my baby (now 10 months) removes it herself and throws it on the floor. Secondly, the cushioned head rest, while nice in theory gets stained every time I feed the baby. There are so many crevices that food gets stuck everywhere. Lastly, the footprint of the highchair is very large so if you are tight on space, this is not the highchair for you.

This chair is pretty great. The colors work well in our dining room so we don't have to worry about hiding the chair. We use the fold-up feature for the back legs so it doesn't stick out as much, but it stays right in our dining room. Our 6 month old daughter decided to really "initiate" it by having a diaper "blow out" the very first time she sat in it and ate cereal. Let me tell you, she did a number on this one! To my suprise and delight, the fabric washed up great! No stains or signs of any mess.
My only two complaints about the chair is 1) the tray does not go on and off as easily as I would like, it takes 2 hands normally. 2) the locks on the wheels are too small so its hard to unlock them while holding a baby. I wish there was a way to lock and unlock the wheels with my feet rather than having to bend down while holding my daughter. Other than this, we love the chair.

This chair really is as attractive as it looks, and blends in nicely with our dining room so it is not an eyesore like so much kids stuff is these days! Easy to put together. Less wood on it than it seems from the pictures, some of that is actually brown plastic. Seating is great, easily cleanable - love the green seat. Seems a little small to last my now 6 month old through the next couple of years, I guess we will see!

After searching for a high chair for my 5 month old that is practical and not a complete eye sore for my kitchen, I decided to give this Fisher Price Zen high chair a try. I am sure glad that I did! First of all, it was easy to put together - in about 10 minutes I had the high chair put together and ready to go. The seat is very well padded and very supportive for a baby who cannot quite yet sit up independently. The high chair has 3 reclining positions which are also nice for the different stages of your babies development. My favorite thing about the high chair is the fact that you can remove the tray with one hand. Yes, I can hold my baby in one arm and remove the tray with the other - and must I say, very easily too! Another favorite feature of mine is the removeable and dishwasher safe tray insert. This is great because you don't have to spend your time scrubbing the tray to get it clean, jus throw it in the dishwasher. There are many features that make this high chair worth the money and I highly suggest it to any parent looking for a user friendly high chair for their baby. Happy feeding!

I ordered this for my 3 month old. Chair is beautiful! Not only was it a breeze to put together, it is very classy and matches my furniture. The top of the tray pops off and fits in the dishwasher very easily. The legs on the chair area little wide but still fit great around the table. Very comfortable for a small baby and reclines back very far. Overall great chair!!

I LOVE IT -
it's got style (for a high chair); it's easy to use; we bought this chair as we have a 'space saver high chair' fisher price which we have been very happy with, it's the kind you strap to the chair which we love - but with the twins I really needed their high chairs on wheels. This chair has the upright center support (for extra support) when you are taking the baby out; you can take the tray ff with one hand while holding baby in the other; it has a separate tray that fits in the dishwasher. It has 3 recline levels and also can be used at dinning & bar counter height. I researched for weeks...and wanted something that looked good and had all the features i needed - this does. I was prepared to spend anything and was even looking at the high end wooden chairs...but they just didn't have these features - recline, wheels, upright on chair, removable & washable seat cushion....I could go on...we love it!!

Pros:
-Feels well designed and built, wooden stabilizers add extra weight at the bottom and feels less likely to tip over.
-Easily wipable backing and straps that remove for laundry.
-Upper eating surface separates from tray for easy cleaning, and is dishwasher safe.
-Good height, can be pushed up to the kitchen table (without tray) and baby is part of the family.
-More attractive design than fisher price animal prints.
-Seat back can recline and seat height is adjustable.
-Wheels roll easily for zooming around the kitchen, feels very stable.
-Straps are easier to use than Graco high chairs.
-Wooden foot rest for adult when feeding and baby gets his own foot rest as well.

Cons:
-Directions for assembly take guesswork. Seems uncomplicated until it's mostly assembled, then you realize half the legs are in the wrong slots.
-Wheel locks are effective and easy to lock with your foot, but not so easy to unlock without bending over.
-Tray tilts away from baby so dropped food or bottles can roll out of reach.

Overall we like this high chair a lot and would buy it again. Seems like, as with so many things in life, you get what you pay for.

After tirelessly looking at reviews for high chairs, I decided to purchase the Fisher Price Zen high chair. So far, it has lived up to expectations. I love how it has the recline feature, the padding is great for my 8 month old son, it has the five-point safety harness, appearance is decent and the tray is easy to clean. I was apprehensive about putting on the tray in previous reviews, but it is really easy once you learn how to do it (you don't slide it on at first - you pop it on, then slide). It's fairly easy to clean. The only thing I would change is that it would fold up a little bit more. I almost went with the Boon Flair, but I just couldn't pay that much more (and the Boon has no recline options and a VERY small tray). All in all, I am very happy with my purchase.