13 Best Booster Seats for Babies

Do you have a tot who’s resisting eating meals in a high chair? Or are you traveling frequently with your tot in tow? Then perhaps it’s time to consider investing in booster seats. A booster seat is basically designed for little kids who can sit up unassisted (i.e., six-nine months of age) until they’re five years old. What’s more, unlike high seats, they can be fitted into any seat and be used as a car seat also. If that wasn’t enough, booster seats also strap on to the traditional dining chairs. The best booster seats for babies, including at-table and travel ones, offer the best options for open-to-sitting situations for your tots, no matter where they are. If that wasn’t enough, they’re portable options too, which are helpful for visiting friends or family or going on vacations. So, here are the 11 best booster seats for babies.

Summer Pop ‘n Sit Portable Booster Chair

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The Summer Pop ‘n Sit Portable Booster Chair is one of the best booster seats for babies. This ingenious seat is so compact that it can be left in the trunk of your vehicle for spontaneous playdates, dinners, and vacation trips. This travel booster seat for baby comes with storage pockets at the back for storing extra wipes for emergency cleaning and a carrying handle. What’s more, the brand makes it aware that they know all about mealtime messes. So, the seat has a BPA-free detachable tray that’s also dishwasher safe, making it one of the best booster seats for babies at table. The best bit is that it’s fully collapsible, which means storing it is a dream.

Hiccapop Omniboost Booster Seat

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The Hiccapop Omniboost Booster Seat is an excellent booster seat for babies. This seat has all the amazing features of a full-sized high chair but the footprint of a booster seat. Moreover, its design is so that it allows your baby to sit at the table with you from the very start of their feeding journey. So, it’s one of the best booster seats for babies at table, growing with the babies and converting to a simple booster seat when your tiny tot is ready. Additionally, it has non-skid duck feet for added stability on surfaces that aren’t even or flat, thus ensuring your baby’s safety. If that wasn’t enough, the tray is dishwasher-safe, making for a hassle-free clean-up process. Finally, the three-point harness has a one-hand release, making it easy to remove your kid quickly.

Prince Lionheart Squish Booster Seat

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The Prince Lionheart Squish Booster Seat is one of the best booster seats for babies at table. If going out to a restaurant for meals feels like a circus all the time, then you need this booster seat. Eating out with your baby is simple with this versatile and ultra-portable booster seat, weighing just around 1.6 lbs. So, you can even you can carry this seat with one hand and also store it permanently in the trunk of your vehicle so as to always stay prepared. Another reason this booster seat works so well at restaurants is thanks to the rigid base. What’s more, it’s designed to fit the contours of most regular chairs. Plus, the non-slip feet on the base mean that this can be placed securely on any surface. Wrapping up the features are the three-point adjustable harness system and the scratch-resistant and waterproof finish.

Fisher-Price Healthy Care Booster Seat

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The Fisher-Price Healthy Care Booster Seat is the best booster seat for babies. Kids grow quickly, and it could be hard for moms to keep up. That’s why this baby gear is so great, as it grows with the kids and helps them through the transition, making things so much easier for everyone. This booster seat has a lot going for it. For one, it has an easy-to-remove tray that you can use for years. Thus, this booster chair is also one of the best booster seats for babies at table. Secondly, it has a removable backrest, which converts it into a travel booster seat for baby. That, along with the adjustable tray, ensures that your tot fits comfortably through many years. Finally, all surfaces on this eat are smooth and sans any crevices, making it easy to wipe it down after meals.

Oxo Tot Perch Booster Seat with Straps

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The Oxo Tot Perch Booster Seat with Straps is one of the best booster seats for babies. This cushioned booster seat is designed for children 15 months and up and is easy to clean, compact, and simple. What’s more, the three-inch cushion makes it comfy for kids to sit for long hours and gives them a boost instead of being too hard or sinking. The stain-resistant fabric is another plus point, as you can easily wipe it down with a damp sponge to clean it. If that wasn’t enough, the entire cushion is removable. Wrapping up the features is the three-point harness system with easy-to-adjust safety straps that offer lots of freedom of movement while keeping your kid secure.

Ingenuity Baby 2-in-1 Booster Seat

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The Ingenuity™ Baby 2-in-1 Booster Seat is the best booster seat for baby. It’s particularly one of the booster seats for babies at table, and it’s easy to see why. This seat has a feeding tray with options to use or stash it. What’s more, it comes with a cup holder, along with a storage compartment for the tray, ideal for your little one to place down in. The seat itself is made from an easy-to-clean and soft foam that’s removable, too, especially as your tot grows and needs more room. Despite not having a recline function, it’s designed so that babies can sit upright even if they’re still not able to quite support themselves. While it’s not great for newborns, you can still use it with small babies.

Oxo Tot Nest Booster Seat with Straps

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The Oxo Tot Nest Booster Seat with Straps is one of the best booster seats for babies. This is one booster seat that’s easy to clean and doesn’t have corners, crevices, or trays. Thanks to its smooth, easy-to-wipe surface, there’s less food debris that can be stuck on the seat after mealtimes. Secondly, the booster has an adjustable three-point harness along with a strap to secure it to the dining room chair. What’s more, the non-slip feet keep it safe, secure, and sturdy atop the chair, thus preventing it from damaging the furniture. Finally, its high sides and back give your tot additional security as they sit in their big-kid seat.

Ingenuity SmartClean Toddler Booster Seat

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The Ingenuity SmartClean Toddler Booster Seat is the best booster seat for baby. When your little tot has become slightly independent but still hasn’t stopped growing, this is the seat to turn to. Depending on your kid’s height, the seat takes growing kids into account and adds either two/four inches (without/with the foam insert) to their height. So, they can comfortably reach a table no matter their size, no matter how young they are. Since your kid now eats at the table, there’s no tray. That means that there are no extra crevices for food debris to get stuck in. So, this makes wipe-up clean-up a breeze. The best bit? This foam can even be tossed into the dishwasher!

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Safety 1st Easy Care Booster

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The Safety 1st Easy Care Booster is one of the best booster seats for babies at table. It’s perfect for kids who’re anywhere between six months and four years old or weigh 50 lbs at least. This plastic seat might be simple, but it has a fabulous design. For one, it has a swing tray that’s dishwasher-safe, along with a cup holder. So, your tot can easily put their glass down right on the tray. Secondly, it attaches easily securely to most of the dining room and kitchen chairs. It’s not only affordable but comes in four amazing colors. Finally, the backrest ensures excellent support for your baby, especially if they can’t sit unsupported.

Summer Infant Deluxe Comfort Folding Booster Seat

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The Summer Infant Deluxe Comfort Folding Booster Seat is an excellent travel booster seat for baby. If you’re looking for a seat with a lesser weight capacity, especially for newborns and such, then this affordable seat is a great idea. Firstly, it folds for portability and easy storage, especially if your living space is limited. What’s more, it’s excellent for travel, as it can easily be stored in the trunk of your vehicle, no matter where you go. If that wasn’t enough, the seat cover is dishwasher-safe and machine-washable, making it easy to clean up for parents. Finally, the three-position tray makes it extra practical, while the two levels of height adjustment accommodate babies of all shapes and size up to 33 lbs.

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Graco Swivi Seat 3-in-1 Booster

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The Graco Swivi Seat 3-in-1 Booster is one of the best booster seats for babies that has the recline setting. The booster, which has a weight capacity of 50 lbs, is perfect for fussy babies who make sit-down meals an absolute task. This seat makes such mealtimes practical since it attaches to most traditional and regular dining chairs. However, the top draw here is that it comes with an infant recline setting. So, even the youngest babies can join you at the dinner table without mealtimes becoming hell for the parents. Aside from the fact that it is adjustable for growing babies, it even comes with a removable tray and a cup holder.

The First Years On-the-Go Booster Seat

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The First Years On-the-Go Booster Seat is the best travel booster seat for baby. Available in two colors, this booster seat weighs all of 1 lb. What’s more, it’s extremely portable and compact, because it’s inflatable! So, you can practically carry this seat around anywhere, whether you’re going to a restaurant for a meal or on a vacation. So, all you need to do to use it is pull the valve, and it automatically self-inflates to a stable position. For folding it back up, all you need to do is press the air out and fold it into its in-built carrying case once your baby’s done eating.

Chicco Pocket Snack Booster Seat

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The Chicco Pocket Snack Booster Seat is one of the best adjustable booster seats for babies at table. There’s a lot to like about this baby seat, starting with the foldable metal legs. They, along with the removable tray, allow the booster chair to adjust to not one or two but three different height positions. So, they easily accommodate a growing baby and their needs and space. Secondly, the straps attach to most of the dining room or kitchen chairs. Furthermore, the non-marking and anti-slip feet ensure that they stay steady and stable on most surfaces. Finally, the chair is lightweight and folds up compactly, so it and the baby can accompany you easily, no matter where you go.

How To Choose The Best Booster Seats For Babies

Age and weight minimums

The first factor you need to consider is the age and weight minimums for putting your tot in a booster seat. Most boosters in the market have a weight minimum of at least 40 lbs for backless boosters and 30 lbs for highback mode. Furthermore, many of them also have minimum age requirements of at least three years. Despite these minimum allowable thresholds, AAP and other bodies recommend not moving your kid to a booster until they’ve reached some minimum weight or height limits. The reference is the current car seat’s forward-facing five-point-harness system in the current car seat. 

Seat belt compatibility

Since booster seats rely on a car’s seatbelt to restrain a child, good products will position the seat belt well. That’s why many bodies and websites recommend highback boosters for everyday use since they usually position the shoulder belt better on a kid. Not only do they offer side-impact protection, but they also offer a more comfortable place for resting kids to lay their heads. Also, don’t rush in taking off the back of the highback booster. However, if you’re going to travel or carpool, backless boosters work better.

Types of boosters

Compact boosters might be very tempting, whether for storage, portability, or their lightweight nature, but they’re more difficult to use. That’s because they require the lap belt to be re-threaded with every use. What’s more, they also have higher weight requirements to keep the booster down (since it’s compact). Plus, it could also result in your kids’ posture being wrong as some come without cushions. They should be used only as a spare or for travel.

Dos and Don’ts

The FAA recommends against using boosters on flights since aircraft seats don’t have shoulder belts. Additionally, figure out the booster laws in your state since requirements vary. However, also remember that state laws don’t always reflect best practices, so take in height, age, and weight requirements too.

What is the best age for a booster seat?

Usually, kids between the ages of 5-9 years start outgrowing the 5-point harness car seat weight limitations. However, ensure that your kids weigh more than 65 lbs before they can switch to a booster seat.

How much should a baby weigh before forward facing?

The usual standard is when the kid weighs 20 lbs or reaches a year old. However, most experts recommend using the rear arrangement until kids outgrow the top height and weight recommendations of the car seat manufacturer.

Are backless booster seats safe?

While high-back booster seats are the safest choice, backless boosters are better than not having one at all. However, backless boosters work wonderfully as a spare and also for travel.