Bugaboo Giraffe High Chair: What You Need to Know Before Buying
If you’re buying a high chair, it is surprisingly easy to disappear down a rabbit hole of different options. Do you buy something cheap that will do the job for a couple of years, or spend more on one designed to grow with your child?
The Bugaboo Giraffe High Chair definitely falls into the second category.
It’s considerably more expensive than the basic high chairs you’ll find in supermarkets, but it has also been designed to last much longer. Depending on the accessories you choose, it can be used from the newborn stage and then adapted as your child grows.
So, what exactly are you getting for your money, and is the Bugaboo Giraffe the sort of high chair that’s worth considering?
This is a collaborative post about the Bugaboo Giraffe. I haven’t personally tested this high chair, so this article looks at its features and the things I think are worth considering if you’re thinking about buying one.
What is the Bugaboo Giraffe?
The Bugaboo Giraffe is an adjustable chair designed to grow with your child rather than being used solely during the traditional high-chair stage.
That’s probably its biggest selling point.
With the appropriate accessories, it can be used with a newborn, adapted into a traditional high chair when your baby reaches the weaning stage and then adjusted again as your child gets older.
The seat and footrest can be altered to suit different ages and sizes, so you’re not necessarily buying another piece of baby equipment that will become redundant within a couple of years.
In fact, Bugaboo says the chair itself can hold up to 100kg, so its potential lifespan is considerably longer than you might initially expect from something sold as a high chair.
Can you use the Bugaboo Giraffe from birth?
You can use the Giraffe with a newborn if you buy the appropriate newborn attachment.
This essentially allows your baby to be raised up closer to you while you’re sitting at the table rather than using the chair as a traditional upright high chair.
It’s worth understanding that some of the features you’ll see in photographs of the Giraffe require additional accessories. Don’t assume everything pictured automatically comes with the basic chair.
I’d definitely work out exactly which stage you want to use it from before comparing prices.
If you’re buying for a newborn, for example, you’ll need a different combination from a parent buying a chair for a baby who’s already starting solids.
Image Credit: Bugaboo Giraffe
What happens when your baby starts weaning?
When your baby reaches the appropriate stage for sitting in a high chair, the Giraffe can be configured with the baby set and tray.
The adjustable footrest is something I particularly like about the design.
It is easy to concentrate on whether a high chair looks nice or whether the tray goes in the dishwasher, but how your child actually sits in it matters too. Being able to adjust the seat and footrest means you can change the chair as your child grows rather than having their feet dangling miles above the footrest.
The tray can also be removed, allowing your child to sit at the family table instead.
Does it really grow with your child?
This is where the Giraffe is quite different from many traditional high chairs.
Once you no longer need the baby set and tray, you’re still left with an adjustable chair rather than a redundant high chair.
The seat and footrest can continue to be moved as your child grows and, according to Bugaboo, the chair can support up to 100kg.
Whether that makes the higher initial price worthwhile will depend on your family.
If you like buying something once and using it for years, I can certainly see the attraction. On the other hand, if you simply want an inexpensive high chair to get you through the messy weaning years, you might decide you don’t need everything the Giraffe offers.
What accessories do you actually need?
This is probably the area I’d pay most attention to before ordering because the Giraffe is sold in different configurations and bundles.
Depending on your child’s age, you may be looking at the chair alongside accessories such as the newborn set, baby set and tray.
There are bundles combining different accessories, but prices and offers can change, so I’d check the current options directly with Bugaboo before deciding which represents the best value.
More importantly, don’t pay for accessories you’re unlikely to use.
If your child is already past the newborn stage, for example, there isn’t much point choosing a bundle based primarily on it including the newborn set simply because it appears to offer a bigger saving.
Image credit: Bugaboo Baby High Chair
Is the Bugaboo Giraffe easy to clean?
Anyone who has ever fed a baby knows that food doesn’t remain politely on the plate.
It ends up on the tray, chair, floor, baby, walls and occasionally in places that seem to defy the laws of physics.
The Giraffe’s removable tray is dishwasher safe, which should make dealing with at least some of that mess easier.
I’d still consider how easy the rest of any high chair is to wipe down before buying. Beautiful designs with lots of awkward little crevices suddenly become considerably less appealing when you’re attempting to remove dried Weetabix from them!
What about safety?
Safety is obviously far more important than whether a high chair matches your kitchen.
The Giraffe can be used with a harness during the high-chair stage, and the chair has been designed with stability and adjustability in mind.
As with any baby product, though, I’d follow the manufacturer’s current instructions carefully, particularly around which configuration and accessories are appropriate for your child’s age and development.
I’d also check the latest product information rather than relying solely on reviews online, including mine, as specifications and recommendations can change.
Does it look like a traditional high chair?
Not really, and I suspect that’s part of its appeal.
High chairs aren’t usually bought because they’re beautiful pieces of furniture. They’re bought because you need somewhere safe for a small person to smear banana into their hair.
The Bugaboo Giraffe looks much more like a modern wooden dining chair than a traditional plastic high chair, particularly once the baby accessories have been removed.
There are different colour and finish options too, so if having baby equipment permanently sitting in your kitchen or dining room bothers you, the design may be another reason to consider it.
Personally, though, I wouldn’t choose a high chair on looks alone. Ease of cleaning, adjustability, safety and how long you’re likely to use it would all come considerably higher up my list.
Is the Bugaboo Giraffe environmentally friendly?
Bugaboo puts quite a lot of emphasis on the materials and longevity of the Giraffe.
For me, the longevity argument is probably the more interesting part.
Buying one chair that can potentially be used from babyhood through childhood is very different from buying a newborn seat, then a high chair and later another chair.
Of course, whether that’s actually what happens in your house depends on how long you use it. A product isn’t automatically a sustainable purchase simply because it can last for years if you stop using it after eighteen months.
That’s another reason I’d think about the long-term use before spending the extra money.
Is the Bugaboo Giraffe worth the money?
I think this really depends on what you’re looking for.
If your priority is simply finding somewhere for your baby to sit safely while eating for the next couple of years, there are much cheaper high chairs available and you might not need the Giraffe’s extra features.
If, however, you like the idea of buying one adjustable chair that can potentially be used for years, the price becomes easier to understand.
I’d compare the cost of the exact configuration you need rather than looking only at the headline price of the chair. Once you start adding baby sets, trays or newborn accessories, the total is obviously different.
For me, the most appealing thing about the Bugaboo Giraffe isn’t that it’s stylish – although it certainly looks nicer than plenty of high chairs I’ve seen! It’s the fact that it isn’t really just a high chair.
Whether that’s worth paying more for is ultimately going to depend on how much use your family would get from that flexibility.
