fussy eaters ·

Our story toward fuss free mealtimes

Babies around the world rejoice as they can finally sit properly with the help from an Aussie mum invention!

An Aussie mum has invented a height adjustable footrest that is allowing babies to sit comfortably and finally enjoy mealtimes. For years, millions of babies around the world have been seated in their Ikea Antilop highchairs (and similar) without footrests, or with a footrest that does not meet their feet. This requires the baby to learn to feed itself in the most undesirable position - an unstable one.

The simple, but clever invention, is attached quickly to highchairs and helps babies and toddlers achieve the ‘90,90,90’ posture recommended for eating by occupational therapists and nutritionists. It’s called the Footsi baby chair footrest and it is becoming a household favourite at mealtimes around the world.

See ‘the problem is most highchairs on the market DON’T have good foot support’ says Melina Howe, the inventor of the Footsi™. ‘Either the child’s legs are dangling, or the foot support only ever suits them at the short time when their legs are a perfect length to reach the bar. My daughter was constantly kicking and dangling her legs around, while being distracted at mealtimes, instead of focusing on the task at hand - learning to eat properly! The daily mealtime struggle sparked the idea to create a footrest to improve her comfort at meal times.’

Difficultly at mealtimes can be quite distressing for parents who want to make sure they are achieving their child’s nutritional requirements and helping their child develop a positive relationship with food.

Babies and toddlers (and even adults) don’t want to fall on their head. It’s a basic survival thing. So, we do whatever we need to keep ourselves upright. Also, children can’t develop fine motor skills like using a spoon, biting and chewing if they don’t have stability in their body. They need to feel safe and supported. Sitting in a highchair without foot support can be very tiresome. This means that kids either wriggle a lot, or they want to get out quickly. When little ones spend lots of energy holding themselves up, it means there’s less energy to spend on eating. Think of yourself on a high bar stool - how comfortable are you with your feet dangling in the air? How much attention can you pay to the meal in front of you? How well can you spoon feed yourself when you’re using your arms to prop you up and your legs to grip on to the chair? Well this is exactly how our children feel when they are sitting without a footrest for the Ikea Antilop highchair (or similar).

Pimp my high chair is a mum owned and operated business located in Sydney (Australia). The Footsi™ footrest is sold worldwide and stocked locally in the US, Europe and Singapore.

Find us on Instagram: @nibbleandrest

Find us on Facebook: /nibbleandrest