Product Review - Joie Mimzy Snacker

It’s been about a month since our Joie Mimzy Snacker highchair was delivered. I figured it’s about time I got on with writing about it!

For J, we had one of those wooden highchairs that becomes a chair and table as the child gets older. It was difficult to get him in and out of it until Daddy P modified it by cutting the bar across the chair (it didn’t move out of place before) and added extra straps to hold it in place again when needed. It was a bit of a faff to do and I was quite disappointed with it.

I had been looking around at various web pages for a while leading up to purchasing the Mimzy Snacker. Baby A started weaning at 6 months old, but to begin with I’d sit him on my lap, in the Bumbo or even in his bouncy chair to feed him as it was only small amounts of plain food such as baby rice and porridge to begin with. I knew I had to get a highchair for him but didn’t want to make a rushed decision and regret it again.

The Happy Owls pattern

It sounds silly but the first thing that attracted me to the Mimzy Snacker was the pattern I found it available in from Mothercare. It’s called Happy Owls and immediately I liked it. I checked out the features of the highchair and decided it sounded perfect for my needs.

The Joie Mimzy Snacker has 3 recline positions – since Baby A wasn’t sitting independently yet, I felt it was important that he wasn’t harnessed into an upright sitting position. With an upright position, a slightly reclined position and a very reclined position I felt this fit the bill. It has arm rests, and a five point harness which can be completely adjusted as necessary and removed completely for easy cleaning (this point became especially good when Baby A exploded after eating lunch one day and covered the harness in parsnip and carrot vomit!).

The Joie Mimzy Snacker has a large storage basket underneath – our old highchair had no storage – and I felt this basket would be very beneficial for storage of wipes, bibs, and highchair toys. It has a one handed fold which is done by simply grabbing the handle on the seat and lifting; it really is so simple and you can do it with one hand, with a squirming baby in your other arm. When folded, it stands independently – these points sold it to me, totally; I have limited space in my house with two children, two dogs and a dragon, plus the assortment of junk accumulated after nine years of living here (Daddy P is a hoarder which doesn’t help!) Being able to fold the highchair so easily and store it was a huge bonus for me.

The tray is removable, and has a dip in it for the cup to go into; On the underside there are hand grips, so with a hand on either end of the tray you pull the grips and slide the tray onto the chair itself. It has three slots to fit into, depending on how much space your baby needs, making it ideal from a young baby first weaning right through to a toddler about to stop using a highchair altogether. On the underside of the tray is a thick plastic bar to go between the child’s legs, adding extra stability for those like Baby A who aren’t strong sitters and who just slide forwards if there’s nothing there to stop them.

The Joie Mimzy Snacker arrived in a relatively compact box, and when I opened it I was expecting it to be a complicated build process and for it to take me between half an hour to an hour to do. Instead I was admiring the finished product within 10 minutes of opening the box. It was so easy. You just unfold the chair, add the legs on for the height and attach the basket to the hooks on the legs. Then all you have to do is adjust the harness for the size of your baby and you’re done. Baby A was in it as soon as it was built so I could see how big it looked and how comfortable he seemed; he was laughing and smiling, banging his hands on the tray and loving playing with the highchair toys I put on it.

I worried that because it was so lightweight (6.1kg) it would feel flimsy and unstable, but it doesn’t at all – its sturdy and strong and I feel confident that its safe and secure. The weight means it’s easy for me to fold it and take it between the front room and the kitchen as needed, which again is what I need from it.

The other day I put Baby A in the highchair with some toys while I went to the kitchen to put dinner in the oven and sort him out something to drink. When I walked back into the room he was fast asleep and snoring. I used the recline function and laid him back and he stayed fast asleep for another half hour. I think I can say with confidence that he finds it comfortable!

I really like this highchair and rate it highly. If you’re looking for a highchair, this one should definitely be one you look at.