We had my son's first birthday party at a beautiful waterfront park near our home. Knowing that I would want to get adorable pictures of him sitting up and smashing his birthday cake, I lugged a heavy, portable high chair seat to the park and attached it to a picnic table in a sketchy fashion. It was cumbersome at best and the seat is still stained with blue icing. Now, four years later, I'm wishing that I had used a product like Airtushi, the inflatable high chair for babies that deflates and folds small enough to fit inside of a diaper bag.
Airtushi was designed by James Thorn, a dad and Head of Design at Roamwild, the company that makes the product. Thorn came up with the idea for Airtushi after his own son toppled out of a traditional portable high chair. He made his idea for an inflatable high chair a reality, and now Airtushi serves as a solution for parents on the go who need a safe and secure option for baby seating.
While convenient for home-use, traditional high chairs are obviously too large to throw in the back of your mini-van or in the overhead compartment on an airplane. But not Airtushi. While the seat inflates to a size large enough to hold children from 6 months to about 3 years of age (or up to 33 pounds), it also folds up small enough to be placed into a diaper bag, purse, or suitcase when deflated, making it ideal for most any travel situation. The chair comes with a convenient storage case and can even be tossed into the basket underneath a stroller when you're out and about.
The inflatable high chair features both under-seat and behind-seat straps that allow it to be securely fastened to any chair. This method of attachment makes Airtushi a great alternative to the fabric seat options that simply slide a pocket of fabric over the back of a chair, offering little support in the event your child moves around. Which, let's face it, they will. It can also be used on airplanes (when the fasten seatbelt sign is off) thanks to the built-in slot on each side to thread a lap belt through.
The sides are made sturdy to help prevent children from toppling over and falling, and the rest of the chair features cushion-like design with comfort in mind. The back and bottom areas are both padded and cushioned. A soft, yet supportive bumper bar in front aids in helping smaller babies sit upright. Another safety feature of the Airtushi lies in its three-point lap strap, which keeps your baby safely strapped into the seat.
Have you ever tried cleaning traditional travel high chair seats? I have (hence, the blue icing stains) and it is a pain. The fabrics can be hard to get totally clean and getting crumbs out of the inner corners of typical seats is nearly impossible. The Airtushi features a wipe-clean surface that dries quickly, making cleaning up after messy babies way less frustrating.
Not only is the Airtushi perfect for traveling by airplane, it also gives parents a place to safely feed or sit babies and toddlers while camping. Because the inflatable high chair can be strapped to a lawn chair with ease, it's also great for using anytime your family is enjoying outdoor activities like watching older brothers and sisters play youth sports. It can pretty much be used anywhere a parent goes with their baby that has a chair of some sort — grandma and grandpa's house, a restaurant, a friend's house, etc. And at a totally reasonable $24.99, adding this easy-to-use inflatable high chair to your baby gear collection is a no-brainer.
You can purchase Airtushi online at retailer Homgar USA and have the seat shipped right to your door.
