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Wedding Reception Forum
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Toddler seating
What do people typically do for babies/toddlers who are old enough to sit by themselves but too little to be in a regular seat? I'm thinking like 1+ to 2 + year olds. Do you give them a regular chair? Do they sit on their parents laps? I asked one mom if she'd like a separate seat for her child and her response was basically "oh yes! A high chair would be really thoughtful of you!" Ummm.....I didn't mention a high chair, our venue doesn't have any and it didn't occur to me to rent them.....do people expect high chairs to be provided at weddings? Our venue is not at a restaurant, which I can imagine would be more likely to have them anyways.
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Re: Toddler seating
Ideally I'd know in advance if highchairs weren't provided, so I could bring our two booster seats from home, and i guess the third kid could sit in the stroller? A line on your wedding website about no highchairs wouldn't go amiss.
Worth noting that even a baby too young to sit on their own needs a place at the table, so they can hang in their stroller. They don't need a chair, but definitely room at the table.
A high chair would be really helpful for the toddlers under 18 months. Depending on the chair, toddlers older than 18 months can often make use of a booster seat.
As PP's have noted, room at the table is a must, even if it is to accommodate a stroller. We tried to seat our families with toddlers at tables up against the wall (versus aisle tables) or corner tables to give them the most space and "wiggle room" for the little ones.
Our venue is is providing the chairs so getting high chairs would require getting them from an outside source. It's just a rentable hall, not a "wedding venue" specifically so it makes sense to me that they wouldn't have high chairs available. Anyways, I spoke to my fiancé and we decided that we will wait until after the RSVP deadline to see how many kids we are actually dealing with and make the necessary accommodations then.
Anyway I like your plan to wait for the RSVPs.
Regardless, I'll see how the rsvps go. Maybe I'll have five toddlers, maybe I'll have none and I can go from there.
OP, I would go high chairs or boosters, depending on the kid. When the RSVPs come in, ask the parents what they prefer. No point in worrying before then, especially since kids will grow between now and then.
Once DD was about 3 she sat long enough that a standard chair was fine. Right now DS is about to turn 2 and he doesn't sit still and loves to throw things. Last week he threw an ear of corn at my ass. Sunday he threw his dinner on the floor.
If the hall doesn't have anything, I would contact a local equipment rental company and find out if they have restaurant style ones you could use. If there's literally nothing you can find, I think it's fine to tell the parents that the hall doesn't have anything and you couldn't find a place to rent, but you'll be leaving a seat for the child.
As a parent, I would understand that you did everything you could outside of buying highchairs (I would NEVER expect that). I'd probably just bring our foldable booster seat or feed him in the stroller or something.
As a parent, I could deal without a high chair if you can't obtain any, but I would like the heads up so I could bring the stroller. I really wouldn't want to hold DD in my lap the whole time, and she's so wiggly, it would probably just end very badly.
SaveSave
I gave every person, including my 4 month old great niece a seat space at the table. I checked with my venue in advance to see if they had high chairs and/or booster seats available. You might ask why save a seat for a 4 month old? Because when she wasn't being held (basically during dinner), she was in a carrier seat and her parents needed somewhere to put the car carrier so they used a chair. We didn't want her on the floor because then people would be less likely to see her making her carrier a tripping hazard. Even toddlers, if they don't eat, having their own seat, they can sit and color or play with a toy while mom & dad eat. If mom and dad are able to enjoy the great food you are serving, they will enjoy your reception more and it will make it a more memorable night for all. If your venue doesn't have high chairs/booster seats, contact all guests that will bringing seats and go "I'm just checking to see if Jr needs a high chair or booster seat so that way I can make sure to rent enough of them." We had two people take us up on the booster seat, another said, they have a pillow that they travel with that their child likes to use as a booster. You never know, when asking people about their needs, once they hear that you are renting them, if they have a travel chair, they may just offer to bring that with them.