I never used a "real" highchair. I got a hand-me-down one from a friend and hated how large it was, I never used it. We bought a Fisher Price healthy care booster seat and used that even before Nathan was eating solid foods. He would sit in it and play with toys. I really love it. It's all plastic and so easy to clean. It's not big at all, but big enough that he still fits in it nicely at almost 2 years old. It's affordable, we paid $25 for it, new. It's easy to pack up and take with you, we take it whenever we're going to eat at someone else's house. I seriously love it.