We did not start using a highchair until our daughter was 7 months old. This is the highchair we registered for and received before she was born. At around 6 months we introduced her to baby cereal, but we fed her primarily in her bouncy seat. We wanted her to be able to support her own head weight pretty well before we put her in a highchair. Let me say one great thing about this chair was how easy it was to put together, and store. It took 2 minutes NO JOKE, it's pretty much almost fully assembled in the box. It folds up great for storage until you are ready to use it. When she started out in the chair we had her in the reclining position and she seemed very comfortable. Now at thirteen months she is upright and makes a daily mess of whatever she's eating. She is still comfortable, how can we tell you ask? She sometimes falls sound asleep while eating and will take a nap of up to an hour in this chair! Extremely Adorable! This chair has a removable tray which we have just started using, because you can throw the mess in the dishwasher by using the tray. Until now a good swipe after she ate with a Lysol wipe cleaned up most messes adequately. I haven't had to wash the cover yet, because anything we got on the cover we wiped right after she ate, however it is supposed to be machine washable. On to the safety harness, rarely did we use this. When she was small the harness clips are so stiff they are next to impossible to unlatch, and the fit was wrong for a small baby. As she got bigger the plastic leg divider works fine with the tray securely in place to keep her from going anywhere. Having said this I have never left her alone in a room in the chair, even when she napped. Since the chair is one of the few with wheels it is easy to move her with me where ever I go. The chair pattern is nice and neutral and actually looks good with my kitchen decor. The seat itself is almost a year and a half old and has had no issues with wear and tear, no broken parts, etc.