That’s my baby boy at 11 months old. That was in our hotel room in Tokyo, Japan, while we were enjoying breakfast. There was no high chair and no booster seat and although I could have easily put him on my lap, it was a lot easier (and fun for all of us!) for him to be in his own chair.

Most of the restaurants we went to while there, did not have high chairs. The ones that did, did not have a waist strap. Needless to say, the waist straps they sold separately in department stores were a big hit. We saw them everywhere, being used by everyone with a baby.

That was probably our first purchase in Japan, since we realized right away it was going to be pretty hard to eat out with our son otherwise.

And a great purchase it was. We got a ton of use out of it. Since basically all it is, is a thin fabric belt, it was so easy to carry around in my purse or diaper bag.

We’ve used it quite a bit at home when our son was younger too and pretty much bring it with us everywhere we travel since you never know about high chairs.

It’s not a common item in the US since high chairs are pretty prevalent. The most similar thing I’ve found available in the US is the Sit ‘n Secure strap. Seems a bit more constricting, but I suppose when you are dealing with a smaller baby, that would be better. You can use it on a baby as young as 6 months.

Pretty cool, eh?