The American developmental psychologist Diana Baumrind gained international recognition in the 1960s for her research on parenting styles. According to Baumrind, the essential components of a happy home are structure and warmth, provided by a parent or guardian who takes pride in teaching their child the importance of good behavior while providing all the love and attention they need to build self-esteem.
Contemporary research has since backed that up—children raised in this way fare better in school, enjoy better mental health and are more likely to stay out of trouble than their peers. As any parent knows, creating the ideal conditions in which your children can thrive while juggling the demands of modern life is not always easy, but according to the psychologist and best-selling author Lisa Damour, shared mealtimes are a good place to start. After all, gathering around the dinner table is often the only time in the day when all family members can be together in one place—providing both a regular structure for meaningful conversations and familial warmth. Here, young children can be taught table manners, healthy eating habits and how to use cutlery, but it’s also a place that allows you to bond as a family and share the small moments that can turn into lifelong memories.
Getting infants to the table is something that Nuna’s BRYN highchair helps to integrate seamlessly into daily life. The wipeable tray can be detached, allowing children to be brought into the heart of the meal, and its modular design means it can be as flexible as you need it to be. The chair does not require any tools for assembly, and the easily adjusted harness and footrest allow it to evolve as your child grows, becoming a consistent part of mealtimes from the time that they can sit up unaided to around six years old.
The BRYN’s clean lines and accents of high-quality wood—available in either black walnut or maple—mean that the highchair will also sit harmoniously in any design-conscious home, leaving you free to focus on the joy of parenting. While “planned meals are just one of many routine interactions that can weave structure and warmth into the fabric of family life,” Damour writes, they are perhaps the most consistent way, as a family grows and changes, to create beautiful memories for both parent and child to treasure for decades to come.
This feature was produced in partnership with Nuna.
