What Is a Nursery Chair?
A nursery chair is a highly specialized, comfortable, upholstered and cushioned lounging style chair with a low seat, used primarily in nurseries to allow a mother to nurse and interact with her child without having to bend much. Modern designs have incorporated additional convenience features.
Primary Usage of the Nursery Chair
As the name implies, the primary use of a nursery chair is in a nursery, giving mothers a comfortable place with which to nurse, hold, burp, and interact with her infant child.
Types of Nursery Chairs
There are four primary types of nursery chairs, the most basic being the standard low-slung recliner. All of the other subtypes simply add features to this basic design.
- Classic Nursery Lounging Chair – As described above, these tend to be the most economical chairs in this class. Simple, comfortable and functional.
- Reclining Nursery Chair – This is a lot like a standard living room recliner, but with a lower seat.
- Gliding Nursery Chair – These are also referred to as platform rockers. They rock, but not as far back and forth as a standard rocking chair, but also glide back and forth along the length of the platform the chair is built on. Otherwise, they are functionally similar to other lounging chairs. Some models also feature a recline function.
- Rocking Nursery Chair – Loungers that incorporate a rocking function. Some models also feature a recline function.
Note that regardless of type, you can find some models that feature a separate Ottoman, if that better suits your tastes.
You can also find some models that are wider than a standard lounger, to give mothers more room to interact with their small children.
Origin and Brief History
The nursery chair traces its origins back to Victorian England, where they gained prominence in the homes of wealthy aristocrats.
During the industrial revolution, when mass production became possible, they quickly gained popularity all over Europe and America in middle-class homes. The additional types of nursery chairs were developed in response to changing tastes and preferences over time.