The claim: The Mamas & Papas Baby Snug and Tray is a two-stage seat that helps babies — from 3 months to 12 months-plus — sit up and moms sit down. Baby Snug adjusts as your baby grows: Just remove the seat insert. It is ergonomically designed to provide support and comfort as well as being easy to clean and lightweight, perfect when you’re on the move — for inside and outside use.

Cost: $59.99

Where: Baby-supply stores, us.mamasandpapas.com and www.toysrus.com

Yes, the Mamas & Papas Snug and Tray says it’s good for ages 3 months to 1 year, but the window is probably smaller than that, especially if your kid has places to go and mayhem to wreak.

I tested it for a week with my 6-month-old daughter, who was not yet crawling but was a crafty roller, as it turned out. About two minutes after I put her in the seat without the tray for the first (and only) time, she had somehow ninja-ed her way out of it, tumbling out onto the rug. Fortunately, this seat is compact and was on the ground, so she didn’t go very far or hurt herself.

However, attaching the tray made this seat very handy for feeding an active baby just starting solids. She sat in the chair long enough to finish a jar of food. The seat is also more secure for smaller babies than the average highchair. She also didn’t mind simply sitting in the chair — as long as it was for no longer than 20 minutes.

The Snug and Tray is probably best for children who are 3 to 6 months old and not yet mobile. It’s solidly built and would offer plenty of support for developing infants. There are no extra, small parts in strange places, so it’s also easy to clean — a plus considering that you’re trying to feed a moving target.

But if your child is older than 6 months and mobile, and you’re looking for a chair to keep her parked while you do household chores, this might not be the best bet.

— Nafari Vanaski

As soon as I put my 4-month-old son in the chair, he grabbed onto the sides, which prevented me from easily attaching the tray. He looked incredibly uncomfortable in it, because the design of the chair curves in a way that caused him to easily hunch over.

Thankfully, the tray was easy to take off, so I could quickly take him out of the chair. It was almost too easy to take off, and I’m sure, in a few months, he’d be able to take it off himself.

The chair is lightweight, so you’d think it would be easy to take to grandma’s house, but there really is no way to grip it with one hand … putting it back in the box would be the only way.

I don’t see a use for this in our household now or in the future, and I’d much rather spend my money on something else.

— Elizabeth Jackson

My wife and I gave our newborn son two shots at the Baby Snug infant seat.

In October, at 3 months old, he wasn’t ready. We placed him in the chair, snapped on the tray, stepped back — and watched him promptly slump over. The seat is supposed to be good for 3- to 12-month-olds, but our boy, it seemed, just didn’t have the core strength yet to support himself.

Last month, at 5 months old, we tried again. And it worked — sort of. Sure, he held himself upright. He even watched for a spell as Dad tried to vacuum the bedroom carpet. But he quickly lost interest. Without the blinking lights and soft music of his bouncy chair, the Baby Snug was just too pedestrian for him. To enhance the experience, I gave him a stuffed animal; he dropped it. I gave him a small book; he stared at it, unimpressed.

There’s nothing wrong with the Baby Snug. Maybe it works for other families. It just didn’t do much for mine.

— Chris Togneri

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