We had a client choose very inexpensive upholstered chairs for their breakfast area because they had 3 young children (the youngest not quite 2). Meal time is very important to them and they want to all sit together. The chairs were like $80 apiece and will ultimately be discarded and replaced when the kids get a bit older. I can't remember for sure but I think they came from a store like Target, Home Goods or something like that.

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I have a 2.5 year old, and another on the way. I would consider buying some inexpensive chairs in a dark color, and upgrading when the child is a little older. We have leather upholstered chairs in our dining room that were lovely a year ago, but now feature rips and some distinctive ink marks from pens.

The chairs that have covered seats that aren't piped with that thin cording.

They just unscrew from the bottom and you can recover with a staple gun.

really, adults do as much damage to upholstered chair BACKS as kids might do to the seats. no one washes their hands before pushing their chairs in to the table after dinner, and that grimey-grab in the same place on the back every day is a killer. i'm with maureen and leelee. keep the backs wood.

that said, i managed to drop a gravy coated steak tip on to my less than a year old upholstered chair seat (i was standing behind the chair, the steak tip was acrobatic...) and wanted to cry. i blotted and sprayed with upholstery cleaner and by the next morning when it dried i couldnt tell which chair i dropped it on. so accidents are fixable, and go for a print fabric that doesnt have much solid color background

my husband wanted to hold up a score card. it stuck its dismount happily and didnt land on the floor.

Thank you everyone! We're going with gray fabric upholstered chairs that we found on Overstock.com.