Does a 20-month-old have to sit in a carseat on the plane?

[Pamlur]

We have bought an airplane seat for our 20-month-old granddaughter; daughter asked if we have to haul the huge carseat and I didn't know the answer. We are using Tiffany for transportation, and I know they will provide a carseat for that part.

Thanks!

[safetymom]

They don't have to sit in the seat but probably would be more comfortable and safer also.

[Mickiethepooh]

The airline will not provide one and for her safety she needs to be in one. So I would say you do need to bring one.

[summerrluvv]

The seat must be FAA approved, so make sure you look at the carseat to see if it is. As far as being safer, I'm sure I so much agree with that, but I'm not going to express my opinions on that matter.

[Mady/Sophiemom]

We took one and it worked well on the plane. It was familier, and helped keep her to keep from wanting to get up. She knew that she had to stay in the seat, just like in the car.

She would have had a field day unbuckling the seat belt all the time.

I agree that it is safer as well. Be sure you have an FAA appoved. Most sold now are. We got a smaller one prior to going. I think they have to use the 5-point harness thing.

[peanuttrip]

When we took our first trip with our daughter we didn't take a seat for her. Though it was much cheaper if just did not feel right not having her in a seat. It work out in the long run but would advise you to keep the seat and make sure that it is approved by the FAA.

[Pamlur]

Thanks, y'all! I'll pass all this on to her.

[justhat]

We're looking into this for our trips in May and june with a 3 month old and we were told by the airlines (Delta and Continental) that if we purchase a seat, we must have a carseat.

[bradsmom123]

are you renting a car when you get there? If so I found bringing our seat was so much better. The rental agencys had crappy plastic ones that got HOT in florida.
Of course one time, we were so excited to get on the plane that when we saw the bus coming ( from the long term parking lot) we jumped out and grabbed all of our suitcases and forgot the car seat in the car!!!! It is a long haul from the long term lot to the terminal. Thank god I was just going to my sisters so I called her and told her to buy me a carseat on the way to the airport!!
My son was just ready to graduate to the booster seat so I could justify that!
She was waiting with the new one in her car. NOW we leave a huge note on the suitcases- DONT forget the car seat LOL!

[kalicokat]

Yes you do have to have her in a FAA approved Car seat since you bought a seat for her. If you do not buy a seat for infants under 2 years of age at the time of travel then of course you do not have to have a car set :)

[toystorymom]

The FAA recommends that all children under 40 pounds use an aircraft approved car seat for flights. I am bringing ours along for our 2 1/2 year old.

Have a great trip!

[Pamlur]

We didn't take the car seat, we did great. Thanks!

It was a wonderful trip.

[samefay]

Thanks for the update. Our daughter just turned two. We've been debating about this for our upcoming November trip. We're going to try and NOT take one. The one she has now is so BULKY, I would hate to lug it with us. The most important question though-did you feel that you gave up anything on safety by just using the airplane seat? Thanks for your help!

[getagrip]

Originally posted by samefay
Thanks for the update. Our daughter just turned two. We've been debating about this for our upcoming November trip. We're going to try and NOT take one. The one she has now is so BULKY, I would hate to lug it with us. The most important question though-did you feel that you gave up anything on safety by just using the airplane seat? Thanks for your help!

please- you're all gonna get killed if the plan crashes anyway.

the airplane seat is going to fold like a pile of spegetti and launch the little bugger in the car seat anyhow- so why bother.

DO you really think a 15 pound plastic car seat is going to protect you from the 75g slam into the ground atcaused by the 100 ton airplane diving at 600 mph followed by the 2300 degree fire caused by the 10 tons of flaming jet fuel and all the rest of the crap in the cabin?

oh yeah, it'll make a ton of difference

[safetymom]

getagrip, what a nice first post. I hope the rest of your posts are not like this one was.

samefay

There is more that goes in an airplane that just crashes. It the event of turbulance being strapped into a car seat would be a good place to be rather than depending on a lap belt that really was designed for adults. What are you going to use for a car seat once you get to Florida?

[mcnuss]

Pamlur, I am sorry to hear you did not use the car seat. What would you have done if the car service had shown up without one? Ok, what's done is done, but this is a very real possibility.

In severe turbulence the car seat is the best place for the child, as safetymom (note her screen name!!) mentioned. Another reason is bad landings...DD and I were on a plane years ago that had touble on landing and had to pull up when we were almost on the ground. The forces were unbelievable. If she'd been in a lapbelt, I fully believe she would have been injured by it. That lap belt is not intended for small children.

[DisneyConvert]

I find this subject fascinating.

We are parents of a relatively sizable 25 month old ("2 old!", he tells us). We have always previously traveled (2 other WDW trips in the past 13 months) with a separate seat and a car-seat for him. We've also always rented a car.

This time, courtesy of FTP, we are going "big-time" and staying at the Poly and NOT renting a car. So for our 7 days down there, we won't need a car-seat.

As he is 35 lbs and 35" (good size for his age), we are NOT bringing our car seat either. We are thinking about bringing a little strap-on-the-back booster seat that turns a regular seat belt into a 4-belt harness. It is NOT FAA approved but I am sure it will be better than nothing.

I love my child yet I am also keenly aware that the safety nazi element of our society (regulators - wolf crying media - liability lawyers) assigns rules in black/white when the world isn't always that way. Having an extra arm at the airport or boarding the plane might be safer than the incremental safety of an FAA-approved car seat during a bump or, god-forbid, a crash.

I really don't know. Maybe I'm just lazy. Maybe I'm old enough to remember a world where seat belts were optional and (most) children still managed to grow up safely.

Check back with me on October 15th and I'll let you know how we did.

:confused

[mcnuss]

Maybe I'm old enough to remember a world where seat belts were optional and (most) children still managed to grow up safely.

I've heard this argument before, but here's the rub: times change. Presumably your parents took whatever precatutions were available to them at the time. You can't expect that they would have taken measures that weren't available to them, of course, but we have the technology and ability, hence IMHO, the responsibility, to take whatever measures we have available to us.

Here' s a little story to think about: My uncle is a pediatrician, he is now 68 years old, and has been doing this a looooong time. When my DD was about 6 months old, she got a fever of 104 and her doctor told us to go staight to the hospital. My mom scoffed at this -- "in my day, we just threw you into the tub and you were fine". She called my uncle to try to get him to talk some sense into us. (Her words....) His response: "Yeah, sis, we did that and lots more kids died from fevers then than do now bc we couldn't do anything for a high fever. They need to go to the hospital; it's different now." Not the same subject, but analagous I think.

So call me a nazi (and as a Jewish girl, that term is pretty loaded), but I ain't taking any chances with my baby when I don't have to.

[justhat]

I think there's one significant difference between a 20 and 25 month old child, aside from the obvious maturity differences. Like I posted earlier, when we called airlines (Delta and Continental) checking prices for our 2 trips next spring, we said we'd be purchasing a seat for our infant too. We were then told by both airlines we called that if the child is under 2 and we purchase a seat for it then it must be in an approved child restraint, it cannot just sit in the seat. For us it's not an issue since our baby will be 2-3 months old and obviously can't sit on its own anyway. We later also checked with 2 other airlines (USAirways and Southwest) since my cousins from another state are joining us on the May trip and will have a 6 month old and both of those airlines said the same thing, that we must have a seat for the child since she's under 2. So for your 25 month old, it would be 'legal' according to what the airlines told us, but for a 20 month old it would not be, regardless of what is safer. Of course, the flight attendants really can't tell if your child is 23 or 24 months so odds are they won't even mention it, especially if you end up holding the child anyway. Of course, our child won't be here for another 5 months, and I may feel differently when he/she arrives, but right now the way I look at it is that if we travel in a car I'd use a car seat so why should it be any different on a plane?

[summerrluvv]

Originally posted by DisneyConvert
I find this subject fascinating.



As he is 35 lbs and 35" (good size for his age), we are NOT bringing our car seat either. We are thinking about bringing a little strap-on-the-back booster seat that turns a regular seat belt into a 4-belt harness. It is NOT FAA approved but I am sure it will be better than nothing.



:confused

If it's not FAA approved you know you can't use it on the plane right? (not sure if you meant you are just using this for tranport to and from the hotel).

[tjmw2727]

Originally posted by DisneyConvert
I find this subject fascinating.

We are parents of a relatively sizable 25 month old ("2 old!", he tells us). We have always previously traveled (2 other WDW trips in the past 13 months) with a separate seat and a car-seat for him. We've also always rented a car.

This time, courtesy of FTP, we are going "big-time" and staying at the Poly and NOT renting a car. So for our 7 days down there, we won't need a car-seat.

As he is 35 lbs and 35" (good size for his age), we are NOT bringing our car seat either. We are thinking about bringing a little strap-on-the-back booster seat that turns a regular seat belt into a 4-belt harness. It is NOT FAA approved but I am sure it will be better than nothing.

I love my child yet I am also keenly aware that the safety nazi element of our society (regulators - wolf crying media - liability lawyers) assigns rules in black/white when the world isn't always that way. Having an extra arm at the airport or boarding the plane might be safer than the incremental safety of an FAA-approved car seat during a bump or, god-forbid, a crash.

I really don't know. Maybe I'm just lazy. Maybe I'm old enough to remember a world where seat belts were optional and (most) children still managed to grow up safely.

Check back with me on October 15th and I'll let you know how we did.

:confused

From a carseat fanatic - JMHO - Do not bother with that "booster, seatr". We were loaned one from a friend and it was AWFUL please don't put your child at risk and waste your money.

If your comfortable with your child in the airplane without a carseat then try one of the limo companies. For just about what you would pay for mears they will take you to and from your resort, offer you a grocery stop and provide a carseat for your child.

My youngest dd 2 1/2 yo was using that seat when she managed to get herself laying flat on her back with the "adjuster on the place where you sit and nothing on the back of the seat and her legs dangling. All dh and I could hear was "stuck, stuck" she managed to do this or slide into this position at least 5 different times the first day. We went to walmart and purchased the cheapest carseat we could find as we did have a rental carl that trip. The one we were loaned was by Graco, was cardboard on the back covered with material and looked like the 5 pt harness - no good. I don't think this think is safe at all - if nothing else check this out in person, try it in your car before you try it on you child. HtH someone.

TJ

[DisneyConvert]

I still think it is kind of odd that we are (supposedly, presuming they check) not allowed to use a booster seat unless it's FAA approved!?.

Like keeping him on our lap will be safer?

We are doing the car service to/from MCO<=>WDW and will have a (real) car seat available then.

Thanks for all the good advice. While we may not all agree on every point, I feel great knowing DisBoard'ers are all working together so we can have a great (& safe!) time at a great place.

[justhat]

Of course, I don't know what makes a certain carseat FAA approved, but I'm assuming it might have something to do with getting the child out in an emergency, or how well it would restrain them in case of trouble. Keeping him on your lap isn't an option since your child is over 2, so I guess in the FAA's point of view, having the child in a regular seat is safer overall than a seat that is someway not a good fit in case of emergency. If they just made all car seats FAA approved, then it wouldn't be such a problem.

[mom2alix]

I'll admit to being pretty concerned with my child ALWAYS being in her car seat, but another point for those who think we're nuts. Comfort counts!

Airline seat belts are really easy to unlatch. Personally, chasing my child down the aisle of an airplane after she's released herself is not my idea of a great way to start our vacation. Not to mention highly inconsiderate of the other passengers. By the same token, holding a squirming kid on my lap for 3.5 hours sounds like purgatory.

My DD is used to her car seat as we take several long car trips each year to visit family. This is her first plane ride and we purchased a seat for her just to make sure she's as comfortable as possible with this new experience. I don't see it as a whole lot different than bringing along that favorite blanky (which no parent in their right mind would EVER forget).

[Hawk]

Well here is my 2 cents. I went to the airport today to purchase tickets, including one for my two year old son. We are flying Delta Airlines in February. I asked whether a car seat was required.

Answer: No seat is required, but it is recommended.

Hawk.

[justhat]

I think it's different in your situation, however, since your son is already 2, as opposed to the OP's son who is 14 mos. According to what we were told, if you purchase a seat for a child under 2 they must be in a car seat.

[mep319]

I have never seen the airline check for the "approved by FAA" sticker...

Most safety seat laws in states are by age or weight...usually a standard car seat is 4 yrs of age or 40 lbs...booster seats 8yrs or 80lbs and so on. So the mother of the 25 mo old who is 35 lbs (wow! big boy!) would probably be okay in a plane...I wouldn't in a car. That being said I have a friend whose son at 19 mos was held by his mother, b/c and I quote.."I'm glad you can afford to throw money away on a seat, but I won't." During a turbulent flight he somehow "bounced" out of her arms and into the ceiling of the plane and ended up with a concussion...not a fun way to start a vacation...the doctor also told her in the ER that he had one child break his arm in a similar incident...(I can't figure out how that happen). Is it a hassle to lug the car seat & an expense to purchase that extra plane ticket...YES (big pain in the neck carrying that thing thru the airport) but it is worth it! Mine is in a booster and I don't bother to bring one now (A 7 yr old in a booster....I may make her sit in it till she is 10)...I'd hate to look back with a "I should have....."

[summerrluvv]

Originally posted by mep319
I have never seen the airline check for the "approved by FAA" sticker...



They always checked mine on every airline I flew when my son was in an infant seat. Maybe times have changed.

[tjmw2727]

Originally posted by mep319
I have never seen the airline check for the "approved by FAA" sticker... ..."

And on the other end of the norm we have ALWAYS had our seats checked. When my girls were small we flew several times a year and I can only recall one time when we were not asked to see the FAA approval sticker on the back of the seat.

I helped a mom flying alone with a 2yo this past April. She had a combination seat - it used 5 pt harness that could be converted to a high back booster. The sticker plainly stated that when used with the 5pt it was faa approved and when used as a lap positioning booster it was not faa approved. Attendant just looked at the not approved part and tried to deny the use. My girls distracted the child while the mom and I (kindly) explained the seat and what the sticker said and the attendant allowed the seat, phew!

TJ

[mep319]

Wow..we flew/fly several times a year (usually USAIR) and were never checked...that surprises me. Of course we haven't used one for the last 2 years...