Car Seat??

[alsmom]

My dh and I are flying on Delta with our very active 2 1/2 year old daughter. My question is should I use a car seat for her on the plane? We are planning to take it with us for the rental car but were planning on just checking it as luggage. Just wanted some opinions!!

Thanks!

 

[mcnuss]

You will absolutely not regret it if you put her in her car seat. It's a little bit of a hassle to schlep it in the airport, but other than that, it's no big deal. She'll be better off in it safety wise, and bc she is used to riding in it in the car, it will provide consistency for her and be reassuring. My DD used to fall asleep in hers before we even got off the ground! I did not let her use the lap belt until she was around 4.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Children are much much safer in car seats on the plane, it also keeps them confined and it makes other pax very happy.
Keeping them in something they are, hopefully, used to makes traveling so much easier. I would also gate check your child's stroller, MCO is large and a stroller makes life really easy.

 

[Kimberle]

We fly alot. I have never used a car seat on the plane. Most are not certified for air plane use anyway.

DD likes to stretch out & sleep. I raise the arms so she can do so.

 

[mcnuss]

Most are not certified for air plane use anyway.

Not accurate. The majority of car seats are now certified for use on airplanes. You can check the owner's manual or the manufacturer's website. I did a random check on Graco's site and every seat I looked at was certified.

This website is also very informative:

http://www.saferidenews.com/html/Airplane_Eng.html

 

[tjmw2727]

I highly recommend flying with your dd's carseat, we didn't stop using ours until dd's were 3+-4ish. Since your dd's only 2 1/2 your almost certainly using a FAA approved seat. Just check the back of the seat for the sticker. Especially since you plan to bring it for the rental anyway, why not take a few extra minutes and secure your child in the aircraft. In my experience my girls were happier in the seat, it was familiar and they knew the rules of the car were no getting up.

We used the stroller in the airport, if your careful you can slip the straps on the back of the stroller for transport. Just be careful not to let go and tip stroller and child backward!! When dd wants to walk you can just push your stuff in the stroller, including the carseat. Then ask the gate attendant how they handle it and gate check the stroller. It will be waiting when you get off the airplane - this makes transporting child and carseat much easier.

BRU also sells a case for the carseat, its pretty handy and has backpack like handles, we didn't have one but my SIL likes hers.

TJ

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by Kimberle
We fly alot. I have never used a car seat on the plane. Most are not certified for air plane use anyway.

DD likes to stretch out & sleep. I raise the arms so she can do so.

I really don't know who gave you that misinformation, but, it is not true. Children should be in car seats anytime they are in anything that moves and has motor or engine. They become projectiles in an airplane during turbulance, it is nice to nap, but, where do you put her when she naps in a car?

 

[smart cookie]

Originally posted by GAIL HAYDEN
Children should be in car seats anytime they are in anything that moves and has motor or engine. They become projectiles in an airplane during turbulance

Exceptions, of course are - trains, most busses, car rental shuttles....etc.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by smart cookie
Exceptions, of course are - trains, most busses, car rental shuttles....etc.

LOL, well they don't seem to require them, but, my operative word was "should" and I'm sticking to that.

 

[smart cookie]

i agree...i've had the misfortune of seeing a school bus which had rolled on my way home from work one day...fortunately, the 3 children on it lived...the driver wasn't so lucky though.

 

[DemoBri1]

I definitely wanted to use my 3 yo DDs car seat on the flight, but we ended up having to check it because it didn't fit in the seat. The seat had an FAA certification sticker on it, but the seat had to be 17" wide at its widest point to fit, and it was over that.

She did fine in the actual plane seat, strapped in. The only problem she had was a bit of an ear thing with the changing pressure on landing at MCO.

I agree with everyone who says gate checking the stroller is the way to go. This really helped us out tremendously. Just don't plan on getting off the plane quickly to give the ground crew a chance to get the stroller back up to the jetway once you land.

Brian

 

[alsmom]

Thanks guys!! I knew I could count on you for advice. I think I will carry the car seat on the plane and gate check the stroller. I can't wait to get there!!

 

[sarahsmom73]

We plan on usng DD's car seat. She will be 32 months old in April when we go!

 

[mcnuss]

As both a person who has spent many years advocating for increased use of car seats/boosters in automobiles and planes, as well as a very frequent flyer, I'd like to thank all of you who plan to use your children's seats on the airplane.

As Gail mentioned before, turbulence is the enemy here, as children become virtual missiles when it gets very bumpy. I have seen a year old child literally ripped out of his mom's arms on a particularly rocky flt. She was in tears (and so was I)- she honestly thought she'd be able to hold on him! Luckily, no one was hurt, but everyone was scared!

The seatbelts on planes are not meant for small children and the forces that move the plane in turbulence are so strong that they can cause seatbelt related injuries- just the same problem we had with lapbelts in cars, and why they are no longer recommended for kids.

You will absolutely not regret using the carseat on the plane. My DD was actually sad when we switched to the high-backed booster w.o straps that could not be used in the plane (she was too tall for the straps, but too light to ride w.o the booster in the car). She said she missed her "snuggly" seat!

ps: She rode in her booster in the car until she was darned near 6 years old, 50+ lbs and about 4'3" tall. I now know based on new studies that I should have kept her in that booster longer...luckily we drove a car with a seat belt that hit her in the right spots, and of course nothing happened to her, but I regret having taken the risk.