Advice on Toddler in Airplane seat please

[Bren's Mom]

I'm going to chime in and say bring your car seat on the plane and use it. For one thing, your child will be safer. But for another, which hasn't been mentioned yet, I wouldn't ever use a rented car seat. You have no way of knowing whether the seat has been abused or in an accident. Bring your own car seat, use it on the plane, use it in the rental car, save some money...be SAFE.

 

[Zeebs]

We took our carseats as we were hiring a car, but we put them in the hold with our checked bags. (we have enough to be dealing with in the airport with carry on and two kids soon to be three to add carseats to the mix just wasn't going to happen.)

Our 17 month old who is average size had his own seat and fitted very well in the supplied seat belt.


Interestly enough with regards to the whole if you have a seat you have to use it, the same doesn't apply internationally, we had him a seat yet I had to hold him for takeoff, which was a pain as he was already asleep in his own seat. You can imagine how happy I was to have to get him out and hold him when we were about to start a 12 hour flight.

Kirsten

 

[pktbMouse]

Thank you all for your input...I have been looking into the Cares harness and it does look like a great option. I have however been reading the reviews and they are not all good one so Im a tad concerned there...they were saying how there is no "between the legs" strap and their kid kept slipping down. One man said his little girl fell asleep and slid just a little bit and if he hadn't noticed it would have choked her...it showed you an image of the little girls neck where the buckle bit had dug in. Dont get me wrong I would be watching him like a hawk the whole time so Im kinda on the fence now..Target do have a carseat for $52 ( its the Cosco scenera) that definitly is FAA approved so Im considering that. That way I dont have to take my good Britax seat out of my car and risk it getting bashed up like one did in the past. Who ever said it was easy to travel with toddlers needs shot at dawn!!!!!!!! lol...but you know I wouldnt have it any other way.

 

[justhat]

OP, we bought that Cosco seat at Target and use it just for flying and it has been invaluable. I did bring our Britax seat on the plane when we just had my oldest child. But once my son was born, it was too heavy to carry that plus his carseat, so we bought the really lightweight Cosco seats. Also, if I do check them (and we gatecheck them now that the kids are bigger) I am not too concerned if they get banged up cause it won't cost me $200+ to replace.

We too have seen some rental carseats and were very happy we did not have to use them.



Regarding the kids under a certain weight needing a seat, we have been told that is true by a few flight attendants in the past. When my first child was younger there were a couple of times that we gate-checked the carseat because we had the CARES harness and when we asked for the gate check ticket the gate agents (and twice again onboard the plane) told us that our daughter had to be in the carseat if she was under 2yo and a certain weight (though I do not remember the weight). I think these were all on Airtran flights (and incidentally this is the only airline that checked our seats for the FAA approval as well). Now, our daughter was over 2yo and I believe 23lbs at 2yo, but she looked so tiny I guess that is why we got the comments.

So whether or not it is true or FAA policy or not, we were told that was the rule. When we said she was 2yo and that we had a CARES harness then they said it was fine.


ETA: That comment about the harness chocking a child, I could totally see that. My son used it a few times and slid down and the strap was closing in on his neck while he napped. I just adjusted his position to fix the problem.

 

[melifeld]

Another vote for the CARES harness!

 

[kelleyrn2000]

We have the Cosco seat (that Grandma uses for emergencies when she babysits). It is much lighter than the Britax, so we will use it when we go to Disney, including on the plane.

 

[princessmurdough]

I strongly STRONGLY recommend a Sit-n-Stroll! We buy one for every family we know for their baby shower if we know they travel at all. It is the very best thing - goes from car to airport, down the aisle and Pop! right into the seat. Works awesome in the busses and in and out of the parks too. I know its a little pricey, but it really is totally worth the $$$ IMHO. Our DS used it up until he was 5, and now will be used by DD (5 mos.) on this trip. It is FAA approved, too. Carried by Hammacher Schlemmer and I think Sky Mall. Go check it out!!

 

[melisandes]

We have put our son even at one years old in the chairs and belted him in with no issues. It is wonderful not having to hold him when we go on longer flights.

 

[mamaLori05]

We have always flown with the kids either on our laps until they were 2, or in their own seat. They are now 4 and 2.5, and we usually fly three times a year. We have never had any problems with them in their own seat. We buckle them up with the lap belt, and they know they have to leave that on the whole flight. No complaints from them. they think it's fun. We bring along a lot of new or like new activities to keep them occupied, as well as a portable dvd player! The dvd player is probably our best investment! They also think it is cool that they can have their own "desk" while on the airplane (the fold down tray).

If it's naptime, they curl up and fall asleep with their head on our laps.

I do want to warn that we did see a couple who brought a car seat for their 2 year old and he screamed the whole way. He saw our kids using the trays and got annoyed that he couldn't get his tray to go down because his seat was in the way. He also had no leg room and kept kicking the person in front of him. His parents told us they wished they didn't bring it. There is no need to flame, I'm just stating what I saw. Maybe this kid would have thrown a fit either way, don't know, but I do know the person in front of him was not very happy.

 

[MiniGirl]

The FAA says it. "The FAA does not require the use of CRS's on commercial airplanes".

It was in response to the question "Does the FAA require children on commercial flights to be in child restraint systems (CRS)?"

That is a broad question, and I stand by my understanding that no child must be in a carseat on an airplane.

Do I feel it's insane for a little one to NOT be in a seat? Yes. Even though we did the lapbaby thing for one roundtrip flight (and I was dreading the way home but had no extra money to buy DS a seat), I now realize how dangerous it was.

And DS was in a carseat on the plane until he was 3.5 and I just couldn't deal with bringing the seat on a half-full plane, and the gate agent asked, again, if I wanted to check it and I said yes.

But the FAA, as well as all FAs I've ever talked carseats with, has stated that there is absolutely NO rule/law that any child needs to be in a CARseat on an airplane. They just have to be in the lapbelt.

Perhaps some flight attendants, who deal with the public, can chime in?



Found the 2005 news release where they announced the change.

I am a former flight attendant. No, you do not need a car seat. However, if you do purchase an extra seat for the child, you WILL be instructed by the flight attendant to use it during take off, landing, etc. If you purchase a seat for the child and do not bring a carseat, it will be assumed the child is too big to safely sit in your lap and that the child meets the weight limit to safely sit in the seat without a restraining device. You should be instructed to use the seat whenever the seatbelt is lit.

So, ya'll really aren't contradicting each other. You don't need to bring any restraining device. If you do though, you must use it. If you bring it, the f/a should instruct you to use it. If an FAA inspector is on board, the f/a can be fined for not instructing you to use the device.

I will also say that just using lap belts for small children is not good. They are just too easy to slip out of, and really not safe at all -- even when you have made them as tight as you possibly can.

And OP, you specifically asked about booster seats. Those are definitely NOT approved for use on an airplane.

ETA: I see many of you have posted that your child fit in the seat just fine with just the regular lap belts, and I am amazed. My kiddos were average size, and they would've easily been able to wiggle their way out of the lap belt. They are older now though. Maybe the belts are able to be fastened much tighter now.

 

[doclegler]

We tend to bring a car seat for our sons. Our youngest is 3 and he still uses one just to keep him "settled". I give him plenty to do, and he has no issues with it at all. Just remember, if you do bring a car seat (not a booster as they are not acceptable), it DOES have to be FAA approved. Our's was actually examined for the statement on the seat on our last flight, even though I've flown with it many times before and never been hassled.
*One more thing I forgot, its VERY difficult to carry them down the aisle above your head while trying to pull a carry-on and keep track of your children!!

 

[2binak]

We didn't buy DD her own seat but the row in front of us just happened to be empty so we spread out between the two rows so that she ended up with her own seat. We didn't use a carseat and at 21 months old, she did just fine in the seat by herself. The lapbelt fit very snuggly across her hips and we felt she was secure.

I was concerned about rental car carseats for some of the reasons other have already pointed out so we bought a $40 Cosco Scenera convertible carseat & a $40 padded travel bag for our last trip to WDW. We checked the seat in the bag and had it upon arrival at MCO to use in our rental car. There was extra room in the bag so we put our jackets & pillows in there too.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/JL-Childress-Ultimate-Padded-Car-Seat-Travel-Bag/4698052

 

[nemofans]

We use CARES & it's so easy! I feel alot safer w/that & my boys don't fight sitting w/it like they fight being in their carseat.

 

[kelleyrn2000]

Knowing my son, the lap belt just won't do it on the airplane. The more I think about it, he loves to buckle and unbuckle things OVER and OVER. He is very active and wouldn't sit still unless he was sleeping. He is all boy and would be climbing the seats if I didn't have him in his carseat.

 

[brockash]

I strongly STRONGLY recommend a Sit-n-Stroll! We buy one for every family we know for their baby shower if we know they travel at all. It is the very best thing - goes from car to airport, down the aisle and Pop! right into the seat. Works awesome in the busses and in and out of the parks too. I know its a little pricey, but it really is totally worth the $$$ IMHO. Our DS used it up until he was 5, and now will be used by DD (5 mos.) on this trip. It is FAA approved, too. Carried by Hammacher Schlemmer and I think Sky Mall. Go check it out!!

Just curious, how do you use it on the buses??? I mean I know you can't use it on any of the actual seats on ther buses, but do you keep the kid in the stroller/car seat somehow on the buses?? Is that allowed?