Advice on Toddler in Airplane seat please

[pktbMouse]

Hi guys
We are heading to CBR in May and are flying to Orlando. Our Toddler will only be 22 months but hes pretty big for his size so we have decided to buy him a seat on the plane. We dont intend taking out car seat as we feel we have enough to bring and have booked one to rent at the car hire place when we get there. My question is this...will he be ok sitting in a big seat to himself, will he need a booster seat or something similar?. I remember bringing a booster seat for my other child a few years back on Continental and being told they are not allowed. What you you think I could do/bring that would make him more comfortable as I know it will be near nap time and he will definitely fall asleep.
I would love your comments.. thank you in advance

 

[shinysparklybubbles]

I'm interested to see what answers you get as DS will be 22 months when we go in Nov. I'm planning on bring a blanket for him and I'm thinking about ordering a pillow pet. http://www.pillowpets.com/Default.asp?bhcp=1

 

[pilotwife_02]

I believe that children have a be a certain weight in order to not be in a car seat on an airplane. I forget the weight, so I will have to ask my DH and get back to you. He's flying right now, so it will be a few hours.

But I'm thinking at 22 months (and you said he's big for his age) you should be fine. Our son was about the same age when we stopped using the car seat in the airplane for him, we were going to Disney with him and didn't need the car seat down there and didn't want to bring it with us just for the flight.

 

[brockash]

You don't have to bring/have a carseat for any child. If you want to have one, you can, but have to make sure it's FAA approved, but you don't have to have one no matter the size of the child. If you think it would make your flight more peaceful and would be better for your ds, than I would, but it's up to you. Personally, we've never flown with carseats for either of my kiddos (just too much stuff to lug around for us,) and they've been fine and when my dd was about 2 she just slept on a regular seat with her head on me. I do suggest bringing a small pillow/blanket. Both of my kiddos have those animal pillows that a pp mentioned, and they work great.

 

[pilotwife_02]

You don't have to bring/have a carseat for any child. If you want to have one, you can, but have to make sure it's FAA approved, but you don't have to have one no matter the size of the child. If you think it would make your flight more peaceful and would be better for your ds, than I would, but it's up to you. Personally, we've never flown with carseats for either of my kiddos (just too much stuff to lug around for us,) and they've been fine and when my dd was about 2 she just slept on a regular seat with her head on me. I do suggest bringing a small pillow/blanket. Both of my kiddos have those animal pillows that a pp mentioned, and they work great.

While you are correct, but that's for a lap child. You can't put a 1 year old in his own seat with out a car seat unless he meet certain weight requirements, which is 22lbs.

Now to the OP if your son is not 22 lbs and you want to hold your child during take off and landing, then put him in his own seat after the pilot has turned off the fasten seatbelt that's fine. But beware that anytime the pilot turns on the fasten seatbelt sign, IF your son doesn't meet the weight requirements you would have to hold him.

If others have done so before their child was 22 lbs they were going against FAA regs, I'm get telling you the rules so if anyone tells you they have done it over and over again I just confirmed this with my husband who is a pilot.

Hope that helps!

 

[brockash]

While you are correct, but that's for a lap child. You can't put a 1 year old in his own seat with out a car seat unless he meet certain weight requirements, which is 22lbs.

Now to the OP if your son is not 22 lbs and you want to hold your child during take off and landing, then put him in his own seat after the pilot has turned off the fasten seatbelt that's fine. But beware that anytime the pilot turns on the fasten seatbelt sign, IF your son doesn't meet the weight requirements you would have to hold him.

If others have done so before their child was 22 lbs they were going against FAA regs, I'm get telling you the rules so if anyone tells you they have done it over and over again I just confirmed this with my husband who is a pilot.

Hope that helps!

Wow, I had no idea about that. That's really good to know though. My dd is pretty low on the weight end for her age and she sat in her own seat without a carseat while being under the 22 lbs. for take-off/landing ect. before. I had no idea there was a weight limit. I'm guessing the airline workers just didn't want to make me upset (not that I wouldv'e been as I'm sure it's for safety) and that's why they never asked Thanks for the info.; I'll remember that for future flights with little ones.

 

[Paticake]

Our grandson flew for the first time in June. he had just turned 2 , 2 weeks prior and weighed about 32 Lbs. He did well in just the regular plane seat. We left right around nap time and he and his 8 month old cousin ( who was in a carseat) slept for about 3/4 's of the flight. They both did great. We are fliying again in May with grandson #2 who will be 18 months at the time. He is pretty small so DS and DDIL are still thinking of bringing his carseat. Good luck and have a great trip!

 

[robinb]

I would bring the car seat from home. First of all it will be of use on the plane, secondly it will save you money so you don't have to rent one once you're in Orlando, thirdly it will be the seat he is used to and lastly I have seen the rental car seats and they are scary .

We strapped out carseat onto an old fashioned luggage cart that is made from metal tubing and collapses. They come with bungie cords that will hold the carseat in place and you just roll the cart behind you. We even stuffed my DD's diaper bag in the seat and under the bungies. It worked great for going through the airport!

You can get one at Target for $18:

 

[sshaw10060]

The CARES harness is a great alternative. There are plenty of threads discussing the pros and cons if you do a search.

 

[kelleyrn2000]

I would bring the car seat from home. First of all it will be of use on the plane, secondly it will save you money so you don't have to rent one once you're in Orlando, thirdly it will be the seat he is used to and lastly I have seen the rental car seats and they are scary .

We strapped out carseat onto an old fashioned luggage cart that is made from metal tubing and collapses. They come with bungie cords that will hold the carseat in place and you just roll the cart behind you. We even stuffed my DD's diaper bag in the seat and under the bungies. It worked great for going through the airport!

You can get one at Target for $18:

Thanks for the idea, I was wondering how we were going to lug our carseat through the airport. We plan to put our 24 month old in his carseat on the plane, and then use it in our rental car. I am going to check out the Target cart now!

 

[bumbershoot]

While you are correct, but that's for a lap child. You can't put a 1 year old in his own seat with out a car seat unless he meet certain weight requirements, which is 22lbs.

Now to the OP if your son is not 22 lbs and you want to hold your child during take off and landing, then put him in his own seat after the pilot has turned off the fasten seatbelt that's fine. But beware that anytime the pilot turns on the fasten seatbelt sign, IF your son doesn't meet the weight requirements you would have to hold him.

If others have done so before their child was 22 lbs they were going against FAA regs, I'm get telling you the rules so if anyone tells you they have done it over and over again I just confirmed this with my husband who is a pilot.

Hope that helps!

This is seriously NOT true.

From the FAA site:

"FAA strongly urges parents and guardians to secure children in an appropriate restraint based on weight and size. Keeping a child in a CRS or device during the flight is the smart and right thing to do.

That does not say "must", it says "strongly urges".

And from faa.custhelp.com:

"The FAA does not require the use of CRS's on commercial airplanes because a mandate would require parents to purchase an extra airline ticket for their child, forcing some families who can't afford the extra ticket to drive, a statistically more dangerous way to travel. However, the FAA strongly recommends the use of CRS's or an alternative FAA-approved device based on a child's weight."


Bolding was mine.



OP, keep the lapbelt tight, know that both parents will not get to sleep at the same time (to make sure he hasn't become Houdini and started to wander the plane), and if the Flight Attendants are following the rules, you will NOT be allowed to hold him during takeoff/landing. If they have a seat, they are supposed to use it during those times. That said, I've seen ridiculously lax FAs going against rules right and left, so maybe you'll get one of them!

 

[pilotwife_02]

Right, what I'm saying is that IF you have a seat for your child you MUST use a car seat if the child is under 2 and under the weight restriction. I never said you had to buy a seat for the child.

Please read my whole post before telling me I'm wrong.

 

[pilotwife_02]

The CARES harness is a great alternative. There are plenty of threads discussing the pros and cons if you do a search.

Yes, a good alternative is you don't use a car seat. I believe you can rent them.

 

[Hannathy]

Right, what I'm saying is that IF you have a seat for your child you MUST use a car seat if the child is under 2 and under the weight restriction. I never said you had to buy a seat for the child.

Please read my whole post before telling me I'm wrong.

I'm with bumbershoot! You did say they had to be in a car seat if they had a seat and were under 22 pounds. And this is not true. You never need to use a car seat on the plane no matter what age/size the child is. My DS sat in a seat before he was 22 lbs. And Bumbershoot is correct if you have bought a seat they must be in it you can not hold them. Mine was asleep one time and I could not hold her I had to put her down in the seat.

I would if I were you take the carseat for use with the rental BUT I would check it with the baggage so as not to lug it around the airport. MIne never used a carseat on the plane and flew thousands and thousands of miles without problems.

 

[princess pooh]

My son just turned 2 and I bought the CARES harness for our flight to Florida last week. I was great! The harness kept him contained and I felt better during the very bumpy landing. I wouldn't want to deal with a carseat on a plane and I think this is a great alternative.

 

[bumbershoot]

Right, what I'm saying is that IF you have a seat for your child you MUST use a car seat if the child is under 2 and under the weight restriction. I never said you had to buy a seat for the child.

Please read my whole post before telling me I'm wrong.

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.

 

[crashbb]

Bumbershoot is correct - you do NOT need a carseat for your child.

However, if you do have a carseat for your child, they must be strapped into the carseat during take-off and landing (or anytime the seatbelt light is on). If they do not have a carseat, but do have their own seat, they must be in their seat (with seat belt on) during the same times.

 

[katied]

DS was in a car seat on the plane until he got a bit bigger, and now a CARES harness. CARES is so easy to take on and use, and much safer than just him sitting in a seat. I've flown way too much to leave DS in just a regular plane seat at his size. You never know when you can have bad turbulance. It may be rare, but if it did happen (and it has on flights I've been on before, where people were injured) and DS was hurt, i would not forgive myself for not taking measures to keep him safe. CARES allows me to do this without the hassle of lugging a car seat on the plane. Plus, with DS now almost 3, in his car seat he can so easily kick the seat in front of him, the entire flight would be a battle to keep him from irritating those in front.

 

[aanderson5]

I would bring the car seat. DS will be safer and probably more comfortable on the plane. But the bigger reason I would bring it is I and not sure I would trust the car companies seat. We rented a seat for DS this past Aug and the first seat they gave us had a cut halfway through one of the back straps. They replaced it when I pointed it out but I never felt comfortable 100% with the seat. Who knows if the seat was ever in an accident. The only seat you can truely trust is one you buy yourself.

We just went again in Jan and brought DS's seat. He did not sit in it on the plane because he is now four. We did try but it was not going to make for a pleasant flight with his feet in the seat in front of him and the tray couldn't go down. So we gate checked it.

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

DD has flown since she was 9 weeks old with out a problem, at 26 months we flew and put her in the car seat. She went ballistic- both ways! After that we bought the Cares harness and everyone was much happer after that! We felt she was safe and she was much more comfortable for 3 hours. They are pricey, but there are people on eBay that rent them.