Airplane Tray and Car Seat

[DutchsMommy]

Just wondering for those of you who have travelled in a plane with a child in a car seat - does the airplane tray fold down properly so DS can use it to colour on etc. or is he too high when he is sitting in the car seat for the tray to go down the whole way?

 

[jel0511]

Most likely the tray will not fold down properly. What I do is bring a hard cover book slightly larger than a piece of paper and use that for drawing when DS is in his carseat.

 

[dijid]

Depends on the carseat. Can't put it down with the Britax Roundabout, but Graco CarGo it was ok for drawing (but not for resting a drink on it.)

 

[CEDmom]

I agree that it depends on the type of seat. When DD was in a standard infant/baby seat the side were too high. Now that she's in a booster with a 5-pt harness she's ok because the arms can fold down.

 

[Barb D]

It also depends on the plane. Using the same carseat, the tray table went down far enough on one plane, but not on another. Of course, I couldn't tell you which ones.

I agree with an earlier poster... bring a hard surface with you.

 

[Lollipop Mom]

there is also a portable tray type thing that you can strap on to a car seat, stroller or restaurant high chair. I *think* I got ours at onestepahead.com or rightstart.com but I'm not 100% sure. We're getting bad weather here and I'm about to log off but I'll see if I can find a link to it later. It works great for stuff in the car or for DS to have a clean place to eat off of in the stroller or on the go!

 

[disdreams]

How old is your child? We fly all the time and I don't think I have ever brought the car seat on the plane. I checked it in with the luggage and my child would just sit in the seat with a seat belt. I just think it's a hassle to carry it on and off the plane.
If you take a booster seat, you may be able to have the tray down, but you might want to check with the airline to find out what kind they require.

 

[Barb D]

Originally posted by disdreams
... I just think it's a hassle to carry it on and off the plane.
If you take a booster seat, you may be able to have the tray down. [/B]

Yes, it is a major hassle to carry the carseat on to the plane, and especially to get it buckled in in tight quarters. It was worth it to me because I knew DD would be in a comfortable, safe, familiar seat.

BTW, the only booster seats you can take on the plane are the kind with the five-point harness.

 

[NotUrsula]

It's not that big a hassle to get a carseat onto an aircraft; you just need to plan for it and arrange your luggage situation accordingly. A carseat satchel or a rolling cart/bungie make it much easier.

I find that dealing with carseats in general is a hassle, but we all do it with cars. Do we do it b/c it is safer, or b/c we'll be ticketed if we don't? If the answer is b/c it is safer, then it follows that it is worth it to use one on aircraft, too, if the child is under the weight recommendation.

BTW, the day before yesterday I was on a British Airways flight that ran into a steady 45 minutes of severe turbulence, and I can tell you there were some really scared kids on that flight. BA doesn't normally allow personal carseats, and kids were bouncing all over their seats and repeatedly knocking their heads against the bulkheads and armrests. DS is older now and doesn't use a carseat on aircraft, but he was hanging on to the armrests with a grip like a vise, just like all the adults around him.

 

[disdreams]

I think it is safe to put kids in just a seatbelt (on an airplane...not a car), or hold them if they are newborns, or really young. Being in the airline industry, and having flown hundreds of flights, I know the chances of your child getting hurt from extreme turbulance is rare. If your child is more comfortable being in his or her personal carseat, if it makes you feel better, or if your child is going to try to get out of the seatbelt and runaround the plane, a carseat is a good idea, definately.

 

[DutchsMommy]

DS will be just 3 when we are going. He is already quite a big kid so I imagine he will probably be around 35-37 lbs and 3'8" ish by the time we leave. This will be his first airplane ride and I think it takes about 2 1/2 hrs to get to MCO from Toronto, so not too long a flight. Any thoughts on whether you think I should bother with the car seat?? I have really been debating this one because we are doing 6 nights WDW then 4 nights DCL and that would be a lot of lugging the car seat around - we are also splitting our resorts AKL/Poly when we are at WDW. I am somewhat tempted to leave the seat at home and get the towncar company to supply one for our transfers. Has anyone used a "rental" carseat? Experienced good or bad?

 

[HappyMommy2]

According to FAA.gov, children under 40 pounds should ride in an FAA-approved carseat (look for the sticker on the carseat to verify that it's approved). Kids over 40 pounds can safely use the adult seatbelt. Just FYI

Carting the carseat around is definitely a hassle, but I think having it on the plane for a small child is well worth it (for safety, of course, but also because in my experience kids are MUCH more willing to sit nicely during a long flight if they're in their familiar carseat!).

For our 4-year-old, we recently used a towncar service and their loaner booster seat; the seat was certainly not brand-new but seemed clean and adequate. We brought our own carseat for our 2-year-old so I don't know how good an actual carseat would have been.

HTH.

 

[leahannpen]

I'm so glad someone mentioned this! I never even thought about it, and I bought a ton of activites to do...on the tray, of course!

I found this...

http://www.onestepahead.com/jump.js...at=117&iSubCat=27208&iProductID=61&change=117

and although it's pricey, it' may be worth it...for this, and future car trips!

 

[DutchsMommy]

I took a look at the picture. I have seen something similar at a store around my house. I wonder about the one in the picture though - the car seat the kid is sitting in is one of those ones that has a "crashbar" that comes down and sits in front of him - the tray seems to rest on that?? I wonder if it would work if your car seat did not have one of those. I think the sides of my seat are higher than DSs legs when he is sitting, but not by much - I wouldn't want him to be able to "kick-around" the tray with his thighs. He would probably think it is hilarious to kick all the stuff from his tray onto the floor!! LOL. Thanks for the info though!

 

[NotUrsula]

The TABY tray has velcro on it to secure it to the carseat, regardless of what size the seat is.

You can actually make a smaller one of these rather easily with a normal tray such as you might find at McDonalds or in any food court. (You can buy them at a restaurant supply house.) You can store it while not in use by using the velcro to stick it to the back of the carseat.

Use a drill with a biscuit cutter to cut a hole for a drink cup, and a jigsaw to cut slots for velcro strips on the sides. Velcro it to the seat cover, and voila! Cost is under $5 if you already own the tools. I made some as family gifts in about 10 minutes each.

 

[Shelly Pierce]

40 pounds can NOT use an adult belt safely unless they are in a booster seat. Booster seats should be used until the seat belt doesn't touch their neck....usually around 8 years old.

 

[disdreams]

Airplane seats only have lap belts, not shoulder belts.

 

[NotUrsula]

Just to clarify the US FAA rules for carseats used on board aircraft:
For a child under 40 lbs., it is recommended that you use a carseat. The FAA defines "carseat" as a seat with an integrated shoulder harness. They define a booster seat as any child seat that does NOT have an integrated upper-body harness, and such seats are not permitted to be used aboard aircraft. A child who weighs over 40 lbs. can safely sit in the aircraft seat, which has a lap belt only. (All common-carrier aircraft are equipped with lap-only belts in passenger seats, regardless of what country you are in.)

Now then, the OP is Canadian, so the FAA carseat rules really don't apply to her situation. The Canadian govt. has rules of its own about aircraft based in Canada.

 

[DutchsMommy]

Thanks for the info and tip on the home made tray!! That sounds like somthing I could get DH to do - he loves these types of projects.