Birth Certificate?

[kpitarresi]

Do I need my DS's birth certificate for the airplane and for Disney? I have never flown with my boys and didn't know if I needed to have identification for them? Also, youngest DS is 2 1/2... will I need to prove to disney he is under 3? TIA

 

[ThreeBeans]

Presuming you are flying domestically you don't need anything. If you are separated from the child's other parent and have a custody order in place, you may want to carry written permission from the other parent just to dot your i's and so forth.

 

[bumbershoot]

. If you have special lower child fares you will need to prove to the airline that the kids are eligible. But TSA doesn't need ID for domestic flights for children.

 

[kpitarresi]

What about for Disney? Do I need proof showing he is under 3?

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

What about for Disney? Do I need proof showing he is under 3?

I've always heard it is on the honor system. Most kids are actually going to go up when they lie because they want to be older than they are!

 

[Cobern]

I've always heard it is on the honor system. Most kids are actually going to go up when they lie because they want to be older than they are!

Haha I know about that. We are going in a few weeks and my daughter doesn't turn 3 until July but she is walking around going "Chloe is 3". I hope that they believe me she is only 2 nut yet 3

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Presuming you are flying domestically you don't need anything. If you are separated from the child's other parent and have a custody order in place, you may want to carry written permission from the other parent just to dot your i's and so forth.

Not necessary for domestic travel.

 

[Missy13d69]

Disney doesn't require any proof. Nobody has batted an eye over us saying our 2 year old is 2, and he's really tall for his age. We heard another guest comment on his size, but the CM's haven't questioned it at all.

 

[danceintherain]

I had one instance where I let DS help me "scan" my ticket, and the CM thought it was his and asked where mine was. All I said was, "Oh, this is my ticket, he doesn't have one."
Otherwise, nobody questioned it. I imagine nobody wants to spend their day arguing with someone about their child's age, when they know their management isn't going to care.

Kids don't have to show ID at the airport. You just have to supply their birth date.

I did make a copy of DS's birth certificate to take with us, but it wasn't really necessary.

 

[mommy2_3]

Glad no one is going to say anything. my DS just turned 2 and he is taller than his 3 yr old twin cousins. they are short though. but everyone thinks he is 3!

 

[Freesia123]

I had to show my dds passport to prove she was two... I'd bring it just in case (or a photocopy)

 

[PocahontasLookALike]

Every time I've flown with my 16 month old (5 or 6 domestic flights) I've been asked to age verify her. It could be because she was traveling as a lap child. But I've been asked to show her birth certificate with and without my husband.

when my best friend and her husband flew to Hawaii with their 3month old they were asked for a shot record!

 

[bumbershoot]

Every time I've flown with my 16 month old (5 or 6 domestic flights) I've been asked to age verify her. It could be because she was traveling as a lap child. But I've been asked to show her birth certificate with and without my husband.

when my best friend and her husband flew to Hawaii with their 3month old they were asked for a shot record!

That is indeed because the child is traveling as a lap child. It's an age-based fare, so you have to prove it.

The OP has a child that is over 2; no more lap baby status for you when you turn 2. So unless there's an airline with a child's fare that is actually good and the OP has it, the domestic flight will NOT need proof of age.



Disney parks are pretty good about figuring out when a child is under 3 and over. Even a tall child still acts like a little kid. Even an articulate child still has something "babyish" about them. I can think of just one child that I know out of all the children I know, who might have caused problems at the Disney gates, because she is tall and big and GROWN looking, and is INCREDIBLY articulate and bright and smart and I don't think she looked like a baby even when she WAS a baby. I met her as a 3 year old and she seemed to be 6. She's now 6 and I haven't seen her in person in awhile, but pictures on her dad's FB page just floor me. But that's one kid out of all the ones I know (luckily her father wouldn't do anything as humdrum in his opinion as to go to Disney). Disney is pretty good about it all. They also know that kids that age like to "age up". My son at 3 was saying that he was something like 45.

 

[StuckInKS]

We have never had this issue since our kids look small, but DS2 is big and a good talker for his age. If we go back before he turns 3 I'm not taking his BC (I am very disorganized and easily lose things). I might photocopy it if I remember (but there is a good chance I won't, because I am pretty forgetful too lol). We did take my niece last time who was a few months away from turning 10, but looked 13-14. They did not question her child ticket.

 

[Crystal824]

I have an almost 3 year old. You don't need a birth certificate for the airline once they turn two unless as someone else said you got some type of child's fare, which I've never seen before. You don't really need it for Disney. With that being said, I usually take a copy of DD's just in case.

 

[kcchief]

Like the PP said it wouldn't be a bad idea to at least have a copy, be on the safe side.

 

[luvmesometigger]

I take a copy for all 3 and have never needed one. Last time, we went without Daddy and I thought for sure I would be stopped. Nope.

Not taking the certificates anymore. lol

 

[NotUrsula]

Every time I've flown with my 16 month old (5 or 6 domestic flights) I've been asked to age verify her. It could be because she was traveling as a lap child. But I've been asked to show her birth certificate with and without my husband.

It's because she was travelling on an age-dependent fare (as a free lap child). Proof of parentage is not required for domestic travel, but it is for international travel. Newer child passports cannot be issued without the written consent of both parents, or proof of sole custody, so it is covered in the file for normal situations, and there is a special database that you can enroll your child into if you are in a custody dispute, that essentially will stop them at the entry to a US airport's international terminal passport control, regardless of age.

When my best friend and her husband flew to Hawaii with their 3month old they were asked for a shot record!

This isn't law, this is CYA, but airlines are private businesses, and they have the right to limit medical liablity as they wish. The reason they sometimes require this on long flights for very young infants is that they are afraid that the baby may get very sick very quickly if they pick up an infection on board the aircraft. This is the same reasoning that is used by cruise lines to refuse boarding to pregnant women who are further along than 24 weeks -- they don't want to get sued if you go into labor on the ship and something goes wrong.

 

[toystorymom]

We are going in July and my son will be 3 in August, I don't plan on bringing his birth certificate to the parks. He loves to tell people his birthday is in August but if you ask him how old he's going to be I never know what he's going to say - 13 seems to be his favorite answer at the moment.

I remember being asked one time about one of my older boys - I just stated that he was 2 (which he was) and that was the end of it. I know he's 2, if they think I'm trying to pull a fast one, that's on them. They won't really challenge it.

 

[Gracie09]

I had the opposite problem. They kept telling me under three was free and I didn't need a ticket for one of my daughters. She had just turned three the moth before.