Can I hold my 1 year old on my lap on a plane?

[meloneyb21]

The question kinda says it all. I'm weighing my traveling options. I was just curious because I heard that you can if you don't wanna pay for another seat for a small child....

 

[fofinia]

Yup. You do not need to purchase a seat for a less than 2 yr old child. I've traveled with both of my kids before they turned two and I held them on my lap. (they're three yrs apart in age). Sometimes it's not that fun to have a larger child on your lap though.But I'll be doing it again in January with a one year old. Hopefully she'll sit calmly and maybe nap!!!!

 

[Sleeping~Beauty]

We just flew with my 2.5 yo and 15 month old. We had to purchase a seat for the 15mth old because we used the car seat. I'm really glad we brought it. He slept comfortably the 2 hours to Orlando.

 

[BlueBayou]

I liked having a seat for my kids when they were under 2. One trip I took (met my DH on a business trip) I traveled by myself with my two daughters (4 and 18 months at the time) and they had their own seats on the way to meet my DH. On the flight back, we did not get a seat for the youngest. It was almost more difficult on the way home even though I had the added help of my husband.

For some reason my youngest would not sleep in our arms. We ended up putting her in the car seat and my DD4 slept on the floor of the plane.

That was the only time we did not have a seat for both girls. We swore we would never do that again. Oh wait, I did fly with my oldest at 5-weeks and did not have a seat for her. She was so little and all she did was sleep and nurse at the time, so that was no big deal. The people sitting in my row were so nice (moms) they didn't even let me take her to the bathroom to change her, they had me spread the changing pad across their laps and let me change her on them. (I had antibacterial hand cleaner).

 

[TammyJ]

You can fly without buying a seat for your child. Keep two things in mind...

One, if it is a long flight it can get very tedious for you and the child to share one seat in an already cramped airplane.

The other very important thing is safety. Everyone else on the plane is required to wear a seat belt yet your child is sitting in your lap. If there is strong turbulance or a rough landing, your child would be much safer secured properly in a carseat. The odds of that happening are quite slim but it does happen.

I have two children and since we are far from family we have flown quite a bit. One time I opted not to buy a seat for my daughter when she was about a year old. The flight ended up being quite uncomfortable for the both of us which would have been reason enough for me to have never have done it again. But when the "fasten seatbelt" sign lit up part way through the flight because of the possibility of turbulence, and everyone was required to buckle up except my daughter...it dawned on me the dangerous situation I had put her in. Since then my DD has flown with a carseat until she no longer fit in it (boosters are not approved) and I'm still toting around my large carseat with a five point harness for my 30 lb two year old. It's cumbersome and more expensive but I'd never do it any other way.

I haven't personally met anyone whose child was injured this way but I do know at least two adults who were injured (thankfully not seriously) during turbulance because they were not buckled up. If that can happen to a full grown adult, imagine a 20 pound baby/toddler being tossed about.

I hope I didn't sound too "preachy" no world is perfectly safe but this is one call I personally make on the safety side.

Tammy

 

[susykt4]

We only flew one time with a lap baby. DD was 18 months old. It wasn't pleasant, but my parents were on the same flight and we took turns holding her. Less pleasant was taking DS 2 1/2 in his big carseat. It was absolutely IMPOSSIBLE to keep him from kicking the seat of the person in front of us and he was way too excited to sleep. He cried and complained loudly to get out and when I took him out we were CRAMMED into one tiny seat.

My brother recently flew with his 19 month DD. She's little for her age but speaks very well for her age. The person at the check-in desk on their return flight insisted that she must be over two because of how well she could speak. They didn't have her birth certificate and were forced to pay for her return flight. Southwest did reimburse them after they proved her age, but it was a royal pain as well as a bitter end to their vacation. If there's ANY question about lap baby age, take a birth cert!!!

 

[amarberry]

We get a seat for our 16 mo. old daughter when we fly. Both her and I are more comfortable with her in her car seat. We usually fly United or American and I think an infant seat is half price. You might want to look into that with the airline that you are flying with.

 

[saffymom]

The other very important thing is safety. Everyone else on the plane is required to wear a seat belt yet your child is sitting in your lap. If there is strong turbulance or a rough landing, your child would be much safer secured properly in a carseat. The odds of that happening are quite slim but it does happen.

Recently I flew with DS 2 (he was in his car seat), but the flight attendent gave us a seat belt extender just in case he wanted to sit on my lap. That way he could be buckled in with me. I had never considered this before, and don't know if all airlines do it, but it certainly can't hurt to ask.

 

[drayke]

The question kinda says it all. I'm weighing my traveling options. I was just curious because I heard that you can if you don't wanna pay for another seat for a small child....

Recommend you read the book Airframe by Michael Crichton. Actually, just read the first chapter for an interesting discription of what happens in a plane cabin that hits bad turbulence. Purchase the extra seat and bring a car seat to strap into it.

 

[GatorGal]

Recently I flew with DS 2 (he was in his car seat), but the flight attendent gave us a seat belt extender just in case he wanted to sit on my lap. That way he could be buckled in with me. I had never considered this before, and don't know if all airlines do it, but it certainly can't hurt to ask.

I just flew home from Florida on JetBlue and was talking to the flight attendant about the procedure for lap children and he said buckling the child in with your own seatbelt is not allowed.

While it's true that you don't "have to" purchase a ticket for children under two, it's not the safest way to travel. The FAA's policy on this has not changed because they feel if parents were forced to purchase tickets for children that young, they couldn't afford to fly and would therefore drive instead. This policy has nothing to do what is safest for the child.

 

[Alicnwondrln]

we are going in dec and we bought a seat for the 20th month old
i want him to be comfortable and me to
i think holdig him would have been hard
he isnt the type to sit still

 

[saffymom]

I just flew home from Florida on JetBlue and was talking to the flight attendant about the procedure for lap children and he said buckling the child in with your own seatbelt is not allowed.

I was on a transatlantic flight, so maybe the rules are different?
But it was offered on both the outgoing and return flight, so it was apparently standard practice on this airline (Scandanavian).

 

[tjmw2727]

The question kinda says it all. I'm weighing my traveling options. I was just curious because I heard that you can if you don't wanna pay for another seat for a small child....

Yes you can - but both the FAA and AAP recommend children under 40lbs use a carseat.

I always purchased a seat and flew with my children in a CRS but this decision is yours to make. My advice is to do some research and make an informed decision.

Here is a link to get you started from American Academy of Pediatrics:
http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;108/5/1218

If you want to read more search the FAA and individual airlines websites.

TJ

 

[tjmw2727]

Recently I flew with DS 2 (he was in his car seat), but the flight attendent gave us a seat belt extender just in case he wanted to sit on my lap. That way he could be buckled in with me. I had never considered this before, and don't know if all airlines do it, but it certainly can't hurt to ask.

Wow - not doubting your experience but when a baby or small child is straped into the seatbelt with you they will act as your "airbag" so to speak. This can be the case with lap children as well but is more serious if the baby is strapped to the parent in some way.

TJ

 

[jetsetter90]

I think the bottom line is how is your child. If they are very active and fussy then buy a seat. I have travelled with my 2 boys many times while they where under the age of 2 and they and I were both fine. Also you should take into consideration the time of day your flying, try to make it around nap time. I know they might not nap but I had them drinking their bottle while we were taking off, for the ears, and they would fall asleep a least for a little while.

If you have any other questions PM me.

TTFN
Jetsetter90

 

[becky7953]

We flew with our 18 month old (at the time) son, he was in our lap not in a seat. It went fine, a little cramped. The last time we flew, we took a car seat for our 2 year old DD. Everyone said she would be more comfortable in her seat. She did not want in that seat and it was a total pain to carry on. Although safer, if done again we would not have take it on board.

 

[tlbwriter]

Wow - not doubting your experience but when a baby or small child is straped into the seatbelt with you they will act as your "airbag" so to speak. This can be the case with lap children as well but is more serious if the baby is strapped to the parent in some way.

I agree - I'm not questioning your experience at all, but I'm surprised and disappointed that a flight attendant (and perhaps an entire airline?) would be so misinformed. This is very dangerous for your child.

 

[jodifla]

I agree - I'm not questioning your experience at all, but I'm surprised and disappointed that a flight attendant (and perhaps an entire airline?) would be so misinformed. This is very dangerous for your child.

This is common overseas. I saw it on my British Airways flight as well this summer.

Not all countries have the same rule as American airlines. (Guess they just don't care about their kids in other countries, right tlbwriter?)

 

[FSUGrad97]

Personally, if it was me, I would buy another ticket. This way, there won't be any struggling with a toddler who wants to get down, and if your DD is like mine she may fall asleep in her carseat.

Plus, if you rent a car, you won't have to worry about the quality of a rental carseat.

Hope that helps!

 

[jodifla]

We routinely flew with our DS before he was 2 without buying a seat. Oftentimes they'd let us bring the seat on because the plane wasn't full.

When he was very small, he wanted to sit on our laps the whole time anyway. As he got older, the car seat came in more handy....but had the added problems of it putting him in prime position to kick the seat in front of him.

A previous poster had it right....a lot of it depends on your child and what the activity level is.

But you can skip buying a seat for your child. People do it all the time.