car seat?

[all4fun]

I am now planning to buy the CARES airline harness, to me .. its the best of both worlds .. no lugging a huge seat with us through the airport and my children can be safe.

But the problem is that the OP wants to take a taxi to SeaWorld, and the CARES harness is only for use on airplanes. Plus, it is only for kids who are already riding in a fwd facing seat, 1yr and 22lbs to 44lbs. I thought the OP said their child is just 10mos.

The FAA does "strongly recommend" (their words) the use of a car seat or CARES device on all flights for kids under 40lbs. Kids do get injured on flights and most of the time, it isn't newsworthy, so most of us never hear about it. But the OP didn't come here to be lectured about what is safest on the airplane and enough has been said... Since they didn't buy baby a seat, it's a moot point anyway.

If I were the OP, I'd simply bring the car seat to the gate, and check it. That way, when you need to take a taxi, you have a car seat that you installed, you know the history of it, you know how to properly use it, & you don't have to worry about the possible "ick" factor of a used seat, either. I've never hired a taxi and requested a car seat but I have read here before that there's the possibility that you can request one and they send a car without the proper/requested seat anyway. Then what do you do? You're faced with waiting for yet another taxi w/the requested car seat, or putting your LO in danger by riding without it. That is a bigger headache, imo, than just bringing the car seat along for the trip in the first place. jmho.

 

[mjkacmom]

I've always purchased seats for my babies/toddlers, not only for my sake, but because of turbulence, and God forbid, an accident (and there are accidents where people survive, usually at take-off or landing - just saw a news report of a plane crash today, with 50 survivors, 2 miles away from the airport.

 

[mjkacmom]

Untrue.

We don't know how many infants die in planes, but they do - this is from a New York Times article about changing the laws, and requiring everyone to get a seat:

There are no statistics on how many young children die or are injured on airliners, nor on how many children fly without tickets. But two unrestrained infants died in separate air crashes in the past year, one aboard the United Airlines plane that cartwheeled into the airport in Sioux City, Iowa, and another aboard an Avianca Airlines jet that crashed in Long Island.

 

[stacy6552]

Actually 2 of the 3 lap babies on the Souix City crash died. One on impact and one from smoke. The third only survived because a stranger heard his cries, went back into the burning plane and found him in an overhead compartment. All their parents walked off the plane.

 

[MyDizneyBoyz]

For a lap baby on the airplane, you can use a Baby B'air harness. It gives your arms a break from having to support them and offers more protection for them in the event of turbulence as it clips onto your seatbelt.

http://www.babybair.com/

I'm sure most people will agree that statistically it would be safest to have each and every person restrained in their own seat and, who knows, maybe that will eventually be required. But so long as the airlines allow smaller children to fly as lap babies, people will take that option and hope for the best.

As far as bringing a car seat, I only would if you're going to be renting a car. You can't use it on ME so that's out. When it comes to taxis, you can request a car seat and for me that would be sufficient. Bring a few Clorox wipes to wipe down the car seat if you're concerned about germs and take a few minutes to make sure it's installed snug and secure. I always check the install of any carseat my boys ride in and it's worth the few minutes for my peace of mind. I even check my husband's installs... but I'm just "Type A" that way.

 

[AmyMama2AvaNtheo]

For a lap baby on the airplane, you can use a Baby B'air harness. It gives your arms a break from having to support them and offers more protection for them in the event of turbulence as it clips onto your seatbelt.

http://www.babybair.com/

I'm sure most people will agree that statistically it would be safest to have each and every person restrained in their own seat and, who knows, maybe that will eventually be required. But so long as the airlines allow smaller children to fly as lap babies, people will take that option and hope for the best.

As far as bringing a car seat, I only would if you're going to be renting a car. You can't use it on ME so that's out. When it comes to taxis, you can request a car seat and for me that would be sufficient. Bring a few Clorox wipes to wipe down the car seat if you're concerned about germs and take a few minutes to make sure it's installed snug and secure. I always check the install of any carseat my boys ride in and it's worth the few minutes for my peace of mind. I even check my husband's installs... but I'm just "Type A" that way.

I dont know that this can be used .. I printed off Southwest Airlines regulations (just so I have a copy onhand if they try to give me a hard time, lol) and it states clearly that *devises that tie the child to another person are prohibited for taxi, takeoff, and landing regardless of any approval labels they bear*

 

[summermac]

Holy crap, that harness is SEVENTY FIVE DOLLARS?? I could buy two "cheapie" carseats for that price.

 

[MyDizneyBoyz]

I dont know that this can be used .. I printed off Southwest Airlines regulations (just so I have a copy onhand if they try to give me a hard time, lol) and it states clearly that *devises that tie the child to another person are prohibited for taxi, takeoff, and landing regardless of any approval labels they bear*

Which is true as the Baby B'Air is not approved for takeoff, taxiing or landing. However, they can still wear it as a vest (just not attached to your seatbelt) and as soon as you get off the ground you can clip it to your seatbelt. It gives your arms a break during cruising and I still think anything that adds the strength of a seatbelt to hold your child in your lap (for a lap baby) is better than arms alone.

 

[MyDizneyBoyz]

Holy crap, that harness is SEVENTY FIVE DOLLARS?? I could buy two "cheapie" carseats for that price.

Yup, but then you'd also need to buy an airplane seat to put it in so it may still be a less-expensive option for some people.

We have a Cosco seat we use for airline travel for our youngest - your basic $40 Walmart special which we don't mind beating up on travel so I get your point. But for someone who doesn't want to buy an airline seat, and if they're going to travel more than once with a lap child, a Baby B'Air is not a bad deal.

 

[summermac]

I was actually talking about the harness for the older kids (22-40some lbs) so I'd assume by that point, you're buying a seat for the child. Sorry I wasn't clear.

 

[MyDizneyBoyz]

The CARES harnesses are getting so popular, you can rent them on eBay for $20 - not a bad deal for those that are so inclined.

 

[mamarissa]

i must say i really was not expecting so many replies!

i really did not need a lecture, just wanted some experiences

if i do bring a car seat it will be for taxi travel only....i called my airline and the agent politiely laughed when i told her about the suggestion of just taking an "open seat"!

 

[jenseib]

Sadly whenever there is a car seat post, alot of people give a lecture or go on about saftey. Now we all want our kids to be safe, but that isn;t the question asked. I have asked a few in the past, and it really irks me when people start talking about safety, which had nothing to do with the origional question I asked.

 

[MarriedToAPrince]

I personally would make sure you have a seat for the baby and use the car seat on the plane. It is safer then the baby being in your lap.

 

[badblackpug]

I don't know what to suggest about the taxi, we just stay in WDW, but as far as the plane goes I flew down last year with my, then, 9 month old in my lap (oh, and by the way, I am fat, too) and it was no problem. We exclusively use WDW transportation and she was fine in our laps on all the buses, too.