Carseat for 3yr old on ME/Plane?

[New_Disney_Lifer]

Hello Everyone!

Not sure if this is the right place to post my question....

We have a 3yr old. I'm wondering (More DH than me) if we should even bother lugging around the carseat to use for the plane. It will make the plane ride easier, I think. However, I know we can't use it on the Magical Express and we are not renting a car, so it would be used just for the plane.

Any advice? My DH says she will be fine without a carseat... I'm struggling with the decision because of the safety issue. Obviously! I'm just curious to know how many people bring them along and how many just wing it without it. I've got mixed reviews from friends of mine.

Thanks!
Tara - Mom to 2 princesses and a prince charming!

 

[all4fun]

The FAA strongly recommends children under 40lbs use a car seat on the plane (although that is an old recommendation from when higher weight limit seats weren't yet readily available). Personally, I stopped using a crs on the plane when my ds turned four but although he was very tall for his age, he only weighed about 35# soaking wet. He is 48" tall now, and on our last flight, just this past Sunday, which was only about 2hrs, he fell asleep on the plane and then complained the rest of the day that his back hurt (I think because of the position he was in, which wouldn't have been an issue if he's been strapped into a car seat). He's too tall for most airline approved car seats now, and his current 5pt (Regent) isn't approved for airline use so we really are pretty much out of options at this point.

Anyway, it's really a personal decision, obviously. It is just a recommendation, not a requirement. Your dd would be safest in a crs on the plane, and may be more comfortable. I can understand not wanting to lug the car seat if it's not needed on the ground. One thing to consider though is if for some reason you do end up riding in a regular vehicle while there, it would be nice to have the car seat with you. Once, just last year, we ended up having to take a shuttle van from the airport to a hotel for the night after our flight was canceled, and since I didn't even have a booster for ds, and the van didn't come with one, he had to ride in just the seat belt. That made me extremely anxious but thankfully nothing bad happened. Just some food for thought.

 

[mom2meiko]

hi! first - let me say what a can of worms you have opened up by asking this question. lol! everyone on this board seems to have a very strong opinion on the use of car seats in a plane, etc.

i believe (but won't swear) the official guidelines say that a child under 4 should be in an FAA approved carseat for their safety. something to do with the lap belt not being designed to properly hold them in the case of turbulence, etc.

my opinion - and i am not pushing it on you or anyone else - is that it is safer to have them secured in a carseat or CARES harness (will explain below) and my child's safety is not worth taking chances just for the sake of convenience. (i do not mean that to come out as a lecture or to sound condescending or anything else - it's just how i look at it when it comes to my child.)

i also believe that children who are comfortable in their familiar car seats are likely to do better on an airplane than a child who is suddenly in a "grownup" seat with just a lapbelt. i'm sure my daughter will realize with her carseat that getting up and moving around is not an option - just like when we are in the car.

all that being said - my previous reference to the CARES harness... it is an FAA approved harness type device that works in conjunction with the lapbelt on the plane (and the back of the seat) to mimic the 5 point harness of the carseat. it folds up easily for transportation ease - and yet is supposed to keep them safer than they would be in just a regular lapbelt. it's not cheap - i believe it goes for about $75 although i have read that some people have "rented" it from ebay for much less.

when we travel in jan our dd will be 2.5 and she will be in the CARES harness and our 6.5 mo old ds will be in his infant carrier/carseat.

sorry this is long winded but i hope this is helpful.

 

[New_Disney_Lifer]

Thanks for such fast replies!

I just got done editing and read your replies...

First off, I didn't realize this would be such a touchy subject. Thanks Mom2Meiko for the heads up. I was just curious. No offense taken by your post. I found it very helpful.

FWIW - My intentions have always been to bring the carseat along for safety but after some shocking reviews from people we know that travel often, I was second guessing myself and found myself curious as to how many people really bring their children without carseats on a plane.

Thank you both for your advice so far! I'm interested to see what others do as well.

 

[WDWorBUST]

We used the carseat with DD until the point it was uncomfortable for her. We had a Britax Marathon and the last trip we took it with her she rode in it on the way there but her legs were so close to the seat in front of her that when they leaned back her legs were pretty much pinned (not tightly, but certainly not comfortable since she couldn't really move). So we didn't use it on the ride home and haven't used one since. I would say she was probably 3 almost 4 when that happened (she's pretty tall for her age). She now sits in the seat with a regular seatbelt just fine.

If your 3 year old will be more comfortable in the seat and better behaved because of its familiarity then I would say it's worth taking.

 

[smiles&grins]

Well I went last year and didn't take the car seat. My DD was 2 1/2 yo. I was worried about getting home and having to get in the carseat but she was fine. She understands that you have to have a carseat in the car and the plane was a special trip. My DD fell asleep before take off on the way there and within 10 mins of take off on the way home. I think you know you're child best and you have to do what will work best for you guys.

 

[puffkin]

We don't take the carseat on the plane even if we take it for a rental car. The trip we did use it on the plane (Britax Marathon), my son was at proper height to kick kick kick the seat in front of him. Even when he wasn't trying to, he would bump the seat. It was a NIGHTMARE and the people in front of us were very nasty about it. I don't really blame them though, I would hate being kicked the whole way too, and trust me, we tried everything to stop it. The kid just had no room.

It is much easier travelling with him without the seat. He is better behaved on the plane and we have less stuff to lug around. He never has a problem getting back in the carseat at home.

I know that it is technically safer to have him in a seat but I am comfortable not using one.

 

[GoinToDisney]

We used a scenera (sp?) when my daughter was 3 because it was light-weight and she could still be strapped in. We flew once with no car seat and IMO, it just wasn't worth the worry. There was so much extra room even with the lap belt as tight as it would go. We put her coat in the space and hoped for the best. She wasn't as comfy and it was really no big deal to bring ehr seat. She was old enough to do some walking, so we used the stroller to carry the car seat and some of the carry-ons and it worked out well. Yes, you do have to put it under the ME bus, and lug it to you hotel room, but still no big deal. For us, it was worth it.

 

[sabrecmc]

We fly quite a bit with my 3 year old and always bring the car seat. Its honestly not that big of a deal. You can board early and set it up. And really, if I didn't have it and something happened, I'd never forgive myself. I've flown during heavy turbulence(luggage coming out of overheads, the whole bit), where you really fly up out of your seat, and honestly, I can easily imagine a small child flying right out of the seat and hitting his or her head.

One of those travel things that you strap the car seat onto where it rolls works well so that you don't have to lug it through the airport.

 

[PatricenPete]

I've never traveled with my son in a carseat and he's been flying since he was 7 months - likewise with my daughter whose been flying since she was 5 months. We are flying carseat-less to WDW in September and we will have DS who iwill be almost 5, DD will be 3 and our youngest will be 7 months.

In all the flights that I have been on, I have NEVER seen a carseat on the plane, which is strange since I read on here so often about taking carseats on the plane!

Also, if the FAA recommends children being in carseats, then why do they let children under the age of 2 fly as lap children? Seems a little backward to me....

 

[puffkin]

In all the flights that I have been on, I have NEVER seen a carseat on the plane, which is strange since I read on here so often about taking carseats on the plane!

I have been on 40+ flights, most of them to/from Orlando and I have also never seen a carseat on a plane (except the one time we took ours). I often comment to my DH that it is a big arguement on the DIS and I am shocked to not see them.

But honestly, you have to be comfortable going with or without, that is the most important thing.

 

[frtchr]

Our DD really hates her car seat. The first flight with her was a nightmare. After that, we got a CARES harness, and she was much more comfortable and not struggling to get out of her seat the whole time. I really think it's personal preference; I know a lot of people are horrified by the thought of not having a car seat. I find it an acceptable risk as I know DD will sit calmly if she's not in her car seat.

 

[sabrecmc]

Also, if the FAA recommends children being in carseats, then why do they let children under the age of 2 fly as lap children? Seems a little backward to me....

They allow lap children primarily to encourage families to fly and not drive. Even with no carseat or CARES, flying is vastly safer than driving. However, note that studies have shown that unrestrained babies are significantly more likely to die or suffer serious injury in an airplane accident as compared to restrained adults. In an evacuation, an unrestrained child could easily become separated from its parent and be difficult to locate. The American Academy of Pediatrics says: "Preventable injuries and deaths have occurred in children younger than 2 years who were unrestrained in aircraft during survivable crashes and conditions of turbulence. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a mandatory federal requirement for restraint use for children on aircraft. "

Still, its safer to fly than drive, so the rules tend to encourage families in that direction. It is obviously ultimately a family decision and chances are that you will be perfectly fine no matter what you decide. I'm just the type of person that could not live with the regret if something happened that was preventable if I'd inconvenienced myself a bit. There are reasons why the carseat or CARES is not feasible for some families, and I totally understand that. Some children have medical or psychological issues that make restraints on planes quite problematic (My friend has an autistic child and they cannot use restraints on planes). Its really up to the parent to make the judgment call.

ETA: I just wanted to be clear that I'm not flaming anyone that decides not to use a restraint on a plane. We all weigh risks differently, and you can't keep your child in a bubble. After all, we drive to Disney, so we're clearly being riskier than even going unrestrained on a plane! It really is a decision for each family.

 

[princesses&pirates]

This our first time going to disney with the kids and this board was great because we were trying to figure this out for our 10 month old. Thanks guys!

 

[ldymcbth]

We use a CARES harness for our 2 1/2 year old and he does great with it. It's so much easier than lugging a carseat around.

 

[tloveswdw]

We just flew on four planes this past week, and our youngest two were in their car seats. We use the Go Go Babyz for the seats. They then roll like strollers, and you can buckle the seat right onto the plane. I carry my youngest in a Beco or Ergo, so his seat was a great place for our carry ons as we made our way through the airports. Both children slept comfy on the flights, and we experienced a lot of turbulance on one flight... I was happy to have them restrained.

If I did not need car seats for a 3+ year old I would do the the CARES vest, but, with the ability to stroll them ,and give them a place to sleep... their own Britax works for us.

 

[all4fun]

I've never traveled with my son in a carseat and he's been flying since he was 7 months - likewise with my daughter whose been flying since she was 5 months. We are flying carseat-less to WDW in September and we will have DS who iwill be almost 5, DD will be 3 and our youngest will be 7 months.

In all the flights that I have been on, I have NEVER seen a carseat on the plane, which is strange since I read on here so often about taking carseats on the plane!

Also, if the FAA recommends children being in carseats, then why do they let children under the age of 2 fly as lap children? Seems a little backward to me....

I have been on 40+ flights, most of them to/from Orlando and I have also never seen a carseat on a plane (except the one time we took ours). I often comment to my DH that it is a big argument on the DIS and I am shocked to not see them.

But honestly, you have to be comfortable going with or without, that is the most important thing.

1) JMHO here: I found that very often, the gov't requires bare minimums when it comes to child passenger safety. They leave it up to the parents if they want to do more. So while it isn't required, it is a "strong" recommendation (FAA's words). I think that people often think that if something isn't legally required then they just don't feel the need to do more, for whatever reason (ie convenience, they just feel it is "safe enough" and feel comfortable with that amount of risk...whatever).

2) The people on The Dis are not the majority of people flying in and out of Orlando. So even though it's talked about a lot here, there are still tons of other people who are doing what I stated in #1. So I believe that is why the majority of people still don't use crs' on airplanes. I personally also haven't seen many people use car seats, other than myself. Maybe once or twice. And we've flown cross country 11x to WDW since we had ds, many times before that however I didn't pay attention to this subject before ds came along.

As a pp stated, the airlines allow non-restrained babies because of $$$, not because it's what is safest. They have lobbied for it. I agree, even though it's not what is safEST, it's still quite safe (statistically). You have to do what you personally feel comfortable with.

I am not trying to defend a position here, or make anyone feel bad for choosing to do differently than what we have chosen to do, just stating an opinion.

 

[jodifla]

We stopped using a car seat on the plane when our son turned 3. The car seat crammed his legs so close to the seat in front of him that he kept kicking the seat.

From 2 to 3 we used it, and it was great. But if I were just dragging it around for the airplane and not renting a car, I wouldn't bother.

 

[MyCathryn]

I am flying to Disney in 21 days with my DD who will be 25 mo on the day we fly. I will not bring a car seat for her. We didnt when she flew at 8 mo either. I dont plan on driving with her anywhere when we are down there so I have no other use for it. She knows it is a special circumstance. Plus IMO if there is an issue with the plane, her being in her car seat isnt going to make things any better. Again IMO.

 

[New_Disney_Lifer]

Thank You Everyone!

It seems like it's split almost down the middle. It's nice to see all the different perspectives on this subject.

I have to admit that I never even considered that the carseat might not have adequate space...My dd is average size for a 3yr old but if I recall correctly last year when we flew to WDW it was a pretty tight fit with her carseat... I'll have to give this more thought.

Thanks Again!
Tara