Carseat or Cares Harness for Flight?

[Colleen27]

Just wanting to get a little advice from those who have been there, done that about flying with a toddler. On our last trip, DD was 16mo and flew as a lap baby which worked out fine. She nursed through take off and landing and slept most of the trip in both directions.

Now she's a year older and much busier. Obviously she'll have a seat since she's 2, but I'm not quite sure what would be the best way to keep her in it!

We have two carseats we could take, either the Graco Nautilus or the Safety 1st Summit, but both are rather bulky and heavy. I'm not entirely sure either one would fit on the narrow Spirit Air seats, and since we don't need it in Orlando I'm really not thrilled about the notion of lugging it to and fro or finding a place for it in our room at Pop. But in the pro column, the 5 point harness does keep her contained.

The other option is to rent a CARES harness. For $25 including round-trip shipping, I was thinking this was the no-brainer option, until I looked at the videos of how it works. Now I'm just not sure it'll keep her still. She's a tiny little thing, 27lbs and 33", and she is super-talented at squirming out of lap belts in strollers and high chairs and such.

So for those of you who have flown with 2yos, what methods did you use? How well did it work? Would you do it again or choose a different option?

 

[robinb]

So, she's 28 months old? I would say the Cares Harness because the car seat will give her too much of an advantage to kick the seat ahead of her. I thought I could stop my DD from kicking the seat in front her her when she was just about 3. I was wrong. She rode in the seat one way to Hawaii but the seat was stored on the way home.

 

[Minniemouse07]

I would bring the car seat and rear face her.

If she is rear facing then she can't kick anyone's seat but her own and she will be facing you and can interact a bit easier throughout the flight.

Since neither of your seats rear face (both are combination harness/boosters), I would look into an inexpensive light travel seat like the Cosco Scenera. It is inexpensive ($40 @ Walmart) and light weight...good for traveling.

I have heard reports that the CARES harness can be a bit slippy with smaller kids. They can slide down in the harness.

As for our experience, we flew w/ dd when she was 18mo, 2.5, & 3.5 using her car seat (rear facing for the first trip, forward facing the second and third...too big to rear face), and ds when he was 2yo (rear facing).

All four trips went well. Dd was a sleeper. The combination of being in her car seat and the hum of the engines put her right out! Ds was a bit more work but I couldn't imagine him at 2yo w/o being harnessed in his seat. He was definitely antsy and wanted out but we had a backpack full of different distractions so it went okay.

 

[Bren's Mom]

I think you're right to be concerned about the CARES harness. It's a great device, and I've used one, BUT the child must be the kind that will sit on her own and not try to unbuckle and must be big enough for the lap belt to be snug. She's tiny and, it sounds like, a typical toddler who wants to move and go...and that the CARES harness isn't going to be much help.

I think Christine has the best option. Buy a Cosco Scenera for $40 and rear-face your dd on the plane. She'll be able to sit cross legged and have books/toys on her lap without slipping off. She'll have better interaction with anyone sitting next to her. There will be no seat kicking issue. And she is still well within the rear-facing limit of the seat, and then you can continue to use that seat as a spare for some time to come.

You just need to be sure that when you sit her in it there is at least 1" of shell above her head.

Enjoy your trip!

Coleen
CPST

 

[ccgirl]

We have never used the Cares Harness but was wondering if it interferes with the table of the person behind you? My son used his car seat once. It put him up so high that his tray table did not come down flat so he could not color or use the tray table for anything. He could definitely kick the seat in front of him but we put his Sister or Dad in that seat. This last trip we just used the seatbelt. He likes rules so had no problem keeping it on. He could still kick the seat in front of him even without being in the car seat. It was so great to be able to use the tray table as well. He was almost 3 thought and in the 95th percentile so he is a big boy. He loved watching his movies with his doggie headphones. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Colleen27]

She'll be 31 months when we go. I hadn't thought of the kicking the seat factor with using her regular booster, that is one more reason to try the CARES. I'm just not sure with no between the legs strap if it'll hold her still. We only have a 2.5 hour flight, though, so at least it isn't cross country or anything.

Rear facing is not an option for a couple of reasons. First, she hates it in the car partly because she can't see the screen for the VHS player, and we're bringing a portable DVD player for the girls on the plane so we'd have the same issue on the plane. And second, I'm not interested in buying a rear facing seat for what will most likely be one-time use, particularly since it is so hard to sell or give away a used seat these days with the safety recommendations against it. It isn't even a question of cost, it is just so wasteful that it isn't something I'd do.

 

[Bren's Mom]

We have never used the Cares Harness but was wondering if it interferes with the table of the person behind you? My son used his car seat once. It put him up so high that his tray table did not come down flat so he could not color or use the tray table for anything. He could definitely kick the seat in front of him but we put his Sister or Dad in that seat. This last trip we just used the seatbelt. He likes rules so had no problem keeping it on. He could still kick the seat in front of him even without being in the car seat. It was so great to be able to use the tray table as well. He was almost 3 thought and in the 95th percentile so he is a big boy. He loved watching his movies with his doggie headphones. Good luck with your decision.

When installing a CARES harness, I let the person in the seat behind know what I'm doing, I lower THEIR tray table, install the harness and then put their tray table back up. That way it's UNDERNEATH and doesn't bother their use one bit. I've never had a problem with this and neither has anyone else I know.

 

[msmama]

I highly recommend the CARES.

It's not like you're going to be setting her in it and then just leaving her alone. She'll know that she has to stay in the seat if you're there (and if you tell her the "rules.") And if there's a DVD player there, she'll probably just sit and watch that, right? Or play with her toys.

It doesn't interfere with the person behind you at all (except when you're actually installing it, you have to put their tray down).

Last time we flew with my son (he was just over 2), we actually only had the CARES on when the fasten seatbelt sign was on. The other times he was fine with just the lap belt - and felt like a big kid.

 

[Mommy2JulietJocelyn]

I have not used a CARES harness but my now 3 y.o. has used her seat twice on the plane. If she wasn't in it it would have been a disaster. both seats you have are too big for a plane. They have to have a FAA? approved sticker on them - it will say if it is cerified to fly in the instruction manual too. We have a graco comfortsport - it is small & lightweight. I know it can fly. It foes put her high up so the table does not come down all the way but we used a DVD player once we were allowed on my table and she was fine. when all of us go (5 total) we usually drive becasue of cost.

 

[Bren's Mom]

Just for the record, both of the seats the op has ARE FAA approved when used in harness mode (NOT as a booster). Both should fit (albeit tightly) in an aircraft seat. But they are big and heavy and I can certainly understand why she might not want to take either of them with her.

 

[Jenny-momof3]

I was looking into the CARES harness as well for my niece that will just have turned 2 before the trip. She's an antsy little thing and I'm not so sure that's going to work out for her.

We do have a Cosco carseat. Is that approved for flying? I think rear facing her is going to have to be it for her because she's going to kick the crap out of the seat in front of us! But I pity the poor soul who is trying to use the tray attached to her seat..because she's going to kick the crap out of that seat too! Thankfully it's only a 2 hour flight!

 

[Bren's Mom]

Yes, the Cosco Scenera is FAA approved. ALL US convertible car seats are FAA approved for us on US aircraft.

Rules differ for internationally based airlines.

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

My DD has been flying since she was 9 weeks old and has flown several times a year since... GET THE CARES HARNESS!

Up to age 2 she did fine in the car seat, then at 26 months everything changed. Let's just say by the time the plane landed, I was in tears- I won't give the details but it was horrible- both ways. After that, we got the cares harness and she was totally fine after that! My friend now borrows it for her son for flights to South America and they love it also. Before we got the cares harness our travel seat was the Cosco Scenera.

With the cares harness she can move enough to be happy but still be safe, you can put down the tray for a DVD player or activities (I like the crayola crayons that are triangular so they don't roll), sticker books, etc...

 

[tlbwriter]

If you go with the CARES harness, I wonder if using a padded lapdesk would help keep her in her seat and reduce squirming. Sometimes it's more comfortable to have a kid-sized place to rest your arms, it might be more usable than the fold-down desk in front of her, and it might reduce kicking! This one is from the Container Store and it's not only cute, but it has a built-in cupholder!

 

[princess pooh]

I started using the CARES harness before my son's second birthday and I love it! It kept him contained and I didn't have to lug around his carseat or deal with him kicking the seat in front of him. It's so easy to install too.

 

[bekkiz]

We fly quite a bit, and bought the CARES harnesses in November nd have used them twice. Seriously, they are the BEST things ever! Especially when I flew with the boys alone. No seat kicking, no lugging the carseats through security. Awesome

I did add a small modification, since I was also worried about wiggling out. I got some strapping from the fabric store and little adjustable plastic buckle, and created my own leg strap. I don't sew, but I have a friend with a sewing machine who sewed it for me in like 2 minutes. I think for each one, it cost about $4. However, I'm not 100% sure we really needed it, but I'm glad that we added it.

 

[Minniemouse07]

We fly quite a bit, and bought the CARES harnesses in November nd have used them twice. Seriously, they are the BEST things ever! Especially when I flew with the boys alone. No seat kicking, no lugging the carseats through security. Awesome

I did add a small modification, since I was also worried about wiggling out. I got some strapping from the fabric store and little adjustable plastic buckle, and created my own leg strap. I don't sew, but I have a friend with a sewing machine who sewed it for me in like 2 minutes. I think for each one, it cost about $4. However, I'm not 100% sure we really needed it, but I'm glad that we added it.

The original design of the CARES harness included a "crotch strap" that connected the top portion of the harness...through the crotch area to stop the submarining of the child.

The FAA said NO to the crotch strap due to safety reasons. So adding additional straps isn't a good thing and may actually make the harness unsafe!

You can hear more about this on the PassPorter Mom's Podcast where they had the inventor of the CARES harness on as a guest.

 

[ashleyasiegel]

When my daughter was 18 months we took her carseat - Graco My Ride on a Delta/NW flight and it barely fit in the seat. We actually had trouble getting it out after our flight landed in Orlando but that is another story. She sat forward facing in it and had NO leg room at all and proceeded to kick the seat in front of her just because she had no room. The lady was extra nice. We ended up taking her out of her seat a lot on the plane as she cried when she was in it. On the way back we flew Southwest - the seat fit better but still not much leg room for DD.

On our next trip she was 27 months and since we didn't need the carseat on the ground in Orlando we decided not to bring it and just used the lapbelt with her. She was not happy to be buckled in at first but got over it and did great with just the lapbelt on the way home. I decided against the carseat and the CARES based on another thread that I read on this board a few months before I went with advice that came from a pilots wife. If i can find the post I will come back with the link. My daughter was 35 inches and 31 lbs when we traveled in September and we got the lap belt snug on her and just taught her the rules so she wouldn't keep trying to slide out of it or unbuckle the belt.

I am sure I will get flamed for not using something more secure but that is what worked for us as I think we would have more problems if we bought the carseat with her screaming to get out. She is fine in the car with her seat but with an airplane she hated it. I think it was because besides landing/takeoff she didn't feel like she was moving.

 

[Minniemouse07]

When using a car seat on an airplane it is generally best to pull the armrests up before installing...and to turn the buckle for a 1/2 twist so it opens towards the cushion of the airplane seat (where your back would rest if you were sitting in the seat). This allows for an easier removal of the seat upon arrival.

There are good tips at this site as well.

 

[Erica09M]

We're using a CARES harness for my youngest when we fly next month. She's 2.5 years old. Using the CARES harness will be much easier than taking the car seat, especially since we don't need it for anything else. My daughter is quite a bit bigger though, at about 34 pounds and 37.5 inches. I'm confident that it will fit her ok, but your little one is smaller.