dumb questions about car seats /flights

[belsayre]

We are going in May 07 and my kids will be 5 and 7 BUT they are very small so they are still in boosters ( its the law in MO but even if it wasnt they still need the booster seats)
So what would be my best option?? To check the seats and use our own ?? Or request a minivan with the seats already in them??
I know there are minivans with built in car seats out there but I dont know if it is available in a rental . Is that an option or not???
I am new to flying and rental cars so forgive my lack of knowlegde
Thanks in advance

 

[blitzkrieg048]

We are going in May 07 and my kids will be 5 and 7 BUT they are very small so they are still in boosters ( its the law in MO but even if it wasnt they still need the booster seats)
So what would be my best option?? To check the seats and use our own ?? Or request a minivan with the seats already in them??
I know there are minivans with built in car seats out there but I dont know if it is available in a rental . Is that an option or not???
I am new to flying and rental cars so forgive my lack of knowlegde
Thanks in advance

We took our own boosters and checked them. We put them in a sturdy trash bag tied them up tied and worte our name on them on a piece of tape. Worked just fine. Why spend thextra cash when you don't need too. Hope this helps.

 

[shelly3girls]

I believe the built in car seats only hold up to 40 lbs. I also would not trust that you will actually get what you request. Almost every time I have rented a car I have had problems getting a booster seat. Last time I had to wait an hour for someone to drive to another location and get one. Never again, from now on I will bring my own.

 

[allisophie]

HI

we are going in Dec, and bringing our car seat, SW will let DD 6 (barely 40lbs now)sit in her car seat, I just purchased a folding car seat, Safeguard Go. Since the law is now 80 lbs 8 yrs old.DH and I decided this would be the best investment since we travel alot. I will be sure to post how well this seat really works on the plane etc.. We will be renting a minivan on our holiday trip and our Travel Agent asked if we needed the minivan with built in car seats, or needed to rent a seat...told her nope have one that folds for easy carrying

 

[Fabooliss]

We priced renting a booster since the one our DD uses is a high back booster and we didn't really want to haul it around the airport. (DS2 will be sitting in his in the airplane). Most car companies charge around $9 a DAY!!!
We are buying a low backed booster to take, they only cost about $30 and will take up a lot less space on the luggage cart.

 

[belsayre]

Thank you all for the replies- I am now sold on take our own~

 

[CleveRocks]

I may be off on the terminology, but I'm sure of the facts.

Just wanted to make sure you realize that a true booster seat CAN'T be used on an airliner. Moreover, it's totally useless in an airliner and doesn't contribute ANYTHING to the safety of your child.

I'm defining a booster as a seat that ONLY "boosts" the child higher. I'm specifically NOT talking about any sort of seat that has its own harness. In my lexicon at least, a booster is a seat that DOESN'T have its own harness.

So the type of booster I'm talking about, its ONLY role in a car is to "boost" the child up so that the child can safely use the car's shoulder belt. If the child rode without a booster, the shoulder belt would be up against the child's neck (or above the child's head), presenting a very dangerous situation indeed.

On an airliner, there are no shoulder belts. As a result, "boosting" the child to sit higher up will not add to safety, since their only safety strap will be the lap belt. There's nothing more safe about the child being higher up to use the airplane's lap belt.

I hope this all made sense.

 

[belsayre]

makes perfect sense
I just need them for the rental car and didnt know if it was easier to bring our own or ask for a minivan with them already intergrated in- sounds easier to take our own
these boards Rock!!
Thanks for all your help

 

[allisophie]

Eric,
you are correct. This is why we purchased the safeguard go.. it has a harness (like racing) which will keep our child in the seat itself .Yesterday we went to our local firehouse to make sure we had it installed correctly.

safe travels everyone.. counting the days till oct and having some dole whips and