Experience with Cares harness vs. Car seat?

[Mousemommy1]

Well, we brought our then 3 month old son to Disney in April. We carried him as a lap child on the plane and while he did sleep pretty much the whole time, it was stressful worrying about turbulence, etc...

So for our trip next April, I bought him a seat. He will be 15 months old. I was planning to buy the Cares harness and am looking for experiences with that.

I don't want to bring a car seat, because part of our trip is a Disney cruise and I can't imagine where we will store it. We have not purchased a convertible car seat yet but are planning on the Diono Rainier, which folds flat.

Thoughts??

 

[myrtleturtle]

My 2.5 year old twins aren't big enough for the CARES yet. Smaller kids have a tendency to slide down in them, there is no between the leg strap. I have read this can be mitigated by putting drawer liner under them. We always fly with car seats, but you are right, there's no place to store it when you cruise. If you do get the Rainier I would see if it fits inside your suitcase, then you can store it under the bed in your stateroom.

Oh, if you do decide to go with the CARES, think about how much you will use it. If it's just once or twice, you can rent them through people on Ebay.

 

[Mousemommy1]

My 2.5 year old twins aren't big enough for the CARES yet. Smaller kids have a tendency to slide down in them, there is no between the leg strap. I have read this can be mitigated by putting drawer liner under them. We always fly with car seats, but you are right, there's no place to store it when you cruise. If you do get the Rainier I would see if it fits inside your suitcase, then you can store it under the bed in your stateroom.

Oh, if you do decide to go with the CARES, think about how much you will use it. If it's just once or twice, you can rent them through people on Ebay.

I saw you have to be 22 lbs for it. My little guy is 6 months old and 16.5 lbs now so I'm assuming he'll be big enough.

That's a good idea though about seeing if it's flat enough to go into a suitcase.

 

[ChloroformSdxn]

I would get the Diono early and use that. I had the CARES harness since we flew a lot, but like it was said, the lack of a crotch strap really impacted how well it worked. The Diono Radian has always fit in the plane.

 

[luvmy2babies]

CARES harness also has a height minimum; so double check that as well. My son was 2.5 when we used it. At 21 months he wasn’t big enough.

As to the experience it was night and day for me. I travel alone with my two children so lugging a seat on to a plane, which I have done for two trips couldn’t compare to using the harness.

Beyond the convenience of not lugging the seat, the harness allowed him to use the middle seat in our row. Car seats have to be installed at the window. We were all happier in our new locations. Dd got the window and I got the aisle. With him in the car seat, dd had the aisle and I sat between her and ds. The drawer lining as someone else mentioned does help with the sliding issue.

I have not heard of that seat; but I had a similar seat I have used on a plane. It didn't fit into a suit case; but I did buy a bag for it with shoulder straps.

 

[Mousemommy1]

Thanks for the input. I'm thinking that just using the Diono car seat will be our best bet. I will check out how flat it folds in person before deciding but I think it will be the best (and most secure) option.

 

[SwimMom2]

I love our CARES harness and have used it on lots of flights beginning at around 2.5, when my sons were big enough for it. Until then, I used their regular car seat. It is heavy and cumbersome but also I knew it was safe. CARES has an excellent safety track record.

There are several ways to research car seat safety online. I don't think I can recommend a particular site here. There is a nurse in our area called the Car Seat Lady who helped me with my car seats. She is priceless. I am kind of a car seat safety nut- my 3.5 year old is still rear facing.

ETA: I bet if you google car seat lady, 12 websites will pop up. I don't even know if she has a website- she is affiliated with our local hospital. So really I am just suggesting you consult a certified professional in car seat safety, not a particular person.

 

[Mousemommy1]

I love our CARES harness and have used it on lots of flights beginning at around 2.5, when my sons were big enough for it. Until then, I used their regular car seat. It is heavy and cumbersome but also I knew it was safe. CARES has an excellent safety track record.

There are several ways to research car seat safety online. I don't think I can recommend a particular site here. There is a nurse in our area called the Car Seat Lady who helped me with my car seats. She is priceless. I am kind of a car seat safety nut- my 3.5 year old is still rear facing.

ETA: I bet if you google car seat lady, 12 websites will pop up. I don't even know if she has a website- she is affiliated with our local hospital. So really I am just suggesting you consult a certified professional in car seat safety, not a particular person.

Oh I've already done the research and this is definitely the car seat we want....I just needed to decide whether to bring it with us or not.

And, I'm big on car seats too. My 8.5 year old is still in a booster, lol

 

[CindySwims]

I love the CARES harness. It has worked well for me when I don't need a car seat at my destination. I fly solo with my boys often and it is much easier than the car seat.

 

[Mousemommy1]

I love the CARES harness. It has worked well for me when I don't need a car seat at my destination. I fly solo with my boys often and it is much easier than the car seat.

What was the youngest age that you used it for your children? Our little guy will only be 15 months at time of travel.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

Looking more into this CARES harness is on my to do list for our upcoming trip. I am interesting in finding out more about renting one. My baby DD will be almost 2.5 yrs old on this upcoming trip and I think this would be good for her (knowing her temperament). We didn't use anything like this with DS6 who was 2.5 years old on our very first WDW trip. It was our first family trip to Disney and we assumed that we didn't need anything since we were staying onsite and relying solely on Disney transportation. Fortunately he did very well with just the lap belt on the plane, but looking back I wish I would have did a little more research on something like this. For this upcoming Disney trip we were planning on purchasing a more lightweight, TSA approved car seat just for the trip; but we may be changing some things around with what we were initially planning to do, so something like the CARES harness might be an even better option for us.

 

[luvmy2babies]

Looking more into this CARES harness is on my to do list for our upcoming trip. I am interesting in finding out more about renting one. My baby DD will be almost 2.5 yrs old on this upcoming trip and I think this would be good for her (knowing her temperament). We didn't use anything like this with DS6 who was 2.5 years old on our very first WDW trip. It was our first family trip to Disney and we assumed that we didn't need anything since we were staying onsite and relying solely on Disney transportation. Fortunately he did very well with just the lap belt on the plane, but looking back I wish I would have did a little more research on something like this. For this upcoming Disney trip we were planning on purchasing a more lightweight, TSA approved car seat just for the trip; but we may be changing some things around with what we were initially planning to do, so something like the CARES harness might be an even better option for us.

I rented on eBay when we used it for my son. If you go on eBay and search for it, you will get lots of options. You let them know your trip dates and they make sure you get it in time. The lady I used also gave me up front (based on my return date) the deadline for getting the harness back to her. The upfront fee included shipping to me. I paid return shipping separate in my case. Whole transaction was around $25.

Here's a link to the post in my TR where I talk about using it on the plane.

The Crazy Fun, Which One of You Splashed Me Trip Report: Luvinmy2 June 2012

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

I rented on eBay when we used it for my son. If you go on eBay and search for it, you will get lots of options. You let them know your trip dates and they make sure you get it in time. The lady I used also gave me up front (based on my return date) the deadline for getting the harness back to her. The upfront fee included shipping to me. I paid return shipping separate in my case. Whole transaction was around $25.

Here's a link to the post in my TR where I talk about using it on the plane.

The Crazy Fun, Which One of You Splashed Me Trip Report: Luvinmy2 June 2012

Thank you for this, this is very helpful.

 

[branv]

I have read in a number of places about kids at the younger end of the age bracket having more issues. Things like the straps being looser or their heads/necks hitting the top strap at just the right point where it's irritating for then. I wish people were more forthcoming about their children's sizes instead of just age. My DS is 21 months, and we'll be flying when he's 26 months. But he's already 35" and 32 lbs! I don't know if that means he wouldn't have the same issues a similarly aged but smaller toddler would have.

Alternatively we've considered a "throwaway" $35 Scenera. The top weight limit is 40 lbs, but I think it weighs next to nothing to carry. No way am I hauling my Advocate behemoth on a plane.

 

[kangamama]

I love the CARES harness, but agree about the lack of strap between the legs. However, if you don't need a carseat at your destination, and your child is big enough, I'd say go for it.

 

[Twice_as_Nice]

we LOVE our CARES. To get rid of the issue with no crotch belt I purchased some non slip drawer liner stuff from the dollar store and used that for him to sit on like a mat. It worked Perfectly for keeping his little bum in place. I have done this trick with 2 kids no problems.

 

[Mousemommy1]

we LOVE our CARES. To get rid of the issue with no crotch belt I purchased some non slip drawer liner stuff from the dollar store and used that for him to sit on like a mat. It worked Perfectly for keeping his little bum in place. I have done this trick with 2 kids no problems.

How big were your little ones? Again, mine will be 15 months. He is 16.5 lbs now....no idea what he will be then.

 

[Twice_as_Nice]

My youngest was about 18-19lbs when we last used it.

 

[Ladcassidy]

We started using CARES on DD's first flight -- she was about 18 months. She's 7 now, is a frequent flyer, and still uses CARES every trip. We love it! After all these trips, DH and I can install and remove it in about 30 seconds flat. We never had a problem with DD slipping too low in the airplane seat. But you will be sitting right there, so it's easy to prop your little one up straighter if you need to.

 

[Mousemommy1]

My youngest was about 18-19lbs when we last used it.

Oh wow. I'm surprised you didn't have any issues since it's for kids between 22-44 lbs.