Flying with 28 month old

[AspenLL]

We are going back to WDW in August when DS will be 28 months old. The last time we went with him he was in our lap and this time he will have his own seat. Has anyone had any luck with just using the seatbelt or the CARES harness at that age? He is a bit squirmy now, so not sure if he will get angry/whiny if he is strapped in with a harness.

 

[kayemgi]

My daughter is only 16 months old, but we used a CARES harness on our last trip (she was 14 months) and I would absolutely use it for your 28 month old! It was great, we'll be using it every trip until she outgrows it.

 

[epsmith921]

My daughter was 24 months when we flew to Disney and she just used the seatbelt. I can't remember how tall she was at the time, but I think the majority of her clothes were 3 or 4's. She was just fine in the seatbelt for our 2 hour flight.

Side note: depending on the length of flight and potty training status, our daughter was wearing pull ups at the time and I found she needed the nighttime ones for things like the longer trip. She didn't really go potty at all on the trip, but the regular pull-ups leaked on us as we were not really pushing potty usage at the time.

 

[AspenLL]

Thanks for the suggestions! The flight is only about two hours for us, so it's not that bad. Will definitely take note about the nighttime diapers. He's not potty training yet, but who knows how it'll be around then. He's in the 90%th percentile for height, so he's up there!

 

[BabyHabs]

I just flew with my 2.5 year old and she stayed put with a seat belt pretty good. First thing when we got on the plane, I showed her the seat belt light and what it meant and that mommy and daddy and brothers all wore the seat belt. She was excited when the light went off and knew exactly what it meant.

 

[SnipsNSnails]

Mine did fine in the seatbelt at 2. They did want to sit on my lap, but did fine when I explained that they were a big boy now and got to have their very own seat. I distracted them until the fasten seatbelt sign was off and then I let them sit on my lap if they wanted to. We always bring the portable DVD, so once electronics can be used they have always been very content to sit there and watch it. Until then, I let them look at the magazine and we talked about the things in it or I would have some books.

 

[mcjaco]

We flew from Chicago to San Fran, and then onto Hawaii with our 3 year olds this summer. They did fine with just seatbelts. One of them was more concerned about when he could watch movies on "his phone" then his seating arrangement.

I think you have to base it on your kid more than any feedback you're going to get. Every kid is different.

 

[Mousemommy1]

My daughter is only 16 months old, but we used a CARES harness on our last trip (she was 14 months) and I would absolutely use it for your 28 month old! It was great, we'll be using it every trip until she outgrows it.

Out of curiosity, how tall is your daughter and what is her weight? I have looked at the CARES harness many times, but am not thinking it will work for our son. He will be 15 months at time of travel and (so 3 months from now) and right now he is 20 lbs, 29.5 inches. I feel like he's too small so we are planning on bringing his car seat.

 

[kayemgi]

Out of curiosity, how tall is your daughter and what is her weight? I have looked at the CARES harness many times, but am not thinking it will work for our son. He will be 15 months at time of travel and (so 3 months from now) and right now he is 20 lbs, 29.5 inches. I feel like he's too small so we are planning on bringing his car seat.

You might be surprised! My daughter was 20 lbs, 28 inches on her first birthday, and we were planning to bring her car seat too. We had her weighed by the doctor when we went to have her flu booster a month before our trip, only one month later, and she was 22 lbs! She hit a growth spurt and just snuck in being able to use it. We rented from rentcares.com and had a great experience. One tip I read that was helpful was to bring a silicone trivet to put under their butt to help with the sliding on a vinyl seat. She still slid a bit and I had to lift her back up a few times, but it helped a lot.

 

[kboo]

We used the CARES harness from about 2 yrs - almost 4 years, when DD outgrew it by height. We did talk a lot about the plane, the seat belts (and how just like a car, we keep our belts on before anyone goes anywhere), and how the flight attendants tell us the rules and we have to listen to them. If your child is anything like mine, he'll listen to (and be more responsive) when a stranger in authority and uniform is telling them what to do! Good luck! We had good luck with the cares harness, but my DD is a pretty easy traveler.

 

[kohlby]

We used the CARES harness at 2.5 years old. There's no way we could have done it without it. I'd strongly recommend either bringing your own seat or getting something like the CARES harness. I rented it since I only needed it for one trip. (We drive for our Disney trips. I rented it for a different trip I took).

 

[RachaelA]

We used a CARES harness last month at 25 months. I can't imagine ever flying without it. It's the only reason our daughter stayed in her seat!

 

[AspenLL]

A friend recently suggested getting a lightweight Cosco convertible carseat. Has anyone done that?