Lap or seat for 18mo old?

[Coconuts]

My 18mo old will be flying for the first time. Would you save the money and keep her on your lap, or buy a seat for her? I tend to want to spend the money for the convenience of having the room for her. Has anyone else had any experience with this?

If I do buy a seat for her, do I have to bring a car seat?

 

[CarolA]

I would spend the money.

The FAA has admitted that children are MUCH safer in thier own seat with a car seat then in your lap. The reason they don't require your child to have a seat is a combination of pressure from the airlines who are afraid you won't fly if you have to buy your baby a ticket and thier "belief" that "it's still safer" then driving. (Don't think they have studies, just views on that one)

This rule has not been changed since I was a child. However the average two year old in the ensuing 40 plus years is MUCH bigger. I was a 6lb something baby and was "normal". NONE of my friends who have had full term babies have had anything CLOSE to that small. So it stands to reason that if at 18 months they are bigger then I was! Of course when I was a toddler I just bounced around the car too.....

 

[jlewisinsyr]

Is your baby's safety worth less then $300?

 

[LisaRN97]

We have traveled quite a bit with two young children. When they were that age or smaller we would just travel with her/them on our lap. We traveled when they were 3m, 5m, 9m, and 18m and then 2y+. But what we did because they were international flights we requested the bassinet so when they fell asleep we just placed them there. It really depends on how long the flight is too.

And as far as the carseat, we would rent a car with the seats or have my BIL pick us up using his carseats.

HTH!

 

[Just(donald)Ducky]

My son flew from NYC to Australia at 18 mths old in his mothers lap. So your short hop to Florida should be fine.

Flying is safer then driving. If you look at the number of people killed in the United States while driving VS the number of people killed in the united states While flying, it is significantly safer.

 

[WillCAD]

SEAT! SEAT! SEAT!

IMHO, "lap children" should not be allowed on airplanes at all. Flying is extremely safe, but there is always turbulence, and the plane does roll and pitch on takeoff and landing, so holding your kid in your lap is always a risk.

Think of it this way - even if you are absolutely guaranteed never to crash into anything, you'd still put your kid in a safety seat in a car, wouldn't you? Why? Because you might make a sharp turn or have to stop fast, which is perfectly safe, unless you're an unrestrained infant inside the vehicle.

So get the seat, and use a child seat during the flight, at least during takeoff and landing.

 

[crashbb]

Flying is safer then driving. If you look at the number of people killed in the United States while driving VS the number of people killed in the united states While flying, it is significantly safer.

Which has absolutely nothing to do with the question. If the question was - "should I fly or drive", those statistics would have a point. However, since that isn't the question, those statistics are entirely irrelevant.

What is relevant, is whether a child is safer strapped into their own seat (be it regular seatbelt or child seat) or held on an adult's lap. There is no question that they are safer in their own seat (turbulence being a main source of possible problems for lap babies).

OP - it is definitely safer for your child to have their own seat. Also many (but not all) find that their child is more likely to sit still if in their car seat (though these are not mandatory). One final thought - a lap baby gets to luggage allowance.

 

[gumbo1009]

I always got a separate seat for her before age 2.

That said, even when I got a seat for her, she usually ended up in my lap -- my child is feisty and forcing her into a seat by herself and keeping her safely belted was not always possible. (Sometimes it was both of us belted in one seat and me hanging on for dear life -- like holding the tail of a tiger.)

Even so, for long trips (3-4 or more hours) it certainly seems worth the extra money to have extra room for all the "stuff" that comes along with a toddler. And if you can keep your child safely in that extra seat, then you certainly have peace of mind...

 

[jlewisinsyr]

...Sometimes it was both of us belted in one seat...

That's even worst. In turbulence two people belted in one seat, with on being a small child, there is a fairly large risk of severe internal injuries of the child.

 

[uva185]

My son flew from NYC to Australia at 18 mths old in his mothers lap.

I would think for a flight that long it would be well worth it to purchase a seat for the child!!!

The child is definitely safer with their own seat. If the plane encounters severe turbulence or has to abort take-off at a high speed the child will be much safer in her own seat as opposed to in your arms. On top off all that I would think the convenience of not having to hold the child for the entire flight would be well worth the price!

 

[holden]

I would recommend a seat. We flew to FL (2hr flight) with our then 17mo old last summer. Boy do I wish we had gotten her a seat! She was so miserable. I really think she would have felt more comfortable in her car seat.

 

[MadilynnsMomma]

I recently flew from Boston to Chicago, had a layover, then Chicago to Omaha with my 12 month old daughter. We did not buy her a seat but we brought her car seat with us. The customer service rep for American Airlines told us to bring her car seat and if the plane was not full they would juggle people and accommodate my daughter in her car seat. It worked out on all 4 legs of our trip. It all depends on when you're going and how packed it the flight may be.

IMO - I say wing it! Bring along your child's car seat and hope for at least one open seat!

Best of luck & Happy travels!

 

[Coconuts]

Which has absolutely nothing to do with the question. If the question was - "should I fly or drive", those statistics would have a point. However, since that isn't the question, those statistics are entirely irrelevant.

What is relevant, is whether a child is safer strapped into their own seat (be it regular seatbelt or child seat) or held on an adult's lap. There is no question that they are safer in their own seat (turbulence being a main source of possible problems for lap babies).

OP - it is definitely safer for your child to have their own seat. Also many (but not all) find that their child is more likely to sit still if in their car seat (though these are not mandatory). One final thought - a lap baby gets to luggage allowance.

Thanks for the great response. No, driving is not an option for us; being in a incar for 18 hrs with my 18mos old is too horrifying to think about! I would much rather just be there in @2hrs.

I think we will buy the seat for her; if she winds up being difficult and wants to sit with mommy, then at least we have the extra room. Chances are she will more than likely want to run around, not be sitting on mommy's lap!

 

[Donnainnj]

With our little guy we went to Disney when he was almost 8 months and did the lap child thing, not bad, he was a little smaller, and slept more. We went lap child again in April when he was almost 13 months. This time he was quite a bit bigger (he is 27#12oz now, and 33" tall). Well, he is a real calm little guy, and it was still hard. There is very little room with a not small size adult and a child this size to move around. I felt like everytime he moved he was bumping the seat in front of us, and bugging the other passenger. He slept a bit both ways, but it was hard to keep him in mostly one position as not to bump the seat. My husband and I shared the job, and I still prefered not to do it again. For our trip in August we purchased a seat for him (Southwest out of Phila $59 each way). He is used to his car seat and hopefully it will be easier this way. Good luck.
Donna

 

[Tozzie]

I usually stay out of these threads since I don't have children but after my flight home from California last night I wouldn't think any child would be safe anywhere but in their own seat buckled in. The first almost 2 hours of the flight was very rough. I was buckled in my seat and still bounced around in it, in fact at some points it felt like I was on the Tower of Terror ride ( and I am not kidding) I don't think any lap child would have been safe on that flight.

 

[Coconuts]

With our little guy we went to Disney when he was almost 8 months and did the lap child thing, not bad, he was a little smaller, and slept more. We went lap child again in April when he was almost 13 months. This time he was quite a bit bigger (he is 27#12oz now, and 33" tall). Well, he is a real calm little guy, and it was still hard. There is very little room with a not small size adult and a child this size to move around. I felt like everytime he moved he was bumping the seat in front of us, and bugging the other passenger. He slept a bit both ways, but it was hard to keep him in mostly one position as not to bump the seat. My husband and I shared the job, and I still prefered not to do it again. For our trip in August we purchased a seat for him (Southwest out of Phila $59 each way). He is used to his car seat and hopefully it will be easier this way. Good luck.
Donna

Well our little princess is not so calm, so I am not sure that strapping her into her carseat will make things better; she might freak out even more. She is super mobile and always wants to be walking on her own. But after reading all the responses, I think I would feel like she is more safe in her own seat/carseat. And if she freaks out being strapped down, and wants to be with mommy, I can definetly be at peace spending the money for a seat just in case.

We are flying out of phl as well so at least the flight is only 2 1/2 hrs. BTW Donna, I am super jealous of your airfare. I have been pricing for several weeks and I waited too long. Have a great trip.

 

[crashbb]

One thing to remember - if you do buy a seat for your child, she has to be in it and buckled in (whether or not a car seat is used) whenever the seat belt sign is on (i.e. take-off, landing, turbulence).

 

[M-J's Mommy]

After reading some of the horror stories about kids getting really hurt when the planes drop or hit turbulence, I don't think that I would ever put my DD2 on a plane without a carseat. She has never flown before, but it would probably make it easier if I can just strap her in if I need a break, too. Let's be honest here, its not easy keeping a toddler entertained and out of other peoples' hair.

 

[Donnainnj]

...We are flying out of phl as well so at least the flight is only 2 1/2 hrs. BTW Donna, I am super jealous of your airfare. I have been pricing for several weeks and I waited too long. Have a great trip.

We were buying 9 roundtrips so I was watching like a hawk. I know in the past they have had $49 each way, but since the gas has gone up I figured $59 would be the lowest they would go. I know our flights have been $99 each way or more every time I have checked recently.
Good Luck and Hope you have a good trip to!
Donna

 

[PatsMom]

My DD flew quite a bit as an infant/toddler and she was always in her own seat. I used her car seat - she had to stay in it in the car so she had to stay in it on the plane. That was just the rule.

And she was also very active and mobile and definitely not one to sit still for long. But she undrestood about the car seat being a rule that Mom just didn't cave in on, ever. Once in the seat, she had to stay until I let her out.

I also used to try to fly when it was nap time and sometimes she would sleep in the car seat since she was used to it.