No More Lap Babies!

[Colleen27]

Until I came onto the Disboards, I had never heard of anyone using a car seat on a plane. I have honestly never ever seen this.

Me neither, but I chalk that up to flying mostly to places where people don't drive - Orlando is the only destination we've gone to where renting a car could be advantageous, and DME makes it so that many people don't. DC, NYC, Cancun, etc are all more easily navigated without a car for visitors unfamiliar with the area. So maybe to different, more car-dependent destinations it is more common.

A special ordered football helmet for special snowflake!

Actually, I think that precaution is more for the parents. I've known a lot of football parents (my son has played for 6 years, first youth and now high school) and the ones who order custom helmets are those who are on the fence about letting their son play in the first place. And at risk of gender stereotyping, it tends to be a way for dads to "buy" their wives agreement to signing the boy up. They're not actually doing much to improve safety. The team helmets our program uses got the second-highest rating in Virginia Tech's testing of multiple models... the same rating the popular custom model gets. But it makes parents feel like they're doing something to offset the risks involved in playing football.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I agree. The one and only diagnosed concussion I have had in my life was due to a book. It was in the back seat of my car and I was rear ended at about 25mph. Somehow the impact send that book into the back of my head, hard enough to break the skin and cause a concussion. If we're going to talk about lap babies as a hazard to other passengers, we should also be talking about laptops, tablets, hardcover books, etc.

Not somehow. Physics. Simple.

A loose item in turbulence may hit someone or not. If it hits a person it may causd injury to that one indivdual. A lap baby in that same situation could injure both another passenger and itself.

 

[Viva Las Disney]

Completely agree! My kids get to climb trees, jump on trampolines, participate in sports, ride bikes, ride four wheelers, ( we do use helmets for bikes/four wheelers) climb rock piles, swing on a swingset, go sledding--the list goes on and on. All of these cause more injuries (even head injuries) per year than turbulence, by far.

Geez--I'm a horrible mother. Can you believe how much I put my kids at risk for injury?

And sunshinehighway, I agree about the OP. I just think this thread is comical.

This was what I was thinking, of the tens of thousands of things that could possibly hurt a kid being a lap baby is probably at the very bottom of the list.

We have become so overprotective as a society we won't even let kids play outside anymore, we've eliminated miniscule risks but created a nationwide health epidemic caused by lack of exercise and the resulting obesity.

 

[pigletgirl]

Me neither, but I chalk that up to flying mostly to places where people don't drive - Orlando is the only destination we've gone to where renting a car could be advantageous, and DME makes it so that many people don't. DC, NYC, Cancun, etc are all more easily navigated without a car for visitors unfamiliar with the area. So maybe to different, more car-dependent destinations it is more common. Actually, I think that precaution is more for the parents. I've known a lot of football parents (my son has played for 6 years, first youth and now high school) and the ones who order custom helmets are those who are on the fence about letting their son play in the first place. And at risk of gender stereotyping, it tends to be a way for dads to "buy" their wives agreement to signing the boy up. They're not actually doing much to improve safety. The team helmets our program uses got the second-highest rating in Virginia Tech's testing of multiple models... the same rating the popular custom model gets. But it makes parents feel like they're doing something to offset the risks involved in playing football.

Exactly. Going into football you assume the risks of the sport. I think it creates a false sense of security when you believe your child is safe and they end up with a concussion. As a parent you would be beating yourself up for days.

 

[Chin Chin]

A special ordered football helmet for special snowflake!

Yes. I am not happy about my son playing football to begin with. I am sure you have seen the recent studies on brain injuries that come along with football. But, it is something he is good at and he enjoys. So, I allow him to play.

We have the money, so of course we would order him a football helmet that protects his skull to the fullest extent. He was measured and it fits him perfectly. His pediatrician does the same for her son.

You seem so snarky about the fact that I would custom order my son a custom helmet. That's a bit strange to take the time to put me down over something like that

 

[Chin Chin]

They're not actually doing much to improve safety. The team helmets our program uses got the second-highest rating in Virginia Tech's testing of multiple models... the same rating the popular custom model gets. But it makes parents feel like they're doing something to offset the risks involved in playing football.

Actually, our program's helmets did not score as high as the one I ordered. So, I am offsetting the risks as best I can.

 

[sam_gordon]

Not somehow. Physics. Simple.

A loose item in turbulence may hit someone or not. If it hits a person it may causd injury to that one indivdual. A lap baby in that same situation could injure both another passenger and itself.

So could a laptop, a book, a tablet, and loose "toys" for kids. Should all those be banned for use during flight? After all, turbulence can send those flying also.

 

[LSmith]

How so? I didn't call anyone names, like the poster I quoted did. There was no reason to speak that way about someone's child, and I have no problem telling someone that it isn't right. YMMV.

Oops. I quoted you instead of the someone else. Sorry about that.

 

[smitch425]

Oops. I quoted you instead of the someone else. Sorry about that.

It's all good.

 

[Colleen27]

Actually, our program's helmets did not score as high as the one I ordered. So, I am offsetting the risks as best I can.

That's a shame about your program's helmets. Do they have plans to transition to something better with the next replacement cycle? We're fortunate that DS plays in a program with a lot of community support and staff that are interested in keeping up with the best safety practices so they continually upgrade as things are due for replacement.

But as far as offsetting the risks... The best you could do is not to allow him to play but you're willing to take that risk - a risk that is much more significant than flying with a lap baby. And obviously I'm not condemning you for that; I let my son play too. We all have to draw our own line about which risks are acceptable and which we're not comfortable with.