No More Lap Babies!

[Blinking Blue Light]

Maybem maybe not.

Personally I don't make travel plans today on what may happen 4 years down the road.
When I purchase plane tickets, I go the most inexpensive way I can TODAY. I don't say, oh I'll buy an extra seat because in 3 years I'll have to anyway so I may as well get use to it now.

What airline allows you to purchase 3 years in advanced? This doesn't even make sense.

It is not difficult to protect your children. Among other things, as a parent you should put helmets on them when they ride bikes, put them in car seats/seat belts, don't hold them on your lap when you fly, etc. Very easy.

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

To be honest, you don't "know" about the vulnerabilities of the skull. Or maybe you don't care that you put your children at risk when you don't put a bike helmet on them. And, I get it. You are cool and hip and one of those "60's, 70's, 80's" Children" that survived lead paint and no bike helmets, etc. Yes, I have read that Facebook forward

So, you don't care about protecting your children. Too bad for them, but whatever. I am past the point of caring about the safety of others. I care about me. I don't want your child flying through the air and smashing into me or my loved ones.

Like someone above said, pocketbooks can't be on a lap. But a baby can?

ETA: I have never understood people that bragged about NOT putting bike helmets on their children. It just seems so sad to me. Boasting that you don't care about your child's safety. Sad.

Umm, if you bothered to check, Eliza's kids are grown, not at the age now where it's become standard to have helmets. She was referring to the times, and responding to another poster, before you swig that big gulp of self-ritousness and fire away, you should probably check for context.

I have flown with kids as both lap children, and in car seats, I much preferred the car seats just due to the convenience of not having to hold the kiddo, but the big outcry here isn't held up by the statistics, the numbers just aren't there.

At some point, we as a people, need to get over the emotional gut response of "It's for the kids and their protections!" and realize that it's just chicken littles and hysteria.

 

[BadgerGirl84]

I'll continue to travel with my children as lap children, thanks.

I saw the story on Good Morning America. It said 33 (somewhere around that number) people per year were injured from turbulence. 22 of those people were flight crew (makes sense as they are standing in the aisle.)

So, just over 10 passengers per year in the whole country are injured from turbulence....out of the countless people who travel by air each year. This isn't even a blip on my radar.

Babies are injured by so many other ways so much more commonly, I'm going to focus on real concerns...

 

[tajz90]

Lol. I'm guilty also, but then again, I'm guilty of letting my kids ride bikes without a helmet so what do I know.
I'm amazed that my kids made it past puberty with every week a new "danger" lurking.
My kids flew to Europe when they were babies, no way was I paying for extra seats. But once again, no one was screaming about human projectiles.

Guilty. We flew once with a lap child.

I remember riding in the car with my mom and standing next to her with my arm around her neck. She was a wonderful parent and worried about my safety, yet there I was. Times change

 

[eliza61]

To be honest, you don't "know" about the vulnerabilities of the skull. Or maybe you don't care that you put your children at risk when you don't put a bike helmet on them. And, I get it. You are cool and hip and one of those "60's, 70's, 80's" Children" that survived lead paint and no bike helmets, etc. Yes, I have read that Facebook forward

So, you don't care about protecting your children. Too bad for them, but whatever. I am past the point of caring about the safety of others. I care about me. I don't want your child flying through the air and smashing into me or my loved ones.

Like someone above said, pocketbooks can't be on a lap. But a baby can?

ETA: I have never understood people that bragged about NOT putting bike helmets on their children. It just seems so sad to me. Boasting that you don't care about your child's safety. Sad.

yes that's me/. Mommy dearest!! Most wanted on the child protection services hit list around the country.

gimme a break,
Nothing like a fresh case of "don't know the person so over exaggerate" in the morning"

So dis like,

first of all, when my kids were little, no one had bike helmets, or very few people did. Yes we totally didn't hear about head injuries 24/7 like we do know. Nothing to brag about, it is what it is.

I'm sure it does seem very sad to you. but since you don't know me, it seems sad to me that you make HUGE assumptions based on one post.

 

[BadgerGirl84]

I have flown with kids as both lap children, and in car seats, I much preferred the car seats just due to the convenience of not having to hold the kiddo, but the big outcry here isn't held up by the statistics, the numbers just aren't there.

At some point, we as a people, need to get over the emotional gut response of "It's for the kids and their protections!" and realize that it's just chicken littles and hysteria.

I completely agree.

 

[eliza61]

What airline allows you to purchase 3 years in advanced? This doesn't even make sense.

It is not difficult to protect your children. Among other things, as a parent you should put helmets on them when they ride bikes, put them in car seats/seat belts, don't hold them on your lap when you fly, etc. Very easy.

That was the point. you mention that they were going to have to purchase a seat any way, why not do it when the kids are babies.

I was pointing out that most folks don't make reservations that way.

 

[kmb584]

To be honest, you don't "know" about the vulnerabilities of the skull. Or maybe you don't care that you put your children at risk when you don't put a bike helmet on them. And, I get it. You are cool and hip and one of those "60's, 70's, 80's" Children" that survived lead paint and no bike helmets, etc. Yes, I have read that Facebook forward

So, you don't care about protecting your children. Too bad for them, but whatever. I am past the point of caring about the safety of others. I care about me. I don't want your child flying through the air and smashing into me or my loved ones.

Like someone above said, pocketbooks can't be on a lap. But a baby can?

ETA: I have never understood people that bragged about NOT putting bike helmets on their children. It just seems so sad to me. Boasting that you don't care about your child's safety. Sad.

That's incredibly condescending. I believe that Eliza's children are now grown and therefore grew up in a time when today's safety standards weren't safety standards.

 

[sunshinehighway]

Putting your child in carseat is being a "perfect parent"? I hardly think so.

I am not a perfect parent, but I use common sense when it comes to protecting my child.

You might do what you think is common sense but someone else might look at something you do and think you are wrong.

Interesting post count and join date to start such a thread and give such a strong judgemental opinion.

 

[North of Mouse]

I never have understood the airlines allowing lap babies. I'm not allowed to have my purse on my lap during takeoffs and landings because it could be dangerous if it flew out of my lap, yet people are allowed to keep BABIES on their laps?

This! Have never understood this rule either.

Both of my kids took their first flight when they were around one years old. I always got them their own seat and brought their car seat on board. They were safe and seemed more secure/comfortable for the flight.

Unfortunately, until it becomes the rule to have babies in their own seat people will save money and bring them as lap babies.

And I always keep my seatbelt on, even when the light is off.

On flights I've been on the pilot always announces that when it is safe to get up when necessary, but while 'seated' keep your seat belt fastened! If more of the people on this flight had heeded this warning they may have not been as injured/shook up. Understand the flight crew - probably were serving, etc.

As for the babies on laps, we flew once with a lap baby (many moons ago when there was only 'cheapie' (not safe) car seats). But now, I would never do it as the danger has been shown in how a baby (and others) can be hurt.

As Eliza said, we didn't even 'know' what helmets for bicycles were - let alone use them.
There were very few, if any, around. We did the best we could to protect our children with what was available.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

We were always given belts for lap children that secure them to the parent's belt on international flights. I always wondered why that do not offer them (or require them) on domestic flights.

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

I'll continue to travel with my children as lap children, thanks.

Babies are injured by so many other ways so much more commonly, I'm going to focus on real concerns...

But WHY do you fly with your children as lap babies? Is it cost?

If so, it comes off as being willing to sacrifice safety for a price - I think that is what rubs people the wrong way. That there are people too cheap to buy their babies a ticket.

 

[kkandaj]

Guilty of flying with lap babies several times in the past. Have flown several times without my kids also. Not one time have I ever been on a plane (and actually no one I know--and I have co-workers that fly weekly) where objects went projectile, especially babies.

This is how I feel about topics like this--as parents we have to decide what is best for our children--and I cannot judge what another parent does, because I am not perfect and cannot keep my children safe at every single turn. People could make the argument about "you don't care about the safety of your child" for numerous reasons.

I have bigger things to worry about with my kids safety--like keeping them "safe" internally on a daily basis by feeding them healthy non-processed foods. IMHO--our FOOD does more harm to our children than the very, very few cases of projectile babies.

ETA: My point about the food vs. lap babies---everyone has something they're passionate about. Mine is what I give my kids/hubby to eat every day. But I don't judge other parents that don't do this.

 

[BadgerGirl84]

But WHY do you fly with your children as lap babies? Is it cost?

If so, it comes off as being willing to sacrifice safety for a price - I think that is what rubs people the wrong way. That there are people too cheap to buy their babies a ticket.

Yes! why pay a few hundred dollars if we don't have to. Almost all the people I've known who have traveled with babies choose to fly them as a lap baby. We had a wonderful travel experience traveling with my three month old on Southwest last year.

I'd say that the lap baby option is much more common than buying a ticket, so I guess there are millions of us horrible mothers in this country.

 

[amwildwood]

Some yrs ago I did a lot of research into this topic. To sum it up - yes, it is always safer for kids it be strapped in to their own seat in a car seat - including babies - on a airline. Keep them strapped in at all times unless it's necessary to take them out.

But, flying is safer than driving statistically. Even for a lap baby. So, in order to reduce the total number of deaths and accidents, children under 2 could be lap babies because it might help more families make the decision to fly over drive. That's why the FAA made this decision. Not because lap babies are safe. Just safer than driving on average.

At different times since the lap baby rules, some groups have tried to change this or engineer a different solution. None have been successful.

So really it comes down to risk tolerance. I have so many things beyond my control, that sometimes I choose to make what I can safer. My kids always had their own seat. I also didn't fly much with them due to cost and it's easier not to go on vacation sometimes with small kids. I was fortunate that some airlines offer infant fares that are much cheaper.

Hope this helps others understand the FAA rule.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

But WHY do you fly with your children as lap babies? Is it cost?

If so, it comes off as being willing to sacrifice safety for a price - I think that is what rubs people the wrong way. That there are people too cheap to buy their babies a ticket.

To answer part of your question, when I flew with my DS as an infant (his first flight was 3 weeks), it was much easier to comfort him if I was holding him than if he were in his seat and I'm trying to work around it. Once he got big enough that a good snuggle wasn't comforting any more, probably at 8 months or so, he had his own seat. It wasn't a cost issue, it was a comfort issue for him.

 

[BadgerGirl84]

Also, turbulence is something that can occur at any time without notice. Therefore, any parent who unbuckled their child from their car seat during the flight to nurse, diaper change, play, etc. is putting their child "in danger."

 

[eliza61]

But WHY do you fly with your children as lap babies? Is it cost?

If so, it comes off as being willing to sacrifice safety for a price - I think that is what rubs people the wrong way. That there are people too cheap to buy their babies a ticket.

It's rubbing you the wrong way because you see it as an "Too cheap" situation. Also because this is the dis and this is one place that is uber judgemental.

As with all things in real life (Because I always say the dis is like the emerald city in Oz and bares no resemblance to real life) for a lot of folks it's not about being "too cheap" it's about real budgets and taking all things into consideration.

Every action in life has some probability of danger, most parents try to mitigate the danger with the information they have.
Now I don't know the probability of babies flying around the airplane. up until last year I flew routinely for work. Never once saw it happen. I have hit horrible turbulance, still never saw a kid fly out of their moms lap.

Now of course as I said, I didn't have all these issues when my kids were smaller. I don't think I was too cheap but I was concerned about my families budget. so we simply would not have thought keeping our kids on our laps was being an unfit parent.

So when some one tells me that I'm not concerned about my kids safety THAT comes off as sanctimonious, judgemental and a host of other things.

lastly I find mighty presumptious since no one walks in the shoes of the other person. So basically how do you know them and their finances well enough to assume they are being cheap?

 

[brockash]

I am really confused as to what this story has to do with lap babies or the OP's "fear" of being struck by a flying baby. Unless the article that was posted by the OP changed, there is nothing about a lap baby in the story...not one being injured nor one injuring someone else. No connection between the original post/complaint and the article, so why was it cited?

 

[sunshinehighway]

Also, turbulence is something that can occur at any time without notice. Therefore, any parent who unbuckled their child from their car seat during the flight to nurse, diaper change, play, etc. is putting their child "in danger."

Good point.