Q regarding CARES harness for Aircraft use?

[Disneyfan.UK121]

Hi guys I wonder if you can help me please......I will be travelling to Orlando in September with my husband and 13 month old son and was reading on these forums about the CARES harness. Unfortunately I am unable to buy this from any UK website (from what I have read on the web as it is a US FAA approved product) but was wondering if any of you knew if this product was worth getting as it is expensive for a one off trip. We have brought an extra airline seat for my son but as he is under two he will have to sit with one of us when we take off and land (as this is not a recognised UK safety aid and so cannot use the CAREs harness) We ARE taking his car seat with us but will be handing this over at the gate as my husband doesnt want to take it on the plane with us as he says that it would be a long flight for our son to sit in it for ( 9 hours 40 mins). Without the seat it means that he can sleep easier. I'm just a bit worried as I would hate the thought of us hitting turbelance and he is not restrained.

I have had a look on ebay but none of these are listed ( even in the US) so they must be good! What would you do in my position?

We will probably not be doing much travelling on planes over the next couple of years so I am really worried about the cost. I also read that these harnesses restrict the persons laptray in front of you, is this still the case? I hate to say it but British people can be VERY unsympthetic ( im sure that all nationalities can be too) but I would hate it if we are sitting on a plane for nearly 10 hours with a person unhappy behind me!

Sorry for the long message, Thanks for your time in reading this.....

 

[amarberry]

I can't answer you question about the CARES system (except that I think it's rather pricey), but are you sure that you don't want to take your carseat on the plane? I'm taking a 9 hour flight with my kids in a couple of weeks and am definitely bringing the carseat for both my 7 month old (well, no choice for this one) and my 3.5 yo because I think it will be much easier for them to sleep. Does your child ever fall asleep in the carseat at home? Mine do all the time, plus they are used to being in a carseat. I don't think that my DD would sleep at all if she were just in the regular seat because she would be out of sorts. Just my opinion!

 

[WendyinNC]

I like my CARES; but, I have a short airplane trip. I would not recommend CARES for your situation and would strongly advise you to take the car seat on board for naps. The CARES is approved for ages 1 and up; however, when my DS was 17 months he was constantly slipping down as there is no strap between the legs. He does well with it now that he is over 2yrs old. I really think it doesn't work great for 1 year olds.

The passenger behind you does not have any restriction on using the tray. You only need to ask them to open it briefly to install the harness.

 

[all4fun]

I would take your car seat to the plane. As a pp has pointed out, the CARES harness is not ideal for younger kids. I think your ds will be a lot more comfortable in the car seat, than in the airplane seat. We live on the West coast (U.S) and typically have a layover and over 8 trips we've taken ds's car seat on board the plane with us and lugged it between flights too. It's really not that big of a deal! Put it in the (gate checked) stroller, or buy a luggage cart to bungie it to, or there are any number of products sold to help carry a car seat through the airport. Since your ds is young, you could just throw it on the stroller and push it, and carry your ds in a carrier, sling, or wrap. I also don't recommend baggage checking car seats because you don't know how they'll be treated and also they are more likely to be misrouted or lost in transit. Tell your dh he has to suck it up and take the car seat.

 

[Princess-in-Training]

I rented a CARES through an ebay listing and LOVED it! However, DD wasn't too comfortable sleeping in it, so i think your best bet would be to keep your car seat!

 

[NotUrsula]

How big is your son? If he isn't 22 lbs yet, the CARES would be too big for him anyway. It isn't meant to be used by children under 1 yr of age, and you will be barely past that.

Since you are flying a UK airline, you will be given a "belly belt" to use in flight. This is a secondary loop seatbelt that attaches to your seltbelt and is meant to secure him on your lap in the event of turbulence. They are illegal on US carriers, but last I noticed were still being used by UK based carriers.

If you've never flown over the water with a baby, I'll tell you my reason why I think that a carseat is invaluable with a toddler. What happens when you and Daddy both go to sleep on the flight? How do you be sure that the baby doesn't wake up and wander God knows where? I would never be able to sleep on a long-haul flight if I didn't bring a carseat for the toddler.

 

[katied]

I loved my car seat on my flight back from the UK last month. I could not image having DS on the flight without it. DS was 11 1/2 months at the time.

I have CARES for DS's flight next month to WDW. It may or may not obstruct the tray table behind - it depends on if the tray table is recessed or not - so based on airplane design. However, I'm not sure if DS would be comfortable with this for long periods of time.

Some ebay sellers actually rent CARES - but I'm not sure if they'd ship internationally, or how the price would work for this.

With the car seat - I reclined the seat, and the car seat reclined as well, and DS was able to nap well in it.

 

[canadianmom2three]

I would also have to advise against using the cares, if you look at the promotional photos on their website, you will see how uncomfortable the younger babies look in it, they are sliding down, and all scrunched up. I think it is fantastic that you have bought a seat for your child, and bringing the carseat on the plane isn't a big deal at all, we do it all the time, even for our 5 year old. It is a long plane ride, but the seat will allow him to be much more safe, and comfortable, and you can still take him out and have him on your and DH laps if he needs a break from the seat. I know that when we flew one time without DS's seat (he was 4, and we were using magic express only, so seat would have been useless since there's no seatbelts!) he was the tired and cranky, and very fidgety. We brought the seat on our last trip, and he was much better.

 

[Disneyfan.UK121]

Wow guys thank you so much for your invaluable feedback!!! This is great . I will be having a chat to my husband this evening and show him this thread in the hope that he heeds your advice I can understand his views ( doesn't want ds to be stuck in his carseat for the whole journey being uncomfortable) but I believe that he will be more comfortable being in the carseat rather than on the planes seat! And its not as if he has to be in in all the time is it!!!! I just need to try and find a seat in the UK that can be used in the aircraft ( ive posted a thread on the UK board asking this exact Q) as I also need to ensure that it will fit in the US car too!! Thank you once again for your fantastic help. I was a member of this board years ago ( im sure at least 6 years!!!) but couldn't remember my previous log in!!! So I have used these boards before when planning my trip to WDW. This time is so much more magical with a little one. Fantastic tips!!!!!!!!!

 

[katied]

On our flight to/from Greece last month (through London Heathrow) I had the Britax Marathon - It was OK from a US and EU perspective. I was amazed - on my BA connecting flight to Athens, the flight attendants actually inspected it, made sure I had installed it properly, and that it was a 5 point harness - much more on top of things than any US airlines.

 

[kim_o]

DS will be more likely to sleep in the car seat than in a regular seat. there's really no difference between sitting in a plane seat or a car seat - other than that a car seat is better sized for you child and will be more comfortable.