So no car seats? Really?

[DisneyMomma81]

**Whoops - messed up my quote ~ Hannathy said - Buses are designed differently than cars and the laws of physics help keep you safe.

Millions of children have ridden and do ride buses everyday around the world and at Disney and are safe. Mine always loved being "big" and riding at Disney without it.
**End quote.

That's called compartmentalization ~ and it doesn't work till the "average" child is 6 years old - smaller than that it doesn't work. See here ~ http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/portal/sit...CM1000002c567798RCRD&overrideViewName=Article


OP ~ I'm also a car seat tech who's all for extended rear facing, extended harnessing ~ around here parents are excited for their kids to be out of a *car seat* ~ I don't get that , thankfully the law here is up until 8 years of age they need something in a car, but I have my own *law* as long as you can fit in a car seat/booster seat, you'll use it ~ seat belts are made for adults so until a child is the size of a small adult a seat belt isn't enough. Now that DD has outgrown her travel seat *Cosco Scenera ~ great travel/2nd seat* she uses a backless booster when we fly *I gate check it* however when we flew to WDW last Oct. I didn't bring anything for her since we used Disney transportation - but she was 6. When we visit DLR we usually have a private car service take us from the airport to our hotel and then back to the airport, you bet DD sits in a booster seat.

FYI ~ her main seat is a big Britax, we don't fly with that beast

 

[5 for WDW]

I am another extended harness parent. Our 6.5 year old daughter is in a Britax Regent.I kept all three of our kids in a carseat for air travel until they were 4 so, my opinion is to use one for your 2 year old. Just my opinion though of course. I am a nervous flyer so, I was more comfortable. Also, I knew my kids would not ask to get out of a carseat since they know that is not an option. Much less stressful flying for us and the people around us!As for the buses, it makes me crazy to know my kids are not seatbelted or even possibly standing (our boys, 10 and 12, give up their seats on crowded buses) but, we can handle it for the 7 days or so we are in WDW.Try not to stress too much about it and have an amazing trip!!

 

[laughinplace199]

You might want to check on the Transportation forum, for the rules on rear-facing. The use of carseats on a plane are for entirely different reasons than in a car....rearfacing is to help with collisions and the forces those impart. You're not encountering that on a plane, or if you do, it's going to be the least of your concerns.

I personally would expect a FA to say "no" to rearfacing with such an old baby...tiny infant I would expect a "yes", but not a 19 month old... And there's really no point to it, for the plane.

When my youngest DS was 17 mos, I had him rear-facing on the plane. He was only about 18 or 19 lbs at the time, so he had to be rear-facing. I recall the FA asking me how old he was, but she didn't say anything about the fact that he was rear-facing. My DD was in the seat in front of him, so there were no worries about inconveniencing other passengers.

 

[chinchiller]

That's called compartmentalization ~ and it doesn't work till the "average" child is 6 years old - smaller than that it doesn't work. See here ~ http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/portal/sit...CM1000002c567798RCRD&overrideViewName=Article

I don't see where that says that on that page. Could you please either copy/paste that info from that page or cite a source that says it? I'm really curious about it because that would mean roughly all kindergarteners and many first graders aren't safe on their school buses.

 

[Mommy2JulietJocelyn]

School buses around here have lap belts and when DD was 3 & 4 going to the township preschool program they were in booster seats and there was an aide on the bus to help them buckle & unbuckle. I worry because my 4 y.o. who will be 5 in June weighs in at just under 29lbs. It is a standing joke that she will be in a harness til shes 30!

As for the plane - the 2 y.o. is the only one in a carseat - becasue she is contained then - she would want to wander so no way is she ready to sit like a big girl. Her seat is FAA approved. Says on the seat somewhere and in the manual it is a Graco ComfortSport, I think.

 

[Blessed_wth_Triplets]

Just curious...I never really understood the whole carseats in an airplane?? I mean...God forbid something happen....do you really think a carseat is going to help save them??

 

[Mommy2JulietJocelyn]

Just curious...I never really understood the whole carseats in an airplane?? I mean...God forbid something happen....do you really think a carseat is going to help save them??

for me it is not a safety issue on the plane because of what you have above - plane crashes - we all crash - chances are we all go to heaven. sorry to be blunt but I am a realist. For my daughter - she will not sit in the seat -she tries to roam. And she is very stubborn & persistant. I do not think everyone else wants to have a 2 y.o. screaming the whole trip. If she is in "her seat" she knows she can't get out.

 

[bwilcox]

Just curious...I never really understood the whole carseats in an airplane?? I mean...God forbid something happen....do you really think a carseat is going to help save them??

I was just thinking the same thing! I mean, I don't want to be insensitive to those who are scared of flying (myself included), but really, if the plane crashes, what good is a plastic carseat going to do?

 

[bwilcox]

for me it is not a safety issue on the plane because of what you have above - plane crashes - we all crash - chances are we all go to heaven. sorry to be blunt but I am a realist. For my daughter - she will not sit in the seat -she tries to roam. And she is very stubborn & persistant. I do not think everyone else wants to have a 2 y.o. screaming the whole trip. If she is in "her seat" she knows she can't get out.

Oh, just read this. That makes sense.

 

[QVCshopper]

Both my kids have been 4 times each, and they are 4 and 5. I've never had a problem on the bus, other than when it's crowded. But, people will usually give a mom and her kids a seat or I wait for the next bus. My kids are quite used to them now, and they seem safe enough to me. I've also never used a car seat on the plane, and my kids don't roam or anything like that. They actually seem to like us being 3 across in a row.

 

[chubbyjen]

Just curious...I never really understood the whole carseats in an airplane?? I mean...God forbid something happen....do you really think a carseat is going to help save them??

I believe it's more due to the fear of sudden turbulence. With a sudden drop, passengers who are not buckled in can easily be lifted from their seats and hit the overhead bin causing injury. The seat belts on planes aren't designed for small children so they can easily slip out during a turbulence which can be very dangerous. That is why many parents, including me, bring carseats on planes for their kids.

 

[christi2705]

On any public bus transportation there are no seatbelts. Local city bus, highway-going city-to-city bus, etc. As many have mentioned, the buses around Disneyworld do not have seatbelts either!

I'm like many here...absolute carseat person when using a personal vehicle (or shuttle with seatbelts at Disneyland), but for public-type transportation, I trust the physics of it...compartmentalization I've heard it called?

But we used carseats on the airplane for DS's years of being 2 and 3 (after a miserable no-carseat-on-plane trip when he was 17 months, I will NEVER do the lapbaby thing again!), mainly to keep him contained AND to protect against sudden, HUGE, turbulence.

With a bus accident, it's not out of the blue. Turbulence, however, IS, quite literally, out of the sky (often clear blue, LOL). I feel that with a bus, things might happen slowly enough that I could react, but with huge turbulence, I can't. So with a little one that might be wriggly in the lapbelt, I would prefer a nice 5 point harness that they know to stay in...hence, carseats on planes, but no worries about public-bus-type transportation.




You might want to check on the Transportation forum, for the rules on rear-facing. The use of carseats on a plane are for entirely different reasons than in a car....rearfacing is to help with collisions and the forces those impart. You're not encountering that on a plane, or if you do, it's going to be the least of your concerns.

I personally would expect a FA to say "no" to rearfacing with such an old baby...tiny infant I would expect a "yes", but not a 19 month old... And there's really no point to it, for the plane.

The issue with compartmentalization is that it only works the way it should for children over 40 lbs who are sitting correctly in the seat.

As for rear facing on the plane, the FA's never said anything to me when we had our 2 year old rf'ing. I'll probably have her rf'ing this trip too and she'll be a week shy of 3 (but only 22 lbs).

 

[christi2705]

Just curious...I never really understood the whole carseats in an airplane?? I mean...God forbid something happen....do you really think a carseat is going to help save them??

Turbulence is the most common thing that can happen as the other poster explained. But also if you are going to have an emergency landing (most of which everyone survives) they require you to put any "lap babies" on the floor at your feet. Which of coarse greatly increases their chances of being severely injured.

 

[NotUrsula]

Turbulence is the most common thing that can happen as the other poster explained. But also if you are going to have an emergency landing (most of which everyone survives) they require you to put any "lap babies" on the floor at your feet. Which of coarse greatly increases their chances of being severely injured.

Just FYI, the bolded sentence is no longer true. That used to be the procedure, but it was changed about 10 years ago. The new brace position for lap-held infants is illustrated in this link: http://www.tc.gc.ca/civilaviation/commerce/circulars/ac0155_att.htm
(That link is to the Canadian instructions, but the US uses the same procedure. I linked the Canadian document because it is illustrated, and the US version is not.)

One other note: injuries on board aircraft often happen when the aircraft is moving on the ground. The motion in that case is just like it is in a regular motor vehicle, and the carseat helps for the same reasons.

 

[tartemis]

One of the primary reasons why we do Disney as a vacation is because we do not have to take the car seats. Enjoy the convenience of not having to lug them around and try not to worry!

 

[parkers218]

School buses around here have lap belts and when DD was 3 & 4 going to the township preschool program they were in booster seats and there was an aide on the bus to help them buckle & unbuckle. I worry because my 4 y.o. who will be 5 in June weighs in at just under 29lbs. It is a standing joke that she will be in a harness til shes 30!



Ummm I know this is off topic but it's the nurse in me...Is your pediatrician ok with that weight? I am just asking cause my son is 2 and weighs 26 poounds and I have to take him to a nutritionist for being underweight!!!

 

[Hannathy]

Just FYI, the bolded sentence is no longer true. That used to be the procedure, but it was changed about 10 years ago. The new brace position for lap-held infants is illustrated in this link: http://www.tc.gc.ca/civilaviation/commerce/circulars/ac0155_att.htm
(That link is to the Canadian instructions, but the US uses the same procedure. I linked the Canadian document because it is illustrated, and the US version is not.)

Actually it has been more than 20 yrs since that was used. I really wish the car seat pushers would quit using this stale old not true example.

As far as I know the current procedure is to hold the baby facing you against your chest with 1 arm across their back. It was this when I was instructed to do this for a rough landing and it was over 17 years ago. (said baby is now 18!)

 

[hardingk]

Does anyone use a CARES harness on the plane? We just bought one for our DD who is 1.5 (but very tall) and I am debating if we really need it.

 

[blessedby3]

School buses around here have lap belts and when DD was 3 & 4 going to the township preschool program they were in booster seats and there was an aide on the bus to help them buckle & unbuckle. I worry because my 4 y.o. who will be 5 in June weighs in at just under 29lbs. It is a standing joke that she will be in a harness til shes 30!



Ummm I know this is off topic but it's the nurse in me...Is your pediatrician ok with that weight? I am just asking cause my son is 2 and weighs 26 poounds and I have to take him to a nutritionist for being underweight!!!

My dd is 2 1/2 and just hit 26 pounds. She doesnt eat much at all, but she and her sister were always on the very small side. She has had reflux problems since birth and I think that led to many of her eating problems. Ped. isnt overly concerned with her weight. She has consistently been in the 1-5% for her weight. She recently bumped all the way up to 10%.

 

[Mommy2JulietJocelyn]

School buses around here have lap belts and when DD was 3 & 4 going to the township preschool program they were in booster seats and there was an aide on the bus to help them buckle & unbuckle. I worry because my 4 y.o. who will be 5 in June weighs in at just under 29lbs. It is a standing joke that she will be in a harness til shes 30!



Ummm I know this is off topic but it's the nurse in me...Is your pediatrician ok with that weight? I am just asking cause my son is 2 and weighs 26 poounds and I have to take him to a nutritionist for being underweight!!!

From one nurse to another - we have been to Gi dr, have had blood & stool tests to check for loads of things including Celiac - she doesn't have the genetic markers for Celiec so she can not have it and I am not a carrier for CF so she can't have that either. All are good. It is her genetics - she follows my DH's mom's side of the family - my MIL is 4'8" as is her mom She is healthy developmentally/physically, just petite. We watch her weight. She still gets whole milk and she gets carnation instant breakfast twice a day because she will not drink any of the ensure/boost/pediasur type drinks. Doing those two things - she has gained 5 1/2 lbs since she was 3 which we like. She also seems to have inheireted my DH sports genes becasue she seems to be really good at sports - she throws baseballs well already and she stays very straight with all her twirls in ballet.
Thank You for asking. She goes in3 months for her 5 yr well check. Which she very much does not want to do because she gets 4 shots so she can go to kindergarten.


Also I don't think 2 lbs at 2 is under weight - the general rule is double birth weight by 6 months, triple by a yr & as long as the child stays on THEIR OWN growth curve they are ok, the dr's get woried when they fall off their own curve. My DD has fallen off her own twice which is why we had been doing tests and seeing specialist.