SouthWest Airlines with 2 Year Old

[Mama Who]

Another trade off is that with many kids, it puts them within kicking distance of the seat ahead of them.

I have found with my kids that by the time their legs are long enough for that they are also old enough to understand that we don't kick other people's seats.

Katie has excellent tips if that doesn't work.

 

[Paging Tom Morrow]

One aspect to consider is how well will your child handle being buckled in if he/she is not in a car seat. When our DD had just turned 2, we checked her carseat and she did not like being buckled in a new way. With the benefit of hindsight, we would have absolutely brought the FAA-approved carseat onto the plane for her to have a "normal" travel experience.

 

[SamSam]

Dh and I traveled with 2 1/2 year old twin grandsons last month and were glad we had their car seats, as they had no problem being buckled in them for the flight. They were a pain hauling through the airport, but well worth it. We were also renting a car so it was nice to have their own car seats to use.

 

[maxiesmom]

Then you seat a member of your own party in front of the toddler, and remove the shoes.

Signed,
Bemoaning the death of common sense.

If you are traveling with other adults that would work. But not everyone has that luxury. Also, there may not be open seats available set up that way when booking a trip.

Wasn't there a post not that awful long ago from someone who had to hold their child's legs down for a 2 hour flight, because they kept kicking the seat ahead of them?

 

[disneynutt1225]

I opted not to bring the carseat when I flew with my almost 2 year old this past October. I'll be doing the same when we fly down in June. He did great both legs of the trip and I didn't have to be as nervous as I was. It was easy enough for him to curl up against me and take a nap during both flights too.

 

[MeeskaMomma]

The big thing to remember is that a 2 year old must have their own seat AND they must sit and be buckled in that seat for takeoff and landing. Other than that, 2 year olds can sit in moms lap..... though my dad always said that the best place for everyone is in a seat, buckled in. He's witness numerous people hit their heads on the overhead bin during turbulence when not buckled in.

Duds

We fly southwest every 3 moths with our 2 year old and he always sits on my lap during take off and landing and then returns I his seat during the flight. I have trouble getting him to keep his seatbelt on. I feel safer holding him on lap, during turbulence sometimes he returns to my lap. The lap belts are so easy to take off and just don't fit a two year old wet well. We have CARES and I haven't been very impressed with it. I can't get it tight enough. It does make it harder for DS to unbuckle.

 

[maxiesmom]

We fly southwest every 3 moths with our 2 year old and he always sits on my lap during take off and landing and then returns I his seat during the flight. I have trouble getting him to keep his seatbelt on. I feel safer holding him on lap, during turbulence sometimes he returns to my lap. The lap belts are so easy to take off and just don't fit a two year old wet well. We have CARES and I haven't been very impressed with it. I can't get it tight enough. It does make it harder for DS to unbuckle.

You are doing to the total opposite of what you should be doing. Please do no unbuckle your child during turbulence, there is no way you can keep a hold of them should you hit a hard bump. Your child could be thrown out of your arms, and hurt themselves, or someone else.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

We fly southwest every 3 moths with our 2 year old and he always sits on my lap during take off and landing and then returns I his seat during the flight. I have trouble getting him to keep his seatbelt on. I feel safer holding him on lap, during turbulence sometimes he returns to my lap.

This is not allowed. A 2 year old must be sitting in his or her own seat with the seat belt on during landing, take-off, and whenever the fasten seat belt light is on. The FAs should not have allowed this and you shouldn't either (do you let him take off his car seat belt?); perhaps they did not know your son's age. If he won't leave his seatbelt on, you need to take the car seat.

 

[MeeskaMomma]

This is good to know! The flight attendants have never said anything! Our DS has had some medical problems (that is why we fly so often) and is a bit behind developmentally. Luckily he can't take off his car seat belt! If he did I would pull over immediately and deal with it, but goodness that is a scary thought. When it comes to the plane seat belt, it is so easy to unfasten he can have it off in a jiffy. I will have to figure seething out. Maybe if he keeps messing with it I can just hold his hands together and let him know he can have use of his hands when he stops playing with the seatbelt.

Holding him has been my way of restraining him in the past. I don't want to break any rules though. Our next flight is in August and he will be closer to 3, I thinking his comprehension level will be much better by then.

This has got me thinking. Should they not allow lap child's until the age of 2?

 

[Gracie09]

This is good to know! The flight attendants have never said anything! Our DS has had some medical problems (that is why we fly so often) and is a bit behind developmentally. Luckily he can't take off his car seat belt! If he did I would pull over immediately and deal with it, but goodness that is a scary thought. When it comes to the plane seat belt, it is so easy to unfasten he can have it off in a jiffy. I will have to figure seething out. Maybe if he keeps messing with it I can just hold his hands together and let him know he can have use of his hands when he stops playing with the seatbelt.

Holding him has been my way of restraining him in the past. I don't want to break any rules though. Our next flight is in August and he will be closer to 3, I thinking his comprehension level will be much better by then.

This has got me thinking. Should they not allow lap child's until the age of 2?

IMO they shouldn't allow lap babies at all but economics wins over safety in this case. We always purchased a seat for our child and used a carseat until they were three and then a cares harness.

 

[bumbershoot]

Meeska, I have noticed that some FAs just lose their brains with the lap kid thing. Sometimes I think they think the year of being two is included, when it's not. When DS was 2 I dutifully paid for his seat, met two other moms of kids his age, an when we for on the plane I saw that neither of those kids has their own seats. And the moms weren't hiding that their kids were 2. It was weird. On another flight the FAs allowed it because the kid was so charming and cute. Boggles my mind.

 

[MeeskaMomma]

I always paid for a seat after he turned two, he just didn't always sit in it. I am glad I saw this, it got me doing research I probably should have done earlier. I will definitely keep him in his seat next flight.

 

[rdevine10]

A little late to the game, but I highly recommend bringing a car seat if you think your child will have trouble staying seated and safe.

All kids are different. My oldest was a lap baby and did just fine (even on an 8 hour international flight).

My youngest has had her own seat from her first flight at 9 months and it was TOTALLY worth the extra money and lugging the car seat!

I still like paying for the early boarding though, to at least install the car seat. In our experience, especially when flying out of Orlando, several airlines do not allow for families with small kids to pre-board. We actually had a "nice" conversation with a FA who told us to "hurry up and install the car seat". I told her, it takes a bit of time and had we been allowed to pre-board as requested, we would of been all set.

Oh the joys of flying with kids....