stroller/no stroller & carseats/no carseats

[Minniemouse07]

In Florida, they don't even need boosters after 3. You can use seat belts. And no boosters on airplanes. You need to use harnessed seats on airplanes.

The laws of physics supercede the laws of any state, including Florida, so unless your child fits in the seat belt system of a car, they WILL be at risk unless they are in some form of child restraint (harnessed or booster).

 

[jenseib]

Thanks for the info guys! My DD is 3 and outgrew her harness seat, so she is in a booster. I wish I would've did more research on it while I was pregnant and I would've tried to get a harness seat that went to a higher poundage. But my DD out grew hers before it's stated height and weight anways.
I think our law in Ohio is 4 or 40 lbs to be in any type seat, and then it is suggested they stay in a booster after that. I think till they are 4 ft 6 inches.

 

[collcass]

i think a lot of the states have the age or weight. In CT you have to meet both and they are VERY strict about it. we had an emergency with my youngest son and were at the hospital. I'd called the school and my 9 yr old went home on the bus with a friend. The mother was driving him to the hospital to meet us and got pulled over. She tried to explain and kept saying how he was nine. the officer straight out told her it doesn't matter if he's 9,10 or 11 if he isn't 60 lbs. in the end she didn't get a ticket but they've only gotten stricter about it. I felt horrible but completely understood that at his age, you don't really think "hey, this kid should be in a seat" I also felt for my son who was completely embarrassed by the whole scenario.

 

[jodifla]

i think a lot of the states have the age or weight. In CT you have to meet both and they are VERY strict about it. we had an emergency with my youngest son and were at the hospital. I'd called the school and my 9 yr old went home on the bus with a friend. The mother was driving him to the hospital to meet us and got pulled over. She tried to explain and kept saying how he was nine. the officer straight out told her it doesn't matter if he's 9,10 or 11 if he isn't 60 lbs. in the end she didn't get a ticket but they've only gotten stricter about it. I felt horrible but completely understood that at his age, you don't really think "hey, this kid should be in a seat" I also felt for my son who was completely embarrassed by the whole scenario.

So, I don't get it. What did the police officer do, weigh him? And most police officers have enough common sense not to issue a ticket when someone is in an emergency situation.


This is why I HATE CAR SEAT LAWS! It makes lawbreakers out of decent parents.

 

[Minniemouse07]

So, I don't get it. What did the police officer do, weigh him? And most police officers have enough common sense not to issue a ticket when someone is in an emergency situation.


This is why I HATE CAR SEAT LAWS! It makes lawbreakers out of decent parents.

There are car seat laws because otherwise parents don't use seats because "if it wasn't safe for a child to sit in a seat belt, then there would be a law."

Before PA upped their current law to 8 and 80 lbs we heard that all the time.

Reality is that a child, no matter their weight, needs to pass the 5 step test in ANY vehicle in order to ride in it w/o a booster seat. When transitioning from the booster to a seat belt children will often pass in one vehicle but not in another. The 5 step test is difficult to regulate as a law though which is why the 8 and 80 or 6 and 60 laws were put in effect.

A printable PDF of the 5 step test

More and more states are upping their laws to the 8 and 80 requirements, which hopefully will save even more children's lives!

ETA...I actually know a number of police officers that carry scales in their cars specifically for this purpose. Since the police officer did NOT give this woman a ticket...why are you upset? They obviously recognized the emergency situation for what it was, but still wanted to reinforce that the child didn't fit in the seat belt and that it was a dangerous situation.

 

[jodifla]

There are car seat laws because otherwise parents don't use seats because "if it wasn't safe for a child to sit in a seat belt, then there would be a law."

Before PA upped their current law to 8 and 80 lbs we heard that all the time.

Reality is that a child, no matter their weight, needs to pass the 5 step test in ANY vehicle in order to ride in it w/o a booster seat. When transitioning from the booster to a seat belt children will often pass in one vehicle but not in another. The 5 step test is difficult to regulate as a law though which is why the 8 and 80 or 6 and 60 laws were put in effect.


A printable PDF of the 5 step test


More and more states are upping their laws to the 8 and 80 requirements, which hopefully will save even more children's lives!

Making more lawbreakers out of parents in emergency situations! Terrible, terrible.

 

[Trina7020]

I would just like to say that I am the carseat Nazi. My 4 year is still in a harnessed seat. But I was just curious on the plane. His Regent cannot be used on the plane, but I do have a Cargo for him as well.

We will not be renting a car... using purely Disney Transportation.

 

[Brer Shay]

Definitely bring the stroller. As long as you can easily open/close the stroller, people on the buses won't mind much except if it's super crowded - in that case it's just one more item anyway. You'll be glad to have your own in all those moments when you don't have the option of renting. like walking from the park to the bus and from the bus to your room. The storage in it is a convenience too, especially with a double.

You probably won't need the carseat unless your child is very prone to wandering. I used it for my son (a wanderer) until he was four, but my girls never needed it on a plane.

 

[melissa.irwin]

I would just like to say that I am the carseat Nazi. My 4 year is still in a harnessed seat. But I was just curious on the plane. His Regent cannot be used on the plane, but I do have a Cargo for him as well.

We will not be renting a car... using purely Disney Transportation.

I'm also a carseat Nazi! I'm the bad daughter in law who causes all of the family fights when grandparents want to take our kids in their vehicles without the proper car seats/tether straps etc. and I won't let them. But the way I see it is that the laws were made to protect them and their safety is much more important to me than being the popular, agreeable mom!

Our son is 10 and out of a booster, (Ontario law is that kids must meet at least one of the following: 4'8" tall or 80lbs or 8 yrs old), our daughter is 4 (will be 5 when we go to WDW). She is still using a car seat (is just over the 40lb mark to sit in a booster but the car seat is just as easy and she's safer so we will be using that for a while yet).

I'm not sure what to do about the carseat/booster for when we travel. At this point we are planning on flying (have also considered driving) and renting a car while we are down there. We've never flown before so all of the comments here have really been informative. I didn't even think about taking the carseat on the plane but was thinking about what we would do about when we arrive at the airport in terms of the carseat. I'm sure that she will still fit in the carseat in November but don't think she would necessarily need it for the plane.

Does anyone know how it would work if we wanted to take a booster/car seat but weren't using it on the plane (i.e. do we have to check it as luggage and is there an extra fee to do this?), I was also wondering about taking your own stroller and if you have to pay to have that put in the luggage part of the plane? As I said we've never flown and so are looking for any advice we can get.

Thanks

 

[all4fun]

I stopped using the car seat on the plane when my ds turned four (last April) because I knew he could stay seated and seat belted for the whole flight. Also on the previous couple of trips he wasn't that comfortable in his car seat for that long of a flight (but ours are x-country flights and we spend 6+hrs on the plane) and since we were in the same situation as the OP - using DME, not renting a car, we decided to just leave the car seat at home, and he did great on the airplane w/out it. Prior to that though we always brought a seat on board, even if we didn't need it on the ground, and never regretted having it.

We also travel with a good size jogging stroller on the last trip and since the DME buses don't haul everyones luggage (it's taken from the airport to the hotel via a different luggage transport service) there's always plenty of room under the ME bus for everyones strollers and carry ons (we've used DME 3 or 4 times now & space under the bus has never been a problem). As far as bringing a big stroller on the regular Disney Transport buses, when staying at SSR and BWV (both DVC resorts), we didn't have any problems with that either. We did stay at the All Stars once though, and the buses were quite often very crowded (esp. at the end of the day) so that was a different story. I would say your experience w/taking a stroller on the bus is going to vary based on the time of day you're riding, and the resort you're staying at. That is just my experience though.

hth!

eta: I prefer not to use the term "Nazi" because of the negative connotation. I prefer to say car seat "freak" lol . I am also very passionate about car safety. Since it's the #1 cause of accidental death for kids under the age of 14, I don't think it's unreasonable to want to do what is safest when it comes to transporting kids in cars.

 

[all4fun]

Does anyone know how it would work if we wanted to take a booster/car seat but weren't using it on the plane (i.e. do we have to check it as luggage and is there an extra fee to do this?), I was also wondering about taking your own stroller and if you have to pay to have that put in the luggage part of the plane? As I said we've never flown and so are looking for any advice we can get.

Thanks

Check w/your specific airline as many address this in their FAQ page of their website under baggage allowance or traveling with children. Most airlines do not consider a child safety seat or booster as a piece of luggage though. The same goes for strollers. Usually it's "free" and doesn't count against your baggage total. I don't know if it's the same in Canada as in the U.S. but here, we just bring the stroller and/or booster/car seat to the gate and it's put under the plane at the time of boarding, and brought back out on the jetway when you deboard.

hth!

 

[jodifla]

ETA...I actually know a number of police officers that carry scales in their cars specifically for this purpose. Since the police officer did NOT give this woman a ticket...why are you upset? They obviously recognized the emergency situation for what it was, but still wanted to reinforce that the child didn't fit in the seat belt and that it was a dangerous situation.

Responding to your addition:

I actually read over the part where she didn't get a ticket, so that is good. I was wrong, thanks for pointing it out.

I live in a state where I could have given up my booster seat 3 years ago. I still have DS in it and he'll be in it for the forseeable future. When we travel, we take his booster with us.

That being said, there have been two times in emergency situations I had to take my son in a vehicle without a car seat. I do not appreciate being put in this situation by zealous lobbyists who insist that kids have to be in car seats until the are what...first 6, then 8, not people are pushing for 10, 12, and 13!

 

[melissa.irwin]

Check w/your specific airline as many address this in their FAQ page of their website under baggage allowance or traveling with children. Most airlines do not consider a child safety seat or booster as a piece of luggage though. The same goes for strollers. Usually it's "free" and doesn't count against your baggage total. I don't know if it's the same in Canada as in the U.S. but here, we just bring the stroller and/or booster/car seat to the gate and it's put under the plane at the time of boarding, and brought back out on the jetway when you deboard.

hth!

Thanks for the advice, I will check that out!

 

[collcass]

I'm sorry, i should have been a bit more specific.

Although many police officers around here do carry the scales, it would never have been necessary since it is very obvious that my son isn't close to 60 pounds. he's only four feet and has a very small build. He'll hopefully have a growth spurt one of these years :O). All the police officer needed to do was look at him to know.