do you use a carseat on plane or no?

[EmmMOM2]

We are taking our 5 year old and 2 year old on a plane for disney.
They both have there OWN seats as the airline requires this over 2.
My 5 year old will be sitting in just the seat and i was thinking about sticking my 2 year old in her seat with just the belt as well.
Is this bad? Should i bring a carseat?
I just dont want the carseat to lug around with me...

Does anyone else NOT use carseats on plane rides??

[KAT1811]

We are a family of 6 (Dh, DD 12, DD 4 1/2, DD 2 1/2, Ds 4 months, & myself) and on our upcoming trip we may be bringing one carseat and maybe not. I have done both. Personally the only reason I have brought a carseat was to keep my little one seated during the flight. On our last trip she was just about 2 and she never would have sat for the whole 3 hours. This year she will be almost 3 and she may sit for the 3 hours. I am still up in the air about her but for DS he will be in my lap, no seat.

If your little one will sit for the flight and you don't see that as an issue that I would leave the seat at home. If she's going to give you a hard time about sitting than I would bring the seat. My little ones are great out to dinner and with things like that but sitting in a seat and watching other people "walk" around (when they can't) for 3 hours would have been torture for her last year. This year may be different, we'll see. Good luck!

[Rekenna]

On our last trip I had a 2 going on 3 yr old and a 1 yr old. The 1 yr old sat in my lap, and the 2 yr old sat in his own seat-with no problems. Unless you need the seat to "contain" them, I would skip the seat-I didn't want to lug one around the airport either.

Have a fun and safe trip!:mickey:

[KAT1811]

On our last trip I had a 2 going on 3 yr old and a 1 yr old. The 1 yr old sat in my lap, and the 2 yr old sat in his own seat-with no problems. Unless you need the seat to "contain" them, I would skip the seat-I didn't want to lug one around the airport either.

Have a fun and safe trip!:mickey:

Good to know. Our DD will be almost 3 so hopefully we can skip the seat too!

[Wrigley]

Our DD will be almost 3 on our upcoming trip, and I am not bringing a carseat. I really don't want to lug that big carseat around! Besides, I think she will be happier without it!:mickey:

[momofdisneyprincess]

Keep in mind that unless the seatbelt sign is off the flight attendants will not let your two children share a seat. I have seen that happen to a family in front of me on one trip and they were not very happy. When my DD was under 3 I would bring a car seat with us so she could sit in it and it would lift her up so she could see better out the window. It also brought some familiarity. She was not easy to keep still so the seat helped keep her contained as well. Good luck with what you decide.:)

[momofdisneyprincess]

Sorry...just re-read your post. You weren't talking about your children sharing a seat, you were going to put the 2 year old in their own seat. Sorry about that. A neat thing I learned on one of my trips is that you can wear the car seat like a backpack by loosening the straps and putting it over your shoulders backward. That helps carry it around.

[yellen97]

I would leave the seat home. Too much schlepping and you don't have a crazy long flight. As for safety- since airlines allow you to hold children up to 2 on your lap anyway, your child will at least be safer than that belted into the airplane seat.

I sat w/dd when she was 2 on a cross country flight and lifted the armrest between us so we could snuggle even though we were both belted in.

[epcot linnie]

Please don't even consider flying without the car seat. The child will be much safer than just using a lap belt in the event of turbulence. And please NEVER consider holding the child on your lap. This is the safety of your child we are talking about, not the inconvenience of carrying a car seat through the airport! We want happy memories of our vacations to Disney!!

[brian2000boston]

Last year we brought the car seat for our three year old. We used it on the way down and checked it as luggage on the way back. We didnt feel it was needed. We felt he was safe in the seat buckled in and will not be bringing it this time.

[princessesmom]

I have 4 children who all started flying when they were 3 months old - at least 2 trips per year, but never more than 2.5 hours duration My youngest is now 5, so we don't have to worry about car seats anymore. But when my children were younger my rules were - once they could walk (about 9 months) I bought a seat for them, even though it wasn't required, AND they sat in their car seat until they were 3 years old. The car seat was something they were comfortable with and could generally sleep in. It made the entire experience so much more pleasant. Trying to keep a toddler sitting and strapped into a seat belt is way too hard, imo. Of course it does depend on the children. And if the flight is much longer than 2.5 hours, it isn't possible to keep them strapped in the entire time. I found by age 3 they were much easier to handle without the car seat. It is a pain to schlepp the car seat around, but I thought it was well worth it!

[WelshieLover]

The other nice thing about the car seat is that your child's legs will be more comfortable. The seat allows their knees to bend. When a child sits in a normal plane seat his /her legs will extend straight out. Haven't most of us one time or another been kicked in the back by a child in the seat behind us? :(

Most children also drift off to sleep while in their car seats which is a nice thing for everyone involved. :cloud9:

[swampfox28]

I can't imagine how hard it would be to lug around 3 or more of those things, but really kids SHOULD be IN car seats on an airplane.

I don't have anything in front of me with a hard and fast rule concerning their age or their weight, but I know in cars people take their kids out of seats WAY too early.

My husband is a police officer and he has seen MANY kids splattered all over a highway or road. It's not just the people that didn't bother restraining their kids (though that IS a problem), but it's also those that install seats incorrectly or let their kids out of booster/car seats way earlier than they should or letting them lay down in the back seat and partially or fully remove their seatbelts. He had a crash where a woman driving an SUV was hit. Her 8 year old son was lying down in the back seat because he was tired. When the woman regained consciousness he had to tell her that her son was dead; the child was ejected and the SUV ran over his head, killing him. If he'd been in a seatbelt there's virtually no chance he'd have been killed.

ALL kids should sit in the back seat of a car as long as you can get away with it - at LEAST until they're 11-12!!! And with airplanes, the car seats aren't for their comfort (though that can be a plus), but for their SAFETY. Airline seatbelts are NOT designed to keep a child from getting injured if there is a wreck or accident; they're designed to make adult-sized people stop. Adults can get injured, but for kids it's often WAY more life-threatening.

Imagine having some sort of terrible accident and your child COULD have survived and/or not been harmed had they been properly restrained...

You can purchase those luggage cart/dollys that are portable and you can put a car seat on one. That makes the car seat easier to lug. Or just get a cart at the airport. They're not very expensive.

Just my 2 cents.

-Sarah

[PirateLover]

On our recent trip a small child around 2 or 3 who was seated behind us had a harness that looked like it was comfortable, and kept him safe and in place. There is a website called Kids Fly Safe that explains this seatbelt and where to buy it. There may be others out there like it. :thumbsup:

[swampfox28]

I wonder if it's approved to be as safe as a car seat? If so, that's a really GOOD idea (and much more portable..)


-Sarah

[PirateLover]

I wonder if it's approved to be as safe as a car seat? If so, that's a really GOOD idea (and much more portable..)


-Sarah

The website does say it is FAA approved, but I cannot say for sure if one is safer than the other.

[KAT1811]

The other nice thing about the car seat is that your child's legs will be more comfortable. The seat allows their knees to bend. When a child sits in a normal plane seat his /her legs will extend straight out. Haven't most of us one time or another been kicked in the back by a child in the seat behind us? :(



Just a little FYI. My DD can't reach the seat back unless she's in her carseat. If she sat in the seat without it she'd be fine but with it her feet easily reach the seat in front. DH has to sit in the seat in front of her. LOL!

P.S - I really didn't need to read the rather graphic post regarding the car accident. I know it happens but that was not needed. :nono:

[merlinmagic4]

Just a little FYI. My DD can't reach the seat back unless she's in her carseat. If she sat in the seat without it she'd be fine but with it her feet easily reach the seat in front. DH has to sit in the seat in front of her. LOL!



I was going to say the same thing! When my 2 year old was in his car seat last year he was able to kick the seat in front of him (of course I stopped it so please, no flames!!) and that was the main reason I did NOT use it on the plane this year when he was 3. I am quite overly aware of the comfort of others. I also made sure he sat BEHIND other members of our family on the flight :blush:

[swampfox28]

P.S - I really didn't need to read the rather graphic post regarding the car accident. I know it happens but that was not needed. :nono:


I'm sorry that you feel that way, but I respectfully disagree. I think it's a lot easier NOT to think about those things - until it happens to someone we love.

I am married to someone who is affected by tragic automobile incidents all the time and so I hear about it and see how awful it makes him feel. If more people were careful and diligent we'd likely have fewer tragedies concerning kids and vehicles.

I am not trying to start a war or offend you, but I DID want to make a point - I think it's an important one.

-Sarah :ambal:

[gueli]

I'm sorry that you feel that way, but I respectfully disagree. I think it's a lot easier NOT to think about those things - until it happens to someone we love.

I am married to someone who is affected by tragic automobile incidents all the time and so I hear about it and see how awful it makes him feel. If more people were careful and diligent we'd likely have fewer tragedies concerning kids and vehicles.

I am not trying to start a war or offend you, but I DID want to make a point - I think it's an important one.

-Sarah :ambal:

Sarah - :thumbsup:

There are car-seat carriers that can be purchased ...ours has wheels along with a backpack type setup so its real easy to get around the airport.

To the OP -Call your airline and check their policy on carseats.

To all
Lets keep our kids safe.
At least until their 40 or so ...:D

[KAT1811]

I'm sorry that you feel that way, but I respectfully disagree. I think it's a lot easier NOT to think about those things - until it happens to someone we love.



I respect the fact that your husband sees and deals with these things daily. My cousin is a detective in the city here (he works a lot of murders and other violent crimes) my exfiance is a police officer (many moons ago but I recall the stories) my other cousin is an RN, and my neighbor an ED doctor. I just feel that this is a family board and it was a rather extreme answer to a benign question. I still have the "picture" in my head from your story and am having trouble getting it out. All I was saying is that your point could have been made without that story. If my DD had read your post she would have been very upset and being a family board it is very possible.

[swampfox28]

I'm not sure how to respond in that I CAN see your point, and I wouldn't want to expose kids to something that disturbing; I am pretty careful about what I let my own kids see and wouldn't want to inadvertantly expose OTHER people's kids to something inappropriate.

On the other hand, there's a part of me that couldn't help but feel that maybe we need all the people we can - young and old - being proactive and careful about auto safety...

But that sounds more inflamatory than I want to come off as, and if I DID offend anyone or act too PG-13 on a G rated board, I AM sorry. Really.

I'm just so passionately concerned about this subject and it hurts me when I see other parents who obviously love their kids NOT being as careful as they can/should.

-Sarah