cares versus car seat on plane

[Aiko]

:mickey::mickey:Hello all! We are traveling to the world in December with a two year old and flying southwest. My question is should I drag the car seat along or get the cares harness? She's a very good little girl and we drove to Florida this may and she was very good in her car seat on the 26 hour drive. We are staying on site so I won't need the car seat while there. I'm looking for any advice and tips parents have. This will be her first flight and she seems excited about it when she sees pictures of planes. Thanks in advance.:mickey:

[BrerGnat]

Neither. Sit her on the seat and use the lap belt. Assuming your flight isn't over 3 hours she will be fine sitting on the seat so she can play or color or something. Just do lots of explaining about how important the seat belt is and how she must listen and have it fastened at all times while the plane is in motion. It will be very freeing to not bring a carseat and I have heard mixed things about the ability to use those harnesses on planes.

[SBETigg]

They don't recommend car seats so that your kids behave. They recommend them for the safety of the child. The lap belts are not sufficient to restrain a small child under severe turbulence. Their lack of body weight and small size puts them at great risk for becoming dislodged from a standard seat and it wouldn't be an easy jostling.

The odds of hitting that kind of turbulence, however, are rare, which is why you don't hear stories of it happening often, fortunately. So a lot of parents take the risk. With their children. Which is a sobering thought. But car seats are so cumbersome to carry, and on vacation? I've never flown with my children when they were that small, so I have no idea what choice I would make but I would probably assume that nothing bad would happen and carry on. I do think that airlines should be required to provide proper safe seating for passengers under a certain age/weight, though, instead of requiring parents to carry the necessary safety equipment. But I guess that's a lot to ask, to expect airlines to be equipped to accommodate the safety needs of all passengers...

[RBrooksC]

It depends on the child's age but I would recommend using a car seat.

I've seen one too many times, trying to get a child to stay in the lap belts which becomes more fighting than anything else.

Also, a car seat brings a little bit of home with them on a plane which can be a comfort.

[Kairi_7378]

Our pediatrician recommended the use of a car seat at that age, so we brought it down. Southwest attendants were very helpful in getting us on the plane and secured with it.

[BrerGnat]

This also depends on how big your child is and how well she follows directions. The lap belt IS sufficient at restraining those 2 and up. They can be tightened down and turbulence issues tend to be mostly vertical. A lap belt is fine in those circumstamces. What is NOT safe, IMO, is having a child sit on your lap rather than in her own seat. But many, many 2 year olds are capable of sitting on the seat using the lap belt.

[Janmac]

To put this in perspective, the well behaved two year old probably has less risk of injury in the plane with a lap belt (vs car seat) than riding a Disney bus.

I'm not suggesting there's a high risk on the bus either. We've always used Disney for transport and never had an injury.

Jan

[Figment104]

I agree that it depends on the size of your 2 year old. We've flown with DS 3 times now (he's 2.5) and prior to our flight in February we've always taken his car seat. DS is a big boy though, almost of the charts for height and weight, so I was comfortable with him using just the lap belt this last time we flew, and we were able to tighten it enough for him to be safely in the seat. If your 2 year old is on the smaller side I would probably still consider taking the car seat. For what it's worth we've had great luck with flying with the car seat. The only requirements were that the seat had to approved for flying, and it had to be buckled into a window seat.

Good luck!

[Mfarquar]

When my 2 year old nephew flew, his pediatrician recommended bringing his car seat. He is very tall, but lean for his age. It didn't seem to be a matter of behavior (my sister and brother-in-law are VERY lucky he never hit the terrible two's - he's an angel you can take anywhere without issue).

I would suggest asking your child's pediatrician to be on the safe side.

[Mfarquar]

If it helps, this is what the FAA recommends, directly from their website:

Did you know that the safest place for your child on an airplane is in a government-approved child safety restraint system (CRS) or device, not on your lap? Your arms aren't capable of holding your child securely, especially during unexpected turbulence.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) strongly urges you to secure your child in a CRS or device for the duration of your flight. It's the smart and right thing to do so that everyone in your family arrives safely at your destination. The FAA is giving you the information you need to make informed decisions about your family's travel plans.