Child Restraint Seat on the Plane - Advice?

I have only used a carseat once on a plane, and that was the first and last time. I thought I 'needed' it.

My thought is that in the highly unlikely event the plane crashes, having a harness isn't really going to do much... It would be like putting a band-aid on broken bone. Plus, the extra stress of trying to haul it around the airport while keeping track of kids, luggage, tickets, etc...

I have flown quite a few times, and have never seen any kids in anything but the regular seat.

If I flew a lot, it might be worth the investment... But not for an occasional thing.

What kind of seat do you have that it isn't approved for airline travel? I don't know of any harnessed seats that aren't approved.

When mine were that age I did use a car seat mainly because it strapped them down and I didn't have to worry about them squirming/jumping all over.

In all my years of flying, I can't think of a single time I've ever seen a 2 year old in any kind of child restraint. They've always been sitting on the seat with the regular lap belt on. When my kids were that age, I never wanted to schlep a car seat through the airport (god, TSA is already a nightmare - can you even imagine?), so we always just rented one at the rental car place when we landed, and had our kids sit in their own seat with the lap belt on.

I used a CARES when I traveled with toddlers that were too old to sit on my lap. It was great, because the kids weren't tempted to get out of their seat during take-off and landing. If you can borrow one, you will be glad you did. If you decide to bite the bullet and buy one, you can probably sell it for half price when you don't need it any more. Good luck!

You can rent the harnesses online through EBay and I think through other online sources as well. I did it. It's really cheap and really easy. Just Google "rent CARES harness" and it will pop up.

We fly all the time and I hardly ever see a child in a car seat or restraint.

I do think it is important to get each child his/her own seat.

Like others have said, if something goes wrong, a special seat or restraint is not going to benefit you.

Make sure the seatbelt stays on your child and fastened in case of turbulence.

Enjoy your trip!

We travel internationally frequently. I use nothing. During take off and landing I use a harness thing for the baby -they give you one-but I stopped using car seats because the kids just kick the seat in front of them and annoy everyone. So, we use the car seat as our stroller and check it at the gate.

Let's face it, if there is a serious problem on the plane, a CARES system isn't going to prevent anything.

No one has ever showed any signs of caring when I fly.

We are heading out in 6 weeks, and my then 18 month will just be in a regular seat. It anyone looks at me funny, I hope it's because I paid over a grand for her seat!

We fly 3-4 times a year with our kids starting when our daughter was only 4 months old. We have never used any kind of restraint. We have flown twice in three months and only saw one infant in a car seat that the dad ended up having to check at the gate because it didn't fit in the seat. (It was a pretty small plane.) I've never felt unsafe. The only problem we had was getting a two year old to understand he had to stay sitting down for take off and landing. Have some kind of a distraction for those times. An iPad movie, a package to unwrap, a special snack.

We have three kids (ages 3, 6, 8) and we've flown many times. They all flew before they were 1. We've never used a child seat on the airplane--we check them through to our final destination. I fly 6-8 times a year and I can't remember the last time I saw a child in a car seat on a flight. I don't think it's necessary.

By FAA regulations, once a child turned 2 they must have their own seat and must be buckled up for takeoff and landing. I have flown with my kids since they were tiny, and we never used a car seat or CARES system. The main concern for me would be whether the two year old is capable of sitting in her seat without taking the belt off during takeoff and landing. If you know that it will be a nightmare to keep her in her seat, go for a restraint system of some kind. Other than that, no one will think twice about your kid being in a regular seat.

My kids sat on my lap until they were two. After that they sat in a regular seat with a regular seatbelt. We never used any kind of restraint system on a plane. We traveled a LOT and never had a problem. Of course we did take car seats to use in the rental car (checked with our luggage.)

I've never used CARES and didn't travel with a car seat after my son was a little over a year old.
My daughter flew for the first time just before she turned two and she was well under 30 lbs (at 3 1/2, she's only 30 lbs now!). She was fine.

I don't think you need to bring anything. Just make sure they wear their seatbelts.

Have you asked any of your friends if they have a seat that will work?

When my kids were younger we didn't fly a lot but a fair few of our friends did. None of them would have minded lending us their car seats. I know if I owned one I would be tickled to lend it out since it makes the price I pay seem more reasonable.

Clearly I am speaking of lending things other than car seats. My husband and I have some hobbies that mean expensive equipment. We love lending it out when we aren't using it as long as the friend is a responsible one. It just makes our investment seem more justified.

So ask around to your friends, you may be surprised.

I do agree with others that it probably won't make a difference but if it is what you want to do, ask friends.

I brought ours, but not necessarily for safety, as others mentioned. I was alone with him and wanted him to know and feel like he needed to stay put, just as if he were in the car.

It has been about six years since I have travelled with a toddler, but at that time we did not use anything. I held the two year old on my lap facing me during take off and landing and the five year old had his own seat and used the seatbelt. Nobody suggested that we should be using some sort of restraint, and no other kids were using anything.

See if you can borrow a CARES system. 2 1/2 is a tough age. Try second hand children's store too.

I have flown many many times with kids of all ages.

First question, how long is the flight?

With toddlers, I find it so great to bring a car seat on the plane, but safety is not my first reason. It is because they will be more comfortable in a car seat, will sleep in it, and not want to crawl all over.

I recommend the costco scenera. It is about $45, lightweight, not too bulky, easy to install on the plane, and the perfect car seat for a plane. You can always sell it after.

If your flight is 2 hours or less, you may be OK without a car seat. But any longer, it is just so much easier!!!

The first time my daughter flew we had one of those CARES restraints. I don't think you need one at all. In any case, she was screaming so much and her ears hurt that I ended up holding her unrestrained on my lap for landing.

Why can't they sit in a regular seat? I don't travel by plane so I am not aware of the need. So I really am asking out of curiosity.

It won't help anything in the event of a crash so what is the purpose of a car seat/plane special seat?

We tried to bring our booster car seats on the plane and the flight attendant wouldn't let us . I guess they are too big and hard to fit in the seats. They made us check them at the gate .

I took DD to Europe without a car seat (or restraint) on the flight, thinking (erroneously, it turns out) that the airline had their own seats that were approved that they could let you use. There were seats, but there were only 2 per plane and many more kids than that. She was just shy of 3 and she did OK with the belt only. I would bring the seat you want to use in a rental car (they will let you check it - make sure it is in a travel bag) and also a stroller you can gate check.

As for the harness, I'd look around and ask on groups like Freecycle if anyone has one you could have or borrow. Invest in quiet toys and games and a pillow pet and bring a small blanket. Likely she will sleep. Oh, and make sure she has a drink for takeoff and landing.

I think car seats used to be commonly allowed and they have cracked down on it for one reason or another.

I flew one time with my son NOT in a car seat and never did it again. He was so much happier and mellow when we used a car seat on the plane, especially under age 3. At 2.5, your daughter might be fine, but I always preferred the car seat.

Updated

I flew one time with my son NOT in a car seat and never did it again. He was so much happier and mellow when we used a car seat on the plane, especially under age 3. At 2.5, your daughter might be fine, but I always preferred the car seat.

We've flown with DS three times, when he was 7 months old to the DR (5 hour flight), when he was 22 months old to Australia (26 hour flight), and at 3.5 to England (7 hour flight). We didn't use a car seat or cares restraint for any of the flights. We did however take a stroller and gate checked it. Getting the stroller through security was a cinch, being able to control the clip of travel was a lifesaver too, as gates are sometimes really far away.

Best,
F. B.