Car Seat, CARES, or Lap Belt for 2 Yr Old on Long Flight?

I've used the CARES harness since my daughter was 2. I like that its easy to carry, easy to install, and provides extra safety for my daughter. I say go for the CARES!

I think the CARES thing is a perfect solution. We took it on a trip to Hawaii with our 17 month old and it was much better than a car seat. They can't kick the seat in front of them and it folds up really small, so it is convenient too. My sister is a flight attendant and had her check in to it before we purchased it. She also said they are starting to be used a lot more and are safe on all stages of flight.

I know lots of people like to fly with car seats, but we go without it. Dragging it through the airport is just too much hassle for me, plus we have a Britax Marathon and it is huge. My son is 2 years 4 months and he just loves having his own big boy seat. The seat belts are very adjustable and they will go small enough for their little laps. You can still hold her on your lap if you want to, which is what I do when there's turbulence. But it sure is nice to have that extra seat when they get squirmy! They will probably make you strap her in for takeoff and landing, but maybe the whole airplane experience will be so exciting that she won't mind it. Have a great trip!

Seatbelts are usually not required to be fastened for most of the flight, so the flight attendants will likely allow her to be in your lap for most of the flight--as long as you paid for her own seat as required. Just think of her seat as extra room!

We went to Hong Kong when our daughter was 1 1/2 and brought her car seat. It was a hassle to lug it on and while she did sit in it for a while, she would rather have sat with us. We were fortunate to have an extra empty seat next to us, because once she got over tired, there was no way we were going to be able to strap her back in her car seat. She ended up sleep in my arms with her legs dangling in the other seat. Since then, we have traveled without the car seat. I also read mixed reviews on the CARES. When we went to Hawaii this past summer we went ended up doing lap belts for our 4 and 2 year old, but that is a personal decision.

Hope you have a great flight!

Hi H.

I have heard/read many reviews encouraging parents to bring the car seat with them for the flight, but I would not do it. It is true that the baby is used to it (mine is anyways) but they will not want to sit in the car seat for the entire duration of the flight and then where will you put the car seat when the baby needs to occupy the seat for playing ?

We have flown international twice now with our baby, first time she was small enough to get a bassinet but second time she was only 14 months but way too big for the bassinet and for sitting on my lap for over 10hours of plane ride, so we opted to buy a seat for her already then. We did not use the CARES harness (not sure she fits it either) so for take off and landing, I had her in an extension lap belt which is intended for infants. The extension lap belt connects to my seat belt so she was in my lap for that time frame.

If your baby will fit the infant lap belt (they are not all that long) I am sure you are allowed to sit with your baby in your lap for take off and landing and any other turbulence during the flight (actually, we were told to sit with our daughter having her lap belt on during turbulence - even though she had her own seat and she was sleeping at the time).

As for your car seat - look online at the manufacturer's webpage, it should tell whether it is approved for airlines or not. You can also call local retailers who carry the same car seat and ask them for this information.
- But I can only recommend not bringing the car seat on board as it just takes up too much space and your kid will need the space to play in to prevent her from going crazy on that long flight - just my 2 cents :-)

Hope you have a great trip.
(by the way, I believe you can rent the CARES harness (look online at ebay) - you may want to try that before investing that kind of money into the product)

Good morning, H.. The only question I can answer is that Yes, the if you are using a car seat, it will be in the window seat. We just experienced this over the summer. I guess it makes sense- no one will have to climb over it that way.

We've done long flights with both car seats and harnesses. Since we got CARES we don't travel with a car seat anymore and it is SO much easier. (You can rent one at a rental car agency at your destination if you need it.) The CARES harness folds up so small, we put it in my 3-year-old's backpack. We've been using it since she was 2 and while she seemed a little small for it the first couple of times we used it, it's just fine now and we plan to keep using it until she hits 44 lbs (max for the harness).

Here's the FAA's site info: http://www.faa.gov/passengers/fly_children/crs/
Bon Voyage!

We have been traveling internationally since my daughter was born and this is our experience.

We always bought a seat for her as well, for safety and our convenience, and up until she was 2 we used to bring the car seat along. Then we moved on to using the Care harness (which we are still using).

Problems with the car seat: any American airline will let you use it. European airlines, however, such as Lufthansa would not let us use it on take off and landing because none of our car seats (a Britex and a Chicco) had the special "sticker" that says it is approved for flying (they always look for a sticker in the back). We asked where you can buy such a car seat or get an approval sticker, and not a single person (in US or European stores or airline personell) was able to tell us.

Problems with CARE: since it has the big red "FAA approved" label, no American carrier will question it. In Europe it was a bit different: Lufthansa loved it! After having inspected it, a senior flight attendant told me she would make the airline buy them if she could. RyanAir did not notice it, so I am not sure. Other airlines, however, such as AirBerlin, AirMalta, WindJet, questioned its use, naming mostly security reasons (in truth, the harness is not that quick to open up in case of an emergency evacuation). So, more recently we have just used the lap belt, which is not bad actually. My daughter is also average size. I would kind of hold her on landing, which is the part that worries me, mostly because when the aircraft breaks she can bulge forward.

Hope this helps. Just carry the CARE With you and show them that it is FAA approved. If you travel with an American airline or a major European one you will be fine.

BTW: my daughter is 3 and 1/2 and she still wants to stay on my lap, because she has fond memories of being sang songs and told stories for long hours. So, I let her stay with me if there is no turbulence. But she has gotten used to sitting on her own sit, and as long as you keep her busy doing stuff, she will be fine.
M.

I'm trying the CARES for our next flight. My son will be nearly 2. I was using a sit and stroll, which was good except it was another thing to get through the airport (I usually travel alone with him). I think the lap belt alone is no good, they are just too small and can slide/wiggle out too easily. Plus a harness is so much safer for them if there was turbulence.

To be honest, for a long flight like that I find it just so much better to have the extra space of that seat. I'm not sure when the cut off is for their own seat. Plus it is somewhere they can sleep. And my son likes to sit on his own seat now, not necessarily on my lap. The problem with the carseat on the flight (for us) was that it puts him really close to the seat in front, so I spent a lot of the last flight stopping him kicking and that wasn't fun for any one. At least with the CARES he should have more space.

E.

PS good to read other peoples' experiences with the CARES. I'm definitely going to try it now. When I've traveled in Europe I found that they always give me a lap extension belt, which I've never been given in the US. I did have some questions on Air New Zealand about the sit and stroll. I told them it was FAA approved, they got it eventually!

I actually don't have any advice for you- I just wanted to thank you for posing this question! We're going to Hawaii in November with our 2 year old and have been wondering what we should do, just like you. I had never heard of CARES before! I have since looked into it, and I think we're going to go with that option! I like the idea of not having to haul around our carseat, and I like the option of having the airplane seat open as an area our little guy can use to play.
Good luck and happy travels!

I've never flown internationally, but I personally cringe when I think about my 3 year old being "stuck" in a car seat for a long flight. After all, *I* don't want to be stuck in my seat! My son is a REALLY good flyer, and maybe I just got lucky, but he uses the lap belt and is really good about it. It also helps that we always put him in the window seat, so he can watch us take off and land. We make him wear his seat belt until electronic devices are allowed to be used, then he's allowed to stand on the floor and play in his seat (he brings his pack-pack with toys, books, etc). If there's turbulence or seat belts are requested, we explain to him that he has to sit in his seat for a while.

Airlines are also usually pretty good about not saying anything if he needs to take a walk. We're just careful not to disturb other passengers that may be sleeping, etc. Most of the time, everyone smiles and talks to him.

I agree with the mom who wonders where the car seat will go when your daughter wants to play. The only time I ever wish I had the car seat is on the rare occassion that he actually sleeps on the flight. I just hold him in my lap and usually doze off myself. Or if there's room, he's lays in his seat with his head in my lap.

If you're concerned about safety, I would try the CARES, but she should be fine in her seat belt. Speaking of, because she's 2, airlines will NOT allow her to sit in your lap for take off and landing! She has to be in her own seat with seat belt. I found this out on our last flight when they told the dad in front of us that his daughter had to have her seat belt on because she was over 2. Have fun!

She's allowed to sit in your lap once you take off and the seat belt light is off. At that point she can move all around as much as you want to allow her to. I'm flying with my 3 y/o and almost 2y/o next week and I'm planning on just using the lap belt. After all, when you think about it, she's been in your lap up until now without a seatbelt, so the lap belt is going to be safer than that IMO.

Check with the airline(s) because it may be different for different carriers, especially internationally. You can check their websites or call.

Also, since the flight that disappeared due to turbulence many airlines are asking full time seat belts now. We had to keep our babies zipped into bassinets last flight.

I have used a car seat, a lap belt and a baby b'air vest http://www.babybair.com/ I used the vest when my kids sat on my lap. If she's just over 2, you might want to consider the vest just because she will still probably want to sit in your lap during the flight. This will slso ensure you that she's restrained while on your lap. The flight attendants know that small children aren't going to be restrained the entire flight and the child is only required to be in their own seat at take off and landing. My son really liked having his car seat and sat in it most of the flight, my daughter was mixed, sometime she sat in it other times wanted out. Good luck. I've traveled international with both of my kids when they were smaller and I always found that it was somehow easier than traveling by car for 9+ hours. At least you can get up and walk around and the kids can people watch.

The manufacturer's website, or the instruction book that came with the carseat, should tell you if it is FAA approved.

Car seats always have to go in the window seat to avoid people trying to climb over them.

At 2, my kids just used the seat belt on the plane. You are right that she will probably just want to be on your lap anyway, so I wouldn't carry anything you don't need to.