CARES Vs Car Seat for Air Travel

I have used the CARES harness for my daughter, and we were very happy with it. It was very light to travel with (it weighs 1 lb). It did restrain my daughter, and she seemed comfortable with it. The only drawback is that we had some trouble getting it hooked up, and the airlines really didn't help. It took a few minutes, but we were able to get it working.

Someone mentioned that the CARES they used had to be used in the window seat. I just discovered on my flight to and from TX that all car seats must be used on the window seat. I'd taken boosters for both my kids on the flight only to discover the one in the middle seat had to go without (so they both went without simply because the middle seat kid was the one who needed it the most).

I am interested to see what others have to say since I am also planning a trip out of the country.

I had never heard of Cares?

BUT MOM something to consider is what your gonna do in TAXI's and CARS overseas.

Are you planning to rent a car while there?

IF so it may be well worth it to bring the seat for other reasons.

M

I recently travelled with my 16 month old to Florida with a baby b'air (a restraint that hooks onto baby via vest and the seatbelt). It was ok for a short flight but it can't be used during take off and landings. My suggestion..take the car seat! It's a long flight and your husband may not mind having your son on his lap but your son will! They sell roller carriers for the car seats that you can take on the plane (kind of doubles as a stroller at the airport). Trust me.. you will all be happier not to metion safer if your son has his own seat.

I used a CARES restraint on my at the time 2 year old that I borrowed from a friend and it was fine except that when my daughter tried to lie down and get comfortable while sleeping, she couldn't due to the restraint. She threw a fit during the landing and I had to end up holding her and struggling to keep her in the row while we landed. She was not belted in at all - ugh!! She is now three so when we travel in a few weeks, we are going to just use the regular old airplane set belt. Also, with a Cares system, a child must sit in the window seat so one paretn ends up doing most of the "work" on the plane.

Since you are flying over night, I'd bring the car seat - he'll be comfortable sleeping in something familiar. Yes, it will be a pain to transfer but may be your best bet for a calm flight. I would think running around after an 18 month old on an airplane would suck!! Not only for you but for the people around you. And it's just plain pretty impossible.

Also, you can buy a car seat holder/travel wheels. I hear they are great.

You also might want to speak to the pediatrician and see if he/she will allow you to give your some Benedryl to sleep. But you'll have to test it out first as it makes some kids hyper.

Good luck!

Ive used the CARES System twice. My daughter now uses the regular seat belt on planes..
Both times we used it we flew from NY to FL - so it was a little over 2 hour flight - but here is my story....

I had the CARES and my sister had a car seat for her son... The CARES weighed less then one pound and fit in her carry on bag. It was simple to get on and she was all set faster then my sister... The first thing my sister had to deal with is finding out if she had an approved seat for Air travel - not all car seats are approved but it should say it on the seat itself - she went and purchased a new car seat. Then she had to carry the seat throughout the terminal and thru the airplane. We placed it into the stroller (which you can check it at the gate) but it was still bulky and a real pain. Its not the easiest thing to carry.

I never had a problem using the CARES system - the only problem I could see you having when you little one decides its time to sleep. It is a harness but you can only lean back as far as the airplane seat will go. Unless you use one of those pillows to help with that. Your car seat my be able to recline somewhat.

On my most recent flight back from Hawaii - 10 hour flight - we were able to basically lay down (the plane was empty) - we were also able to walk thru the airplane during the flight. If you have a connecting flight it will be even more of a pain to remove the seat more than once. Not sure if you already booked your seats, but while I was on that plane - there were a few babies on the flight - they took seats that were right after the bathrooms not in the back of the plane but in the middle of the plane - they were able to attach these devices against the wall to put their babies in during the flight - it was like a bed for the babies - it was the coolest thing I have ever seen! You should look into that too!

Also - I never purchased the CARES system, I rented it from someone on ebay - cost me $15 - but saved me the sanity of having to drag the seat - we just checked it in - which was FREE.

Good luck in your decision.

If you have your our car seat in Europe, I would definitely NOT buy another one just for the plane. I have used the CARES harness on my 2 year old, and it works wonderfully. Keeps her just as safe as a car seat, actually safer, in my opinion, since a car seat may not fit properly in the airplane seat, and the harness keeps her/him farther away from the seat in front (which will also make the person sitting in front much happier!!! - think seat kicking. The CARES was very easy to use, and packs up nice and small :) Plus, you should be able to use it for several years.

I don't think the Marathon is airline certified (you can check). The flight attendants will check before they let you put it in the seat. We have the Boulevard and that is definitely certified (apparently there is a sticker that they check for). We use that with the GoGoKidz Travelmate that turns the Boulevard into a stroller http://www.gogobabyz.com/products-c26-gogo_Kidz_Travelmat...

When we haven't used the car seat we've used the Baby B'Air flight safety vest and that has worked nicely. http://www.babybair.com/ When we've used this we strolled her through the airport in her Boulevard with the attachment and then gate checked it.

Either way you'll need to bring a car seat.

Best of luck!

My family and I moved to Switzerland at the end of April and we used the CARES for my daughter who was 13 months at the time. We decided to use it because she is not so crazy about her carseat and we thought she would do better in the regular seat. She did really well andended up sleeping almost the whole flight. We just ended up checking our carseat so we didn't have to deal with lugging it with us. We also have the Marathon. If you decide to use the CARES just make sure you bring the paperwork that comes with it that says it's FAA approved. Our flight attendants had never seen it before. And we also had to hold Ava for take-off and landing. I don't know if that is the case for an 18 month old, but just FYI. Good luck and if you have any other questions feel free to email me! Have fun on your trip!

We have used the CARES with our daughter and it was fine. The only problem is that there was no way for her to fall asleep on the plane. Nothing to lean her head on since the headrest for adults is still so high. If my daughter was able to rest her head on my lap and sleep, it would have been great, but she couldn't do it, mostly because she had never had to do it before. From a safety perspective, it seems just as safe given that it is a five point harness.

If you do decide to go and buy a seat, might want to look for a sit and stroll or something else that has wheels so you can use it as a stroller in the airport. That was great for us when the kids were smaller.

Good luck and have a great trip!

Take the car seat - you won't regret it! As for inconvenience, consider your options: you can buy a wheeled hand-cart-type thing specifically made for car seats - voila, a stroller made out of your car seat. Or, you can do what we did when our dd was 2 - bring a small suitcase as a carryon, and strap the Britax upside down on top of it. You have to undo the straps to go through security, but let me assure you that security can be the PITS even if you are totally 100% prepared and have your carryons to a minimum (yes, there's a long story there, but that's for another day...).

I will say, a smaller/less expensive car seat will not be as comfortable, so you may be creating MORE hassle if you go that route.

Good luck, and I hope the flight goes well!

I used it for my son when we went to Alaska 3 yrs ago - he was 3 then. For the first part of the trip we flew from NJ to Vancouver. It was awesome! On the way home after the cruise we flew from Alaska to Utah, changed planes, then Utah to NJ. I remember telling my husband how great it was. He agreed. So easy to use, plenty adjustable, my son had the whole seat instead of the little area in his car seat. He had the whole seat to play in. The stewardesses had not really seen it before so they all came over to check it out.

My sister-in-law used it to go to CA and loved it as well. I think it is well worth the money. We flew many times before getting it and the car seat is a hassle. Good luck!

I also got a portable dvd player for the kids to watch while on the plane - a real life saver!

I noticed that several people said that when using the CARES system the child has to be in the window seat. I have traveled with my daughter using the CARES system at least five times and have always put her in the middle seat, so she was between my husband in the window seat and me in the aisle seat. We never had a problem. Overall - we love the CARES system. It is so much easier to get through the airport without a carseat and my daughter is much more comfortable on the plane because her feet aren't hitting the seat in front of her. If you need your carseat at your destination you can check it for free.

Hi,
My family are still in Europe so i have travelled a few times with my now 2 year old. The car seat will be a nightmare. I have always used the lap belt, for me my daughter felt safer with me holding her. Also you can call the airline and try request a bassinet seat, so that if he does sleep it will be great. So my advice, the CARES worked best for me.
Good luck ! Have fun,
N.

I would check with your airlines. Most require a child under 2 to be in a car seat if you have purchased them a seat. The car seat also has to be by the window so you may want to check to make sure the britax will fit. I don't know if the airline will let him just have the harness since he is under 2. Good luck

Hi, I'm an American living in the UK. The safety regulations for carseats are different here than in the US and you should have a European model for your European car. I fly Virgin airlines and they have a child's carseat that attaches to their airplane seats. My son is 23 months and too small for the seat alone. He did okay, slept through the overnight flight. However, he may, like someone else mentioned, be able to lay on the seat without the car seat. If it's not an overnight flight, he will probably want to walk around anyway.

I couldn't think of anything more annoying then taking a seat on board. I have traveled for my son multiple times to Australia - yep 20hrs or so flight (with plane change) ranging from 6mths to 3yrs! Kids are adaptable. Admittedly I think travelers going overseas my be assisted more by the hosties but all in all it is fine. I actually didn't buy a seat for my son until he turned two and we always were given an extra seat bar one trip. For me it was about convenience of getting through the airport as the airline will give you a belt to secure your child to you!

We took our then-16 month old son to FLA, his first and only air travel. We brought our car seat at the advice of a friend, but it didn't work all that well or us, and I'll probably buy CARES for our next flight.
Ours was a short flight and my son was WAY too excited to sleep, which we had hoped would happen. Instead, the car seat positioned him at the exact right place to kick the seat in front of him the whole flight. We were fortunate to have very nice little girls sitting in front of him for both legs of the trip. But for long flight, constant seat kicking could have created a really bad situation.
I wonder if the CARES harness and some neck support pillows would allow child to sleep better, w/o bringing car seat?
Good luck!

I think they sleep better in a carseat. I found the CARES akward (even though I can't spell it!) If you travel to Europe alot - you might invest in the stroller carseat. Also hard to manage in and out of the airplane seat , but great for restraining your child in the airport and on the plane. When I travel alone with both kids it is great because I can put our carryon bags on the back of it. Good luck - 18 months is really tough on a plane.

J.,
Absolutely, bring his carseat. First, it sets the right mind set: just like in the car, you can't get up. Second, he will not sleep in an airplane seat without it--angles are all wrong for a kid his size, etc. He will be comfortable and happy in the seat, and you will have a much more pleasant flight (trust me on this, I have 5 kids and have done a lot of flying with them). Yes, it is a hassle to haul the seat around--buy the carseat cover with the wheels--Target sells it-- and then you can drag it around at the airport. My biggest question would be: will it fit in a European car? You might call Britax just to be sure, as their cars tend to be smaller (if you have a car picking you up from the airport, it will likely be a Mercedes, in which case, no problem). Good luck!

your husband is not crazy. but you will realize you are, once you have to drag that big, heavy, bulky car seat through airports and everywhere else on your trip. you DON'T need the car seat! they will give you a child belt on the plane, most likely they will ask you to keep him on your lap attached to yourself during take-off and landing.
since it's an overnight flight, your son will probably sleep through most of it, which having his own seat, he can (somewhat) comfortably lay down and sleep, vs. being propped up in the car seat and stuck in seating position the entire time with no way to stretch himself out.
we just came back from Europe with my 16 mos old daughter. She didn't have her own seat, but got a bassinet (it was big enough for her) and that worked out really well.
Good luck, and don't ruin your trip by dragging along unnecesary extra large items.

Since you need a new one, get a smaller one, which will fit better in the plane seat also. You certainly dont want a baby that small running up and down the aisle or slipping down onto the floor. UGH

J.,
Tried several times to respond; my aging computer is getting the better of my timing though.

There is a dolly-type thing you can purchase that your car seat will attach to - will allow you to tow your baby in the car seat and not have to carry them. They'll be safely strapped in and you can make your connecting flight without having to huff and puff carrying your baby/toddler.

Good luck,
M.