Airplane Lap Children: Yes or No?

Rating: 5 after 1 vote

This week I posted a blog on TheVacationGals.com about the dangers of airplane lap children. I spent many years working as a flight attendant and have seen turbulence at its worst and have studied crashes where children have been killed because they were not in a CRS (child restraint system). Of course, I recognize the hardship of paying for airfare for an entire family (my husband and I have four children), but I still feel very strongly about the topic.

The comments on the blog reflect both sides - and there are some very strong statements. I'm not budging on my viewpoint but would love to hear yours.

What side are you on - and would you consider changing your thought on lap children?

Here's the link for reference: http://thevacationgals.com/airplane-lap-child-safety/

Happy Travels!

~Beth

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Deirdre Smith on October 12, 2009 at 3:43am: I held my son last Thanksgiving. He was only six months old and slept 90% of the time. We were blessed. The little boy a few seats ahead was very unhappy most of the trip.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Bridgette on October 13, 2009 at 4:25pm: Last time we flew to NYC, our son was on our lap, 5 months old. Reading your article has me thinking about our next trip to the USA. We figured if he was in the bassinet, he would be fine, asleep for most of the flight. Now I'm doubting my decision to fly the same way in December. I definitely think we as parents should consider safety first rather than cutting on cost. I understand though that it can be expensive, hence why we chose to have him on our lap. Hopefully the majority of us will never experience anything tragic. Thanks for posting!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Amy S. on October 13, 2009 at 6:10pm: We travel often...since Harrison was born he's flown on our laps 6+ times before he turns 1. He sleeps most of the trip as I plan our flights around nap time. After reading that article I am thinking about buying him a seat on our next trip. I guess you never think it will happen to you, right?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Rebecca Doll on October 13, 2009 at 9:36pm: Our son flew 20+ times before he was 2 and we never purchased him a ticket.
We were fortunate that on some of our flights there were open seats and we were able to bring his infant carrier with us and use the extra seats. I breast fed on takeoff and landing which when flying from LA to Las Vegas is almost the entire flight.

Having flown with 2 toddlers and attempted to bring a full size car seat on a plane I have to say it was a pain. I have a britax boulevard and we used the GoGo wheels. The painful part is that in some cases the aisles are not wide enough to get a seat down them so you have to lift it over your head. The seat belt extensions needed to secure the seat make it almost impossible to remove. You can't use the tray tables as the seat sits too high which means you have a grumpy toddler and in our case it was for 15 hours. Having to juggle 2 trays of food on 1 tray table for over an hour (twice) was not my idea of fun.

On our last 2 flights we have used CARES kids fly safe harness. They are much easier to use and weigh less than 1 lb.

Only problem is that now the new planes have seatbelts that don't lock as they are meant to reduce injuries.
Every time I moved or our 4 yr old moved the seatbelts would come loose. So much for ensuring they are tight across the thighs. I called the flight attendant over and they assured me that this was much safer. When I explained it didn't make sense that they release when you wriggle in your seat she looked quite perplexed.

If a seatbelt locking mechanism could be used or you are flying on older planes then I would recommend still using the CARES until a child is 4 or 40 lbs.

If airlines and the FAA really cared about kids safety airlines would provide CARES harnesses for all children under 4 or 40 lbs, just like they provide seat belt extensions for people who need them without charge.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Cheryl Maguire on October 14, 2009 at 6:32pm: My husband and I did the lap seats with twins and it was a NIGHTMARE!! NEVER AGAIN. For my 1 year old we bought a seat and brought her car seat and she slept the whole flight both ways--it was worth every penny!!! Plus of course it is safer too (which I did not even think when I did the lap seats.); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Beth Blair on October 15, 2009 at 6:18am: Thanks for all of the comments.

Rebecca, I just reviewed CARES, and it's fantastic - such a better alternative to hauling car seats through the airport. Now if only the airlines would supply them...; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Nancy Cavillones on October 19, 2009 at 11:28am: When my daughter was 8 months old, we flew to Austin, TX and she slept most of the way, so it wasn't an issue then. When she was 11 months old, we flew to Poland and she had a baby bed, since it was an overnight, international flight. During take-off and landing on that flight, Lufthansa provided us with a safety belt for my daughter that looped onto my seatbelt, so she was strapped in while on my lap. Not a problem, then, either! But she's 15 months now, and we just got back from Seattle. Not an easy flight! She'll definitely be getting her own seat next time! Aside from the safety issue, I think you have to know your child and what they can handle.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Deb Schroeder on October 24, 2009 at 4:06am: We did a our first plane trip with the kids this past summer and we ultimately decided to use the car seats. I went back and forth about what to do since I wanted to do what was safest, but I also wanted an easy first flight experience with the kids. I was worried about carrying everything to the gate with two toddlers.

One child was almost 3 years old and the other 21 months, so we didn't have to buy a seat for the 21 month old. We decided to buy the seat for our 21 month old even though we didn't need to so it would give us more room and we hoped she would stay in her seat. We had also hoped that if we purchased a seat per person, then maybe there wouldn't be any seats left beside us so no one would be miserable if the kids were restless.

I will have to say that traveling with two toddlers with diaper bag, laptops, stroller, and carrying two huge Britax car seats was exhausting and the airlines were of no assistance. I really wish there was a cart or a service that we could pay to have help get the car seats to the airplane. I had seen the GoGo wheels, but they were about $90 a piece and I knew we wouldn't be flying again for awhile so I didn't want to fork over another $200 after shipping since we had already purchased a seat per child.

Our first flight was delayed and the families weren't given the choice to board first. So, we were given really annoyed looks by everyone trying to haul the car seats, our bags, and two toddlers to the back of the plane once the plane was full. On the first flight the seats were 6 across and we were told that the car seats had to be by a window, so we actually couldn't use one of them after we had carried it up to the gate. (We later learned that we could have put both kids next to each other, you just can't have them on a isle seat.) So, our daughter who qualified as a lap child sat on our laps and it was difficult to keep her happy since she wanted to roam the plane. So, she definitely made the 3 hour trip somewhat miserable. Our son was very well-behaved and I believe that was partly to him being in his familiar car seat.

On the returning flight, we had both children in the car seats and they were both well-behaved. Next time, we will use the car seats, but I really do wish their was some assistance at the airlines for trying to do the safest thing for your children.; ▶ Reply to This