Traveling alone with 2-yo... 1st time buying a seat! HELP!

M

Mommainny

Guest
I am traveling this summer with my 2-yo son. He's flown a number of times but this is the first time I'm buying him a seat. Couple of questions for all you seasoned travelers!

1) Do I have to bring a car seat for him on the plane? We have a Britax Roundabout 50.

2) If I bring a car seat with me and I'm alone with him, how the heck do I get an umbrella stroller and the car seat through the airport? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

3) What is the CARES system? Is that an option for my son? He is 26 lbs, as of April 2011 (turns 2 in June 2011).


Thanks for the advice!
Michele
 
ADS

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
I am traveling this summer with my 2-yo son. He's flown a number of times but this is the first time I'm buying him a seat. Couple of questions for all you seasoned travelers!

1) Do I have to bring a car seat for him on the plane? We have a Britax Roundabout 50.

Carseats that have been checked as baggage should not be trusted to be lifesaving devices anymore, so if for no other reason than to protect the carseat, yes, bring it aboard. However, it can also save his life on board. For future babies, buy them tickets from birth, and use a carseat every time.

2) If I bring a car seat with me and I'm alone with him, how the heck do I get an umbrella stroller and the car seat through the airport? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Several options here. You could use a bungee and bungee it into the umbrella stroller. You could get a GoGo Kidz and buy a cheap umbrella stroller where you're going. You could use a Traveling Toddler and buy a cheap umbrella stroller when you get there.

3) What is the CARES system? Is that an option for my son? He is 26 lbs, as of April 2011 (turns 2 in June 2011).

The CARES is a harness that hooks onto the lap belt of the airplane. It does nothing to protect a carseat in checked baggage, it doesn't have a crotch strap, and it doesn't help the lap belt fit (which often doesn't fit until about 35-40 pounds). I'm not a huge fan of it.

Since the FAA has always recommended buying tickets and using carseats, and the AAP recommends it, and the NTSB has been lobbying against lap babies since at least 1990, just bring your carseat on board, install it rear facing as you do in the car, and that's the easiest and safest way for you both to travel.

If you've traveled a lot and checked the seat previously, I would destroy it or recycle it and buy a new carseat.

Wendy
 

Eclipsepearl

New member
See if your car seat can be wedged into your stroller.

Instead of a Gogokidz Travelmate, you can simply purchase a small, foldable, metal luggage cart. Secure it with a bungee cord and your toddler can ride in it when too tired to walk. It does the same thing as the Travelmate and is easier to take on and off and will last longer. The Gogo Travelmate is basically an overpriced plastic cart, which can easily break. The metal luggage carts are more durable (I have one which is over 20 years old).

A really cheap umbrella stroller is not very convenient if it breaks. They're also often not comfortable for the child and wont fit a car seat. Try it out with the stroller you already have and see if you can work with that. Someone recently posted some good photos of a toddler riding in his car seat, wedged into the seat portion of his stroller.

I don't recommend anything that attaches to a rolly bag. Don't use a rolly bag as a carry-on when you travel with a child. You need something more practical which will fit under the seat in front of you. You need your things close to you when you fly with a child. AS a Flight Attendant, I removed a lot of rolly bags to be checked as luggage. There just isn't enough room for them all!

There are also gizmos which make the car seat into a backpack. It's a good idea if you have multiple children and car seats but you don't. Just one child and one car seat should be fine.
 

ctbcleveland

Well-known member
When we travelled with my son, who was slightly younger than yours at the time, we used a Scenera. It is very lightweight and narrow and fits conveniently in a Chicco Umbrella stroller. I suspect the seat would also fit well in a Maclaren.
 

Jan06twinmom

New member
I've always taken car seats for our twins on the plane. The first time we flew, they were 18 months old. We installed our car seats rear-facing on the plane in the window seat and it worked great.

I like having our car seat with us at all times since I know how roughly baggage is treated. I didn't want to arrive at our destination with a broken/damaged car seat or have it lost in transit. My biggest fear was that our car seat would be compromised, but the damage wouldn't be obvious. We always needed a car seat at our destination.

We used the fold up luggage cart and attached the car seat to the cart. Then we used this as our "stroller" through the airport. We actually checked our double stroller in a large duffle bag with our baggage. I decided I didn't want to deal with the stroller through the airport.

HTH

Melanie
 

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