Flying with 4 year old DD in Feb..a few questions

I'm trying to decide if I want to RF her on the plane. We don't have bulkhead seats but I guess I could request them to change the seats? Besides kicking hte seat in front of us there is also the fact that she will likely drop everything so RFing really helps with that. Do they let those with car seats board first? Also we have the GGB to wheel DD through the airport. Will they count that as a carry-on? We are flying Delta and I was hoping to pack us all in carry-on's but if the GGB is considered a carry-on it will not be possible.

Check Delta's website; they all have different specific rules for what counts as a carry-on and what child passengers are allowed to have on board, and who qualifies for priority boarding. If you do get a bulkhead seat then there is no seat in front of you to put stuff under, so think about that. Also bulkhead seats are generally coveted because of the extra leg room, so if you don't already have one, I doubt you'll have much luck getting one, and you might have to pay extra (some airlines charge extra; I don't know about Delta).

Personally I wouldn't RF a 4 year old on an airplane, expecially in a radian. If she is FF she can probably use the tray table, plus you can leave the RF boot (and angle adjuster) at home, which might make life a little easier.

The carry-on stuff didn't say anything remotely about anything like the ggb. Also I'm not taking a radian. I'll either take the maestro or avenue.

jjordan said:

Check Delta's website; they all have different specific rules for what counts as a carry-on and what child passengers are allowed to have on board, and who qualifies for priority boarding. If you do get a bulkhead seat then there is no seat in front of you to put stuff under, so think about that. Also bulkhead seats are generally coveted because of the extra leg room, so if you don't already have one, I doubt you'll have much luck getting one, and you might have to pay extra (some airlines charge extra; I don't know about Delta).

Personally I wouldn't RF a 4 year old on an airplane, expecially in a radian. If she is FF she can probably use the tray table, plus you can leave the RF boot (and angle adjuster) at home, which might make life a little easier.

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I would assume that a GGB (that's the little wheely thing that you put a car seat on, right?) would count as a stroller if you gate-check it. If you take it onboard with you, it probably counts as a "personal item." If I were you I'd take the Maestro and plan to FF.

jjordan said:

I would assume that a GGB (that's the little wheely thing that you put a car seat on, right?) would count as a stroller if you gate-check it. If you take it onboard with you, it probably counts as a "personal item." If I were you I'd take the Maestro and plan to FF.

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I agree. I would take the Maestro and would FF her both on the plane and in the car.

I also probably wouldn't take the GGB unless you are flying at night and think that she could fall asleep OR if she has special needs. Otherwise, I don't see any reason why she can't walk through the airport. I know it is not as convenient to have to keep up with a preschooler, but a typical four-year-old can keep up well enough to be able to walk.

The kids in my family have walked through the airport since they were about 2.5. Before that, they were either worn or pushed, but once they were about 2.5, they had to walk.

jjordan said:

I would assume that a GGB (that's the little wheely thing that you put a car seat on, right?) would count as a stroller if you gate-check it. If you take it onboard with you, it probably counts as a "personal item." If I were you I'd take the Maestro and plan to FF.

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I thought about gate checking it...would I get it back at the layover? Otherwise I need to take it on the plane.

Patriot201 said:

I agree. I would take the Maestro and would FF her both on the plane and in the car.

I also probably wouldn't take the GGB unless you are flying at night and think that she could fall asleep OR if she has special needs. Otherwise, I don't see any reason why she can't walk through the airport. I know it is not as convenient to have to keep up with a preschooler, but a typical four-year-old can keep up well enough to be able to walk.

The kids in my family have walked through the airport since they were about 2.5. Before that, they were either worn or pushed, but once they were about 2.5, they had to walk.

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We will be on a bus so the seat is just for the plane. And I bought the ggb specifically for this flight so I am taking it. I know my DD and she isn't going to haul ass through an airport plus being in the ggb means we have more hands free and she is secured. I'm also not taking the stroller so no pushing her. If she wasn't in the ggb I would have her on one hand and the car seat on the other leaving my mom and her dad to deal with 4 carry ons plus personal items. I don't think so when I can put her in the ggb and have her and the seat in one hand.

Honestly, if you don't need a seat at your destination, I'd skip the seat on the plane.

Interested to see what others will say...

mdsvc89 said:

Honestly, if you don't need a seat at your destination, I'd skip the seat on the plane.

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I completely agree.

mdsvc89 said:

Honestly, if you don't need a seat at your destination, I'd skip the seat on the plane.

Interested to see what others will say...

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Um no way. Wendy already told me that I can't use the CARES because the lap belt on the plane won't cinch small enough for DD. My DD is 33-34lbs and 36" tall. She is the size of most her 2 year old friends. There is no way I am letting her go in just a lap belt on an airplane...even if she was bigger I wouldn't do it. I think that's being careless.

HaileysMommy said:

Um no way. Wendy already told me that I can't use the CARES because the lap belt on the plane won't cinch small enough for DD. My DD is 33-34lbs and 36" tall. She is the size of most her 2 year old friends. There is no way I am letting her go in just a lap belt on an airplane...even if she was bigger I wouldn't do it. I think that's being careless.

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I took my 32-ish-lb 3.5-year old on the plane without a seat last month and I don't believe I was careless. The lap belt cinched just fine. If you want to use something, I'd definitely take a CARES. I'm not sure I understand why it wouldn't work for your daughter. She sounds like the perfect demographic for it.

LISmama810 said:

I took my 32-ish-lb 3.5-year old on the plane without a seat last month and I don't believe I was careless. The lap belt cinched just fine. If you want to use something, I'd definitely take a CARES. I'm not sure I understand why it wouldn't work for your daughter. She sounds like the perfect demographic for it.

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I'm going by what Wendy told me in a previous thread where I asked about car seat vs CARES. She told me to take the car seat. I don't own a CARES and the only way I would use one is if I could borrow it because I have plenty of car seats that will work fine. Not buying one for this one plane ride. We will have 3 adults on the trip so I'm not really worried about having to take the seat plus if we decide to rent a car and drive to the beach then I'm all set. I'll see if I can get Wendy's attention and see what she has to say.

ETA: Here are the FAA recommendations saying that children need to be in a restraint (car seat or CARES) up to 40lbs.
http://www.faa.gov/passengers/fly_children/crs/

And here is where Wendy said there is a good chance that the seat belt in the plane won't fit my DD. I am not taking any chances and yes I think the fact that you didn't restrain your child in more than a lap belt on a plane at their age/size was careless.
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=233984

Right, from my experience and from what I've heard from others, the bare minimum kids have actually had most lap belts tighten around them is 35 pounds. And that was one kid, I think (trying to remember whose). Piper was 38-43 pounds before the belt fit her on planes with consistency. So my personal experience and what others have said, along with the FAA recommendations, lead me to recommend a carseat on board under 40 pounds.

Piper also then took three years to figure out how to sleep on the plane. So for comfort's sake, I'd take the seat as well.

Given that the CARES doesn't tighten the lap belt, I'd be uncomfortable recommending it for a 34 pound child, since the whole problem isn't that she can't sit still (at her age it'd probably be ok), but more that the lap belt won't tighten all the way. The CARES harness does nothing to tighten the lap belt. Nor does it have a crotch strap.

I'd take a Maestro and whatever wheels for it you have/want, then have her ride in it. Laine *could* walk through the airport. She'd stop at every shop to look around, would just stop in the middle, would go and talk to people, anything. She generally rides in her seat in the airport (maybe or maybe not strapped in) and it keeps us moving. It's her choice, too. She prefers to ride in her seat, or on my suitcase.

As for the GGB, I don't know if it counts as a carry on. When I bring my folding cart (haven't in years, will again next week) I've both gate checked it and carried it on. No one has mentioned it counting in the least. I would check that you'll get the gate checked items back planeside. For some reason when we fly home to Seattle all gate checked baggage gets sent to the carousel in Seattle. We don't get it back. On other flights we do. So ask the attendants first where the gate checked luggage will be returned, then either carry it on or gate check it. I'll be doing the same next week.

Wendy

Thanks Wendy.

My DD would do exactly what Laine does when walking. She does it in the mall so I can not imagine her actually booking it through the airport especially if we get crunched for time.

I guess I'll try to take the ggb as a carry on. I will need it at the layover and again when we get to Orlando. If I gate checked it then didn't see it til the very end it would do no good lol Thanks again!

HaileysMommy said:

I am not taking any chances and yes I think the fact that you didn't restrain your child in more than a lap belt on a plane at their age/size was careless.

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Thanks! You have a great trip!

ETA: Air travel is unbelievably safe. The main problem with lap babies and very small children is that they don't/won't sit still and have NOTHING restraining them. Also, traveling without a seat for a child often means checking their seat or using a rented one, both of which potentially endanger the child in the car.

I am quite confident that my child would have been sufficiently restrained in case of turbulence, which is the main "negative event" concern. As the lap belt fit and she sat nicely, I'm also really not concerned that she wouldn't have been as restrained as everyone else.

You're certainly entitled to rear-face your 4-year-old on the plane, though.

HaileysMommy said:

Um no way. Wendy already told me that I can't use the CARES because the lap belt on the plane won't cinch small enough for DD. My DD is 33-34lbs and 36" tall. She is the size of most her 2 year old friends. There is no way I am letting her go in just a lap belt on an airplane...even if she was bigger I wouldn't do it. I think that's being careless.

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Got it. I hadn't noticed her stats. Both my kids were over 40lbs by age 4, so it didn't occur to me.

I'd carry on the GGB, and just act like it's "part of the carseat." I doubt you'll be given trouble about it, assuming it fits in the overhead. I carried on an Evenflo AMP divided into 2 pieces, which definitely put me over the # of items I was "supposed" to have, and no one even noticed.

Enjoy your trip!