Question Airplane travel - should DS be in his seat the whole time?

grumpybear

New member
We're going on a 6-hour flight at the end of July.
What is the usual airplane protocol?
Can I nurse him during takeoff and landing?
What about during the flight? Is he expected to be in his seat the whole time?

TIA!
 
ADS

jerenaud

New member
He's over 2, right? So according the airlines, he's too big to be a lap baby and they will expect him to be in the seat for take off and landing. For the rest of the time, I would imagine that the same rules would apply to him as to the other passengers - belted in when the seatbelt sign is lit. Mine have generally stayed in their seats (not necessarily always harnessed) for the duration of the 4 hour flights, other than bathroom trips.

Erica
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
Like the PP said, turbulence and other emergencies can happen at any time it is safer for everyone to be in their seats. Even when the belt light is lit. But it's not required other than for take-off and landing.

Is the six hour flight direct? Or are you changing planes somewhere in the middle? For a flight that long, just like any time you're sitting for a long time, some movement is necessary. Maybe once or twice let him walk up and back in the aisle, and then sit back down. Piper has to be in and buckled when the belt light is on, but otherwise she can get up now and then to walk.

What seat are you taking? The Radian won't fit rear facing on a plane.

Wendy
 

UlrikeDG

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus
I keep my kids buckled whenever the fasten seatbelt sign is on. Take off & landing are the most dangerous part of the flight, so you should definitely keep him buckled during those times. We took a couple of potty breaks during the flight itself (when the seatbelt sign was turned off), but stayed buckled most of the time.

When my kids were too young for gum, we used gummy snacks or fruit leathers* for them to chew on. I've also used a baby bottle full of water with the slowest flow nipple I could find, but that backfired on me. Breastfed DD drank the water fine, but I gave it to her as soon as we started to taxi, and she had drunk her fill well before the plane actually got into the air. After that, I refrained from giving the kids their ear poppers until after I felt the wheels leave the ground or until my ears started to need popping.

The only time I really had real trouble was when we came home from Germany in 2005. On the last leg of the trip, Nadia fell asleep in the air and didn't wake up until after we'd landed. She woke up screaming.

* We like Stretch Island or Archer Farms Organic fruit leathers. The former, we order online or get at one of the local grocery stores, and the latter are sold at Target.
 

grumpybear

New member
Yes he is over 2 and it'll be a 6-hour direct flight.
We will be using the Radian FF on the plane.
That should be alright, right?
But if not, any suggestions for a convertible that fits RF on a plane?
 

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
The reason I kept my daughter RF @ 3 yrs old on our flight from NY to FL is that it decreased the worry of her bothering nearby passengers (someone is always cranky on a plane) -- she could only kick her own seat cushion.... She could also see me & do all kinds of things with her legs: cross them, hold them up straight toward the top of the plane seatback, hang them over the sides of the carseat, bend her knees up to her chin :blah blah blah: The Radian wasn't available 3 years ago, though, so I don't know how it installs on the plane.

If your toddler rides FF, then due to the lack of "wings" on the Radian, you might be able to lean over & nurse him while you're both buckled? You would have to push against the force of take-off, which might be more bothersome in a twistedly contorted position, LOL, but the risk of doing so in the plane is not like it is in a car/truck :twocents: It's never safe to lean over other occupants inside of a road vehicle.
 

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