Carseats and longer flights

Ds and I are flying in a few weeks and the flight length is close to 4hrs on the way there and just over 4hrs on the way back. My mom asked me if ds would sit in his carseat the whole way or if I'd take him out periodically. I'd originally just assumed he'd stay in his seat, but I'm thinking now in terms of diaper changes etc.

I won't wear the seatbelt the whole flight, so if he wants to be in my lap for a bit is that a bad thing? Part of me figures he should be in his seat as much as possible since you can't predict an event like turbulence. Part of me thinks the length of time is pretty long to expect him to stay happy that long.

I know many of you are experienced flyers, so what have you done and what do you think?

eta: In a similar vein, do you wear your seatbelt most of the flight or only when the seatbelt sign is lit?

I'd really go off his cues. Katy was just over 2 when we flew here, the first leg of which was 10 hours. She pretty much got out for diaper changes and then went back in. Most of the time she was asleep though. I generally tend to wear my seatbelt anytime I'm in my seat. I figure why not, it's right there anyway. Plus I'm a super paranoid flyer, so anytime I'm not up to go to the bathroom, that belt is on.

When we flew they were allowed to get out to go to the bathroom (or get their diaper changed) and I made sure I ddin't rush them and let DS walk (he was just over 1). I'd let DD unbuckle to get a pencil if she dropped it, etc. She was 5 on this trip and in the seatbelt.

I think I would let them out longer on a really long flight or international flight when the seatbelt sign wasnt' on unless they were sleeping. Even adults need to get up and stretch every few hours, and they would be able to get out for bathroom stops if driving.

We had a four hour flight and Max stayed in his seat other than for one diaper change. He didn't really care. He ate Cheerios and drank juice and played with toys the whole trip.

It is recommended on a flight that you keep your belt on while seated because of unexpected turbulance etc... so unless I'm in the bathroom I jeep the belt on. The flights I have been on with my kids have always been close to or over the 4hr length and I have just kept them in their seats unless they needed a diaper change or something. It sort of will depend on your sons personality but with mine if I did allow him "out to play" or whatever, I probably woudn't have got him back in his seat without a big tantrum.

We have been on several 4+ hour flights. I have learned that once I allow them out of their carseat, they seem to throw a fit when I want them back int their seat so I enforce the rule that if they are not up going to the bathroom or getting a diaper change, they must be buckled up in their carseat. Typically they would sleep during the flights, though when they weren't we would put on a long movie to keep them entertained.

I keep my seatbelt on the whole time unless I need to get up to go to the bathroom.

Jordan also stays in his carseat the whole time unless he needed a diaper change or needed to potty.

Are you planning to keep him RFing on the plane? It will be sooo much easier if you do.

Make up a snack box for him that has a variety of foods in it.

I don't know what time of day you are flying, but if you can manage to schedule meal time while on the plane, that will help use up some time. Jordan also always fell asleep on the plane and slept for at least 2 hours.

You will also want to bring something to entertain him. At that age, Jordan loved DVDs so we brought a portable DVD player with us on the plane. We put his DVDs in one of these CD visor sleeves that is meant for the car. He spent lots of time just switching out DVDs in the player.

It would never have even occured to me to take him out of his seat and let him sit on my lap, because he wouldn't have been happy just sitting on my lap. He would want to climb all over the place and make friends with every passenger on the plane.

BTW,

This is what Jordan's snack box looked like for the flight we took just this month.



And this was our set up to get through the airport. I used the Traveling Toddler to hook the seat to the suitcase.

I know the dangers but quite frankly I wouldn't expect my kids to sit still in a car for more then 4 hrs. I would pull over after 2-3 hrs and allow them to stretch their legs ...
Same thing appiles to a plane except I just can't pull over in the plane. LOL.

We are taking a 9 hr flight on a huge Cargo plane tomorrow. IF they even have seat available (I am pretty sure they do) the boys will be allowed up to use the bathroom, walk etc.. Shoot it is even dangerous for me to sit more then 2 hrs being pregnant. Dr couldn't stress it enough.

So if he is cranky and he needs to stretch or walk, then let him.

Oh yeah and any time we are seated, seatbelts are on all of us. That is mainly to set an example. Johnathon is a smart kid!

snowbird25ca said:

Ds and I are flying in a few weeks and the flight length is close to 4hrs on the way there and just over 4hrs on the way back. My mom asked me if ds would sit in his carseat the whole way or if I'd take him out periodically. I'd originally just assumed he'd stay in his seat, but I'm thinking now in terms of diaper changes etc.

I won't wear the seatbelt the whole flight, so if he wants to be in my lap for a bit is that a bad thing? Part of me figures he should be in his seat as much as possible since you can't predict an event like turbulence. Part of me thinks the length of time is pretty long to expect him to stay happy that long.

I know many of you are experienced flyers, so what have you done and what do you think?

eta: In a similar vein, do you wear your seatbelt most of the flight or only when the seatbelt sign is lit?

Click to expand...

We always wear our seatbelt if we are sitting and DS always keeps it on.

I'm pretty sure you have him RF but have you considered the CARES harness for the flight? Not sure if he is 22lbs or not yet but if he was FF at least he could watch the TV. West Jet has the kids channel (can't remember what it is call ).



ETA: After posting I checked out your siggy and see he is RF'ing and 26lbs.

Trudy,

We make the 4 or 5-hr trek often with the kids. I typically only take them out of the carseats when it is time for bathroom or diaper change. They in general have been content to sit in the carseats being entertained. There is the plane TV, we bring reading books, activities/colouring/puzzle books, dollar-store toys, etc. I don't like to allow them out of carseats because it would just breed bad habit of wanting to be out all the time.

I got a bit annoyed on our last trip with Avery not wanting to be in the infant carseat at the beginning. She wanted to see and touch everything (everything was new and different, right?) Dh and I at one point was wondering if we had 'wasted' the plane seat we bought for her because she just wanted out LOL. But she soon settled down after nursing and remained in the carseat for the rest of the flight, eating, sleeping, playing, etc.

I find it is harder with babies/toddlers under 2 when they don't usually understand that they were to remain seated in their seats Older children in general understand better once explained. Treat it as if you drive with them remain in the seat as much as possible.

I personally always wear my seatbelt. Habit...

If you don't have a traveller toddler we made one out of just using a washer from the hardware store . It cost less then a dollar. I just bought one with a big openning and not to thick on the outside. It worked great.

On long flights I let them up once in a while to stretch their legs, my eldest gets out for bathroom trips, my younger two for diaper changes, etc.-- during the flight portion only of course.

When they are seated they are buckled in, just as when I am seated I have my seatbelt buckled.

My kids are used to 12+ hour drives on road trips so they don't have a problem with it. And, in the plane we usually bring coloring books and crayons, a dvd player with headphones and movies, etc. They love it and the FAs are always really impressed that they're not kicking the seats and stuff (cause they know they would be in TROUBLE if they did, lol!)

We often do 4-5 hour flights and they sit in their carseats for most of the flight. We do go to the bathroom for diaper changes but while sitting they are in their carseats. When they were younger I would take them out to change diapers or feed them or sometimes just because they were fussy but luckily my kids have been pretty good travellers.

When we have done longer flights, like 10+ hours they get up and walk a bit. I know I need to stretch my legs and I know they do too. Thankfully these trips have been few and far between for now.

natysr said:

I keep my seatbelt on the whole time unless I need to get up to go to the bathroom.

Jordan also stays in his carseat the whole time unless he needed a diaper change or needed to potty.

Are you planning to keep him RFing on the plane? It will be sooo much easier if you do.

Make up a snack box for him that has a variety of foods in it.

I don't know what time of day you are flying, but if you can manage to schedule meal time while on the plane, that will help use up some time. Jordan also always fell asleep on the plane and slept for at least 2 hours.

You will also want to bring something to entertain him. At that age, Jordan loved DVDs so we brought a portable DVD player with us on the plane. We put his DVDs in one of these CD visor sleeves that is meant for the car. He spent lots of time just switching out DVDs in the player.

It would never have even occured to me to take him out of his seat and let him sit on my lap, because he wouldn't have been happy just sitting on my lap. He would want to climb all over the place and make friends with every passenger on the plane.

BTW,

This is what Jordan's snack box looked like for the flight we took just this month.

http://alvin.smugmug.com/photos/456091037_TSAxM-S.jpg

And this was our set up to get through the airport. I used the Traveling Toddler to hook the seat to the suitcase.

http://alvin.smugmug.com/photos/456091340_Pds5S-M-1.jpg

Click to expand...

Thank you so much for the pictures. I was planning to bring a snack of some sort for him but hadn't gotten much past the cheese and crackers idea.

I'm planning to keep him rf'ing on the plane just because I think then there's a chance he'll sleep if he gets tired. Our flight leaves at 8am which is normally still a time he's in bed asleep, so I don't have a lot of hope on the sleep front, but you never know. (For those of you with dropping jaws at him still asleep at 8am, we have an atypical schedule... my kids usually aren't in bed for the night until 11pm and usually sleep until 10 or 10:30 )

We don't have a portable DVD player but maybe it's worth considering something like that for him. He's not a real TV watcher in general because dd isn't allowed TV, so I don't know how much of a distraction it would be for him.

The longest drive he's been on aside from the one trip we took when he was 7 months old is really only 2hrs. He's one of those on the go kids and a lot of times even a 2hr trip is one that has him starting to fuss by the time we're close to our destination. I'm sure that me sitting beside him will make that a different situation though.

Jewels said:

We always wear our seatbelt if we are sitting and DS always keeps it on.

I'm pretty sure you have him RF but have you considered the CARES harness for the flight? Not sure if he is 22lbs or not yet but if he was FF at least he could watch the TV. West Jet has the kids channel (can't remember what it is call ).



ETA: After posting I checked out your siggy and see he is RF'ing and 26lbs.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm planning to rf him on the plane. I think he'll be more comfortable in his own seat too than in a cares harness. I'd have no problems with dd in one, but I just don't think Jonas would be comfortable and that he'd probably create havoc... at least the familiarity of his seat should help with all the changes.

For being 2yrs old he still isn't quite at the point of fully understanding explanations. I know he understands things more than we give him credit for, but the point about him being very unhappy to have to get back in the seat once out is a very good point.

I haven't flown myself since I was 15 which was 17 long years ago, so this will be a very new experience for both of us. I bought a gogo kidz to use with his seat so that takes care of keeping him contained while moving through the different areas of the airport and while loading the plane. I googled seat layouts and stuff last night, and know I'll be able to choose seats when doing online check-in, so I'm more comfortable in that aspect, and I took the tour of the Edmonton airport online last night too.

Dh and dd will be accompanying us as far as possible... does anyone happen to know if they ever let family on the other side of security, or no? From what I found it looks like ds and I have to be through security an hour before departure. There are activities and stores and restaurants on the other side, I'm just mostly thinking that it would be nice for dd to spend some last bit of time with me before I go.. though one hour in the scheme of multiple days isn't much.

And I just have to say, thank goodness for all of you more experienced travellers who can hold my hand while I try to work out the technicalities. I'm a planner.. helps me be comfortable when going in to new situations, so the more I know about ahead of time the easier the whole thing will be. :thumbsup:

snowbird25ca said:

Ds and I are flying in a few weeks and the flight length is close to 4hrs on the way there and just over 4hrs on the way back. My mom asked me if ds would sit in his carseat the whole way or if I'd take him out periodically. I'd originally just assumed he'd stay in his seat, but I'm thinking now in terms of diaper changes etc.

I won't wear the seatbelt the whole flight, so if he wants to be in my lap for a bit is that a bad thing? Part of me figures he should be in his seat as much as possible since you can't predict an event like turbulence. Part of me thinks the length of time is pretty long to expect him to stay happy that long.

I know many of you are experienced flyers, so what have you done and what do you think?

eta: In a similar vein, do you wear your seatbelt most of the flight or only when the seatbelt sign is lit?

Click to expand...

We fly to Australia. 14 hours in the plane. On the last trip, DS slept 8 hours each way and he was in his car seat. He was fine. We do let him get up to go to the bathroom, and at other times to stretch out, but most of the time he is in his car seat. He can stretch his legs/arms while in the seat. We bring lots of different activities and a DVD player to keep him occupied. It's easy if he's in his seat, otherwise he's on top of DH and I, and at 34lbs, he's heavy and there's less room for all of us.

DS travels very well, but he's had not choice but to get used to it. Sometimes he doesn't like it and he doesn't want to get back in. It's gotten much easier as he's gotten older, he knows he has to sit in his seat.. With re. to kicking seats, not an issue if you're RF, we've taught DS where he can put his legs - on my leg, folded up in his seat, on the window etc. but never on the seat in front.

I always wear my seat belt. And if sleeping, I put it on over the blanket as I've been woken to check if it was on because of turbulence.

I don't know if family will be allowed past security. I've always done it on my own. One friend was able to get her husband a pass to help her to the gate, but he's a police officer. Make sure you can manage everything on your own. One backpack carry-on, pull carseat with child in it. Security is a pain as you have to put everything through, and you might need to take the car seat off the Go Go Kidz - I don't know for sure, but practice in case. Both of you can go to the bathroom before boarding. Buy a bottle of water once past security.

Getting on the plane you may need to carry the car seat - some of those aisles are super narrow. I get DS to walk in front of me and I carry the car seat on. When he wasn't walking age, I would carry him in a front carrier. At 2 yo, DS was able to walk down the aisle, with me herding him towards our seat. I carry the car seat directly in front of me, otherwise I hit every seat as I get on. I then get him to sit in my seat as I put the car seat in his seat. Backpack under my seat so I can get to things quickly. I preboard when it's just DS and me. It means more time sitting down, but I don't have to wait in the aisle for others to take their seat. Make sure he eats/drinks on take off and landing so his ears clear.

HTH.

niccig said:

I always wear my seat belt. And if sleeping, I put it on over the blanket as I've been woken to check if it was on because of turbulence.

Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing, and I just had to tell you that the wearing the seatbelt over the blanket so you didn't get woke up made me giggle. Something I never would've thought of, though it makes complete sense. lol

snowbird25ca said:

Thanks for sharing, and I just had to tell you that the wearing the seatbelt over the blanket so you didn't get woke up made me giggle. Something I never would've thought of, though it makes complete sense. lol

Click to expand...

It was very annoying when it happened - on a long haul flight and I don't sleep well on a plane, so once asleep I do not want to be woken.

I think you'll be fine for the trip. You're a planner, so am I . I know there's been other posts about traveling with kids, if you read some more and prepare for things, you'll be fine. Have lots of QUIET activities to do on the plane - books to read, colour, play dough, sticker books, I did up an activity book with different pages I had printed from the Internet. My DS is 4yo, so we're teaching him how to use a Leapster for the next Australia trip, and I can't wait until he starts to read.

Oh, in the airport bathroom, use the handicapped stall as both you and DS can fit in there. Change his diaper before boarding. Get up to do it again while on the plane - both of you can stretch your legs.

Security and getting on/off plane are the worst parts. Oh, and if the person beside you offers, let them carry the car seat off the plane. That really helps!