Pictures of the cares harness in use....

[emandbri]

I just realized I never posted the pictures from our trip to disney world.

Here is Elizabeth using the cares harness on a boeing 737.

She is 3 years 2 months old in the pictures, 38 inches, and 36 lbs.

This is how tight the seat belt was, I don't see how it would be able to get tight enough for a 22 lbs child.

She was awake for take off and then fell asleep. My children fall asleep easily.

Brian was sitting next to her on the way back. I forgot to tell him to make sure the lap belt was low. Here is the picture he took. The plane on the way back was newer, I would have been able to get the seat belt tighter then on the plane we took on the way down.

It was SOOO nice to have to deal with the car seat! Both flights were very turbulent, I was very glad she was in the harness and not a lap belt.

 

[brightredmtn]

Thanks for the pics. I'm considering getting one for DS who is the exact same age (as you know since we were on the same IV birth board.) I feel better knowing you were comfortable using it.

 

[Eclipsepearl]

Good photos!

Wow, it was pulled all the way in and she was well above the minimum.

My only beef with this is that their site actually instructs parents to check the car seat as luggage, which is just plain bad advice! I wonder how many parents showed up at their destination with damaged and/or lost car seats after using the CARES harness on board. Can't use it in the car!

It's great IF you don't need the car seat at your destination, i.e. a visit to a big city and will be on public transport the whole time or a visit to grandma's where you have a car seat waiting. I had one at my mom's for years so I only had to deal with one car seat when flying.

Just a reminder to never use car seats that rental companies provide (usually at a fee). I had a bad experience and I'm not alone! Especially to somewhere like Disney World where one might not be available...

 

[emandbri]

Yes, if we needed a seat when we got there
I would have taken a car seat instead.

 

[Eclipsepearl]

I wish it could be used a bit longer too. It would also be good for 5-6 year olds if it came in that size.

 

[aeormsby]

We've used ours a couple of times now for my DD (she's 3.5 and slightly smaller than your DD). We have a Safeguard GO that she uses for travel and I'm so glad we got the Cares for on the plane. She liked being able to use the tray to color. And I was so glad she had it on our last trip with enough turbulance that I almost lost my lunch.
Ann

 

[InternationalMama]

Thanks for these pics! I've often wondered what age CARES would really be a viable option. It looks like your DDs size is probably what I personally would consider the minimum, so really about the same time they are able to us an RSTV.

 

[mommycat]

I hope you don't mind my piggy-backing my own Cares pics here.

DS is 23 months, 25 lbs and ETA just shy of 33" (I originally said about 31.5"). We had our carseats with us and I only decided to use this because the flight was half empty and DS was exhausted and cranky and refused to go back in his own seat after nursing.

The harness is adjusted close to as short as it will go. He stayed in it watching the TV only about long enough for me to get a few pics (10 minutes max?) and was constantly complaining that the red belt was bugging him - with the contouring in the seat back it was floating and digging into his back/neck/head - could not find a comfortable position. It did not help that like I said, he was grumpy and slouchy.

The lap belt was riding too high, mainly because he kept slumping down, and was not really snug. As mentioned above, there was no way to tighten it any more and it was just laughable having such wide spacing across those tiny little hips.

He could probably have climbed out of it easily if I had let him continue to try. I don't think it works well for small kids like this at all. I wish I had tried my 4yo (who is just over the stated height limit of 40 in) just to see how he would fit, but I honestly didn't have the energy to go through the hassle.

ETA: while I don't think it works too well for small kids like DS, if it was a choice between this and just the lapbelt, I would definitely bring the CARES!

 

[InternationalMama]

Wow, I didn't realize it had a stated height limit of 40 inches! That's too bad. By the time I actually want to use this my kid could be too tall for it!

Thanks for the extra pics, Cat. Your kiddo and my kiddo are about the same size so that was helpful.

 

[mommycat]

Forgot to mention that when I took out my CARES to try it out, the AC flight attendant came up and said that I couldn't use it, because harnesses are only allowed in Europe. When I told her that it was a CARES and allowed as per TC and the AC policy she recognized the name and said yes, that's fine. She got excited and asked me questions about it because she had never seen one before. :thumbsup: