We'll be traveling by plane to visit my family for Christmas (about 5 hours total travel time, including a layover). It will be my son's 5th flight, so we've got some experience, but we definitely can use some help for this one.
In the past we've bought our son his own seat to make it much easier (worth the money!) and have taken his car seat (Britax Boulevard) aboard the plane. However, the car seat is so big that he can reach the back of the seat in front of him with his feet. Unfortunately, on our last flight he "learned" how to kick the seat in front of him. It was only for a short while, but I spent a good amount of time saying "no" and holding his feet. We even removed his shoes, but that didn't stop it.
Fortunately, he fell asleep pretty quickly, so he wasn't too much of a terror. I don't want a repeat of that again and am wondering if anyone has used the CARES harness or has any other suggestions for our upcoming flight. He's not a small kid - he's 27 lbs. and about 33 1/2 inches tall. Thanks for your help!
Thanks, everyone! I definitely think I'll be getting a CARES harness. My family has an extra car seat so we don't need one (but I strongly recommend the GoGo Kidz Travelmate if you need to take a car seat through the airport - so wonderful!) The CARES harness sounds like it will be easy to use.
We have used it and LOVED it. Way easier than hauling a car seat through the airport!!! My aunt in law has also used it with her grandson and they liked it too! Good luck!!
Just an idea - you might call the airline and ask for a seat assignment at the very front of the cabin to make sure your son doesn't kick anyone in front of him. Just an idea.
I have used the CARES Harness with my son on several flights. It definitely is easier than dealing with a huge car seat on an airplane. It is really easy to use and straps him in securely. My only complaint with it is that it doesn't have a strap between the legs - you just use the airplane seat belt and the CARES Harness adds over the shoulder straps and a clip on the chest (like a car seat). Without the between the legs strap, my son was more able to move around and scoot down and I had to adjust frequently. My son also never fell asleep on the plane and I wondered if he would have in his own carseat that he was used to. Overall though, I think it was worth avoiding the hassle of carrying a carseat especially when I was traveling without my husband.
Yes, we've used the CARES Harness and we loved it. Way better than hauling the heavy car seat around all over the airport. It was easy to use, lightweight to carry or put in your bag (carry on). Our 3 year old (2 when he was on the airplane). He doesn't like being strapped in to the car seat or any other harness,etc.. We struggle with getting him into our own car seat everyday. He was in it the Harness for about 1/2 the flight then he was really fighting us, so we took it off. He was kicking the seat in front of us also, however all the kids were all together in the same location. However, we do have some behavior issues with our own child.
I would recommed practicing using the CARES before your flight and with your child so they are familiar with it also.
I'm so glad we found CARES and bought it, it really helped us out. My Mom had a car seat and we didn't need to take ours for our trip. I know you can rent car seats also from the car rental places if you absolutely need one later on your trip. I would highly recommend the CARES Harness for airplane travel.
