Hello--
In July my husband, son and I will be flying to Washington DC. At that time, my son will be 14 months old and I'm weighing the options of whether to have him fly in our laps or to buy him his own seat. According to most airline websites, this is an option up to 2 years of age.
On one hand, saving $400 would be nice as well as not having to tote around his car seat (minimal taxi use once we land; we won't be using a rental car). On the otherhand, I'm not sure I want him sitting in our laps for 3 and 1/2 hours.
For anyone who's been in this situation, what would you recommend, do differently or repeat since it worked so well.
Thanks for the advice!
I've never flown in a with a toddler, however the question that I have is if you are using a taxi (even minimally) won't you need the car seat for that? I don't know if car seat laws pertain to taxi's or not...
I flew with my son when he was 15 months. I flew alone with him, I did not buy him a seat. Flight was over two hours. I fed him, he played, he fell asleep.
I would recommened not buying a seat for you child. Save money and hassle.
It is very hard to sit for long periods of time with a child that age. I have done it twice and it was really unpleasant for both of us. We went to Utah from MI. The trip there went better than the trip back. She knew what she was in for and cried the whole time. MISERABLE!! I know it is easier to save the money financial, but your piece of mind and nerves may be worth the ticket!!
Hi K.,
We have done both. We brought our 14 month old on a plane and kept him on our lap about 4 years ago. It was extrmeley uncomfortable and he kept wanting to get down and walk around. So it was hard to keep him on our lap. Last year we brought our now 5 and 2 year old on a plane. This time we bought plane tickets for them and brought their car seats. It was so much easier. Because they were both in car seats they knew they had to stay in them. Plus they both were able to nap in them where before it was very hard for him to sleep on me. It was a little bit of a pain carrying the carseats around the airports but for me it was well worth it. Basically you just have to figure out the pros and cons for doing both and decide from there. Good luck and have fun.
Chris
