Hi all,
I am about to go on a trip with my 2 year old to visit a close friend who just had a baby. I would like to use the CARES restraint system in th eairplane, but cannot afford the $80 to purchase one. We rarely travel, and usually by car, not plane. Owen and I are taking the plane because my friend is paying for the tickets. She has a car seat for him once we get there, so I would love to not have to worry about hauling one more thing along on the trip.
Do any of you out there have one you would be willing to rent to me?
Thank you all for the wonderful advice.
A wonderful mom on here has offered to let me borrow here CARES restraint- Thank You Cherry!!!.
I am going to try it out on the flight out, and see how it works. As we all know, part of making a journey successful is being flexible with what works for the little one.
I have one. You may borrow it, if you wish. Please don't think about paying anything. We mothers must help each other out whenever we can. I live in West Bloomington but am a stay at home mom so can pretty much meet anywhere. There's always someone home so I can also leave it for you to pick up or on my front porch (I have an older home with a large front porch).
Hello,
I have traveled with our son (6 years old), our daughter (11 months old), my neice (was 2 at the time), and nephew (6 years old). You might be surprised at how much more comfortable it is to just hold your youngest on your lap. You also would save some money, because you would not have to pay for an additional seat for him (at least you shouldn't since he is 2 years old). I know that it seems like a pain to have to hold your child for the duration of the flight, but really it isn't all that bad.
When I flew with our duaghter, she was only 9 months old at the time. She slept through most of the flight and when she wasn't sleeping, she sat there and played with her big brother or one of the small toys that she loves to play with. On the way back, I had to fly without my husband due to some rental car issues that we had no control over. I thought it would be challenging, but she was a complete angel. We chose to hold her to save on the cost of an addition seat for her car seat. We just had to check the carseat with our luggage.
Just keep in mind that you don't have to have a child restraint on the airplane. Personally, I think they are a hastle (you have to carry it on, strap it in, and then strap your child in it, all the while keeping your child from running off or goofing around) and (as morbid as this is going to sound) they aren't going to save a child's life if the plane were top crash. Sorry if that sounded harsh!
Hi Angela-
I recently bought the CARES restraint for a trip to Hawaii to use for my 3 yr old. I would be happy to rent it to you. I live in Stillwater. I did find some disadvantages with it compared to a regular car seat (which I have used in the past). The CARES restraint requires you to secure it around the back of your child's seat. You have to pretty much invade the space of the person seated behind your child to get it all set up. In addition, you may have to strap it over the fold down tray that is found on the back of your child's seat. That makes the tray useless for the person. The other thing that is kind of annoying is that this product is very new, thus the flight attendants will be very suspicious and will question you on it. I would recommend having the paperwork handy so you can show them it is approved. Otherwise, it does fit the child well(after you adjust it) and it is much easier to carry around compared to a car seat. Let me know if you want to use it.
Good Luck,
E.
There's a local kid's equipment rental company called Rockabye Rentals (http://www.rockabyerentals.com/) that might have one. Good luck!
ARe you going to hvae a carseat for him when you get there? I would just bring his carseat on the airplane. He's much too young to ride in a car without one, so you HAVE to have one when you get there. If you bring it on the airplane, you can strap it in just like in the car, and he can ride in comfort the whole flight in his five point harness carseat, just like riding in the car. And you'll have a carseat for him to ride in when you get there as well.
We have two boys, ages 5 1/2 and 2, and we always purchase them tickets (even before they were 2) adn bring thier carseats on the airplane. that way we have carseats for them when we get to where we are going, and they ride safe and comfy on the flight as well.
A.,
There is a lady on eBay who rents them. m_and_d_in_fl is her seller name. Here is the site. Her feedback is 100%.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Rent-my-CARES-Kids-Fly-Safe-airplane-...
I have travelled a LOT on planes with my children, starting from when they were only 2 weeks old, the oldest is now 8. Anyway, I've never used anything but holding them when they were little, and when they are required to have their own seat, then they get their own seat. They are sooooo much happier this way. Also, easier on you getting thru lines, walking with them, exploring the airport, getting something to eat, etc., without having to lug something extra around. Plus, why do they need to be strapped in the whole time? We aren't. When we're told to fasten our belts, they do the same, you can lift the arm rest between you and sit super close, they have more fun and are less fussy. This sounds awful, but if it came to a point where they really needed to be strapped down into their seat in a CARES or 5-point......well, the entire plane would probably be looking at a pretty bad situation/outcome.
