Flying with 2 year old?

[AlbrightRC]

I"m assuming most people are gonna say no way to this but here it goes anyway. Would you fly with your 2 year old without a car seat. He will have his own seat on the plane and a car seat to use when we get to our destination and its only about and hour and 45 minute flight. I'm flying alone with him and don't know that i can handle a carseat and a toddler thru the airport. Not to mention we will be arriving home late at night so i would be lugging a sleeping toddler, carseat and backpack thru the airport.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I think I would get one of those things, Go Go Kidz, that is a device to wheel the child in their carseat.

Beth

[AlbrightRC]

I think I would get one of those things, Go Go Kidz, that is a device to wheel the child in their carseat.

Beth

I had considered that but $90 is alot of money for something to be used so little. We dont fly enough to make it worth it.

[jgenie]

Can you get a cheap umbrella stroller to put DS in or to carry the car seat? I will be flying in a few weeks with my 2 year old DS. He is in a 'walk everywhere' phase right now but I plan to have him ride in a stroller at the airport. We're flying out of a large NYC airport and I don't want him to get run over by anyone. If I was flying out of a smaller regional airport I wouldn't need the stroller and would just get backpack straps for the car seat. You can get an inexpensive car seat that is pretty lightweight. Also, my DS is a peanut so I wouldn't feel comfortable having him ride with just the seatbelt but if he was bigger I might not mind.

[hillview]

Scenna (sp?) car seat? Either that or be prepared to deal with him wanting to stand on his seat on the plane. We did a 45 mins flight on airfrance without a carseat (DS2 did have a seat) and he wanted to stand up the entire flight. Not undoable but not so fun.
/hillary

[AlbrightRC]

We do have an umbrella stroller but there would be no way to safely attach the car seat and let him ride in that. He's 30lbs so not exactly small. We flew from Ethiopia to Maryland with him when he was 10 months old and he didn't have a seat so I think he could handle an hour and 45 minutes strapped to an airplane seat. I don't see it as any different then being strapped in for a car ride and not needing to stand....buying another car seat wouldn't make any sense it would just be spending more money that we don't have.

[kijip]

From a safety perspective, I am not a huge booster of car seats on flights. However from a toddler and mama sanity perspective, it makes a difference IMO. I flew a fair amount with my older son when he was 1-4. He was 4 before I did not really need that carseat to keep him comfy and mostly contained for even short flights. Maybe it was just my kid but something about being in a familiar seat made the flight more comfortable. He's 2 so I assume you use a stroller or have access to one? I always just put the carseat on top of the stroller to get through security/airport. It worked well and was not extra money spent.

[AlbrightRC]

From a safety perspective, I am not a huge booster of car seats on flights. However from a toddler and mama sanity perspective, it makes a difference IMO. I flew a fair amount with my older son when he was 1-4. He was 4 before I did not really need that carseat to keep him comfy and mostly contained for even short flights. Maybe it was just my kid but something about being in a familiar seat made the flight more comfortable. He's 2 so I assume you use a stroller or have access to one? I always just put the carseat on top of the stroller to get through security/airport. It worked well and was not extra money spent.

WE do have a larger stroller that would allow for the carseat possible but we haven't used it in several month. Noah either walks holding hands or we carry him or he rides in shopping carts depending on where we are. My thought is that a stroller would be just an extra thing to try to get thru security with and not needed at our destination.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I don't know...airports are such busy, sometimes chaotic places, that I would feel much more comfortable having the stroller or a carrier like an Ergo. Sleep schedules get thrown off with travel so you could have a fussy, cranky 2yo that suddenly doesn't want to hold hands or even stay near you while you wait in a 20 minute + security line. I know that you want to reduce the amount of stuff you take but some cuts probably aren't great. I'd rather suck up 1h 45m on the plane w/o a carseat than a potential delay and a fussy toddler that doesn't have somewhere safe to be confined. Of course, I'd probably take the carseat too because I'd just want to have it. I would like like a pack mule at the airport but I'd likely take it all. :)

Beth

[las710]

We recently traveled to Mexico with our 15 month old and were in the same situation. I found this child harness that is FAA approved... http://www.amazon.com/CARES-Child-Aviation-Restraint-System/dp/B0012E4FV8

The concept is great and *should* have worked, but my daughter hated it and fought me the whole flight -- I had to take it off her. It might be worth a shot though. It is very compact and easy to set up by yourself.

[AlbrightRC]

We recently traveled to Mexico with our 15 month old and were in the same situation. I found this child harness that is FAA approved... http://www.amazon.com/CARES-Child-Aviation-Restraint-System/dp/B0012E4FV8

The concept is great and *should* have worked, but my daughter hated it and fought me the whole flight -- I had to take it off her. It might be worth a shot though. It is very compact and easy to set up by yourself.

I have seen these but like the cart made for pulling your car seat thru the airport its not worth the price for something that won't get much use. We don't fly very often we drive everywhere. The only reason for this flight is because my husband can't take the trip with us.

[egoldber]

There is usually some way to rig the carseat so that it can be carried on the stroller. Either strapped to the seat or hanging from the handles.

When traveling alone with a toddler, personally I would prefer to have some way of containing them at those times you will be occupied: checking in, going through security, in the bathroom, paying for food, etc.

Just give yourself plenty of time to get through security and it will be fine. :)

[TwinFoxes]

We flew from Ethiopia to Maryland with him when he was 10 months old and he didn't have a seat so I think he could handle an hour and 45 minutes strapped to an airplane seat. I don't see it as any different then being strapped in for a car ride and not needing to stand

But at 10 months old he was probably not comfortable on his two legs. My mellow little 10 month olds have turned into energetic daredevils at 2 years old. And when he's in the car your DS CAN'T stand. In a plane he can, and there's a lot of interesting stuff going on that he can't see because of the seat in front of him, so he'll probably try to stand to see over the seat. For me it's really the containment factor, more than the safety factor.

I would take the stroller you already have, and put the car seat on it. I've never had a problem with a stroller at security, and I've gone through with a double snap-and-go, and a BJCMD. With the BJCMD, we just wheel it around the magnetomoter, and they hand wand it, no biggie. Good luck!

[AlbrightRC]

Thanks for all the great advice. Due to the fact that we will be riding with friends when we get to our destination and we don't know how much space they have with their own toddler we are not bringing a stoller, They have one that we can use if needed. I have a friend that has offered to led us her ergo carrier to try out and if Noah likes it we will use that for the trip (he has hated every other carrier we have used). We have decided to go without the car seat on the plane. He will be strapped in or sitting on my lap so I'm sure he will be fine. We will have help to get checked in we will just have to get thru security on our own. I"m pretty good at doing things one handed so if for some reason we needed to buy something i can pay with him in one arm. I have also managed him alone in a bathroom so i think we will be ok.

[arivecchi]

For such a short flight, I don't think a car seat is necessary. However, I would definitely take a small umbrella stroller or a carrier like the Ergo for containment reasons and because they inevitably get tired with all that walking. For a 2 yo I would go with an umbrella. GL!

[SnuggleBuggles]

AN umbrella stroller can even ride in a car next to you- I would take one. I wouldn't let possible car space on the other end be a deterrent. If you get delayed or something else, do you really want to have to hold, carry or corral him for multiple extra hours? We have been for 6+ hours due to complications and I just like to now be really prepared. I hope the Ergo works out! Oh, and verify what kind of carseat your friend will have. It will stink if she shows up with a backless booster or something (not everyone is up on carseat safety stuff).

Beth

[AlbrightRC]

AN umbrella stroller can even ride in a car next to you- I would take one. I wouldn't let possible car space on the other end be a deterrent. If you get delayed or something else, do you really want to have to hold, carry or corral him for multiple extra hours? We have been for 6+ hours due to complications and I just like to now be really prepared. I hope the Ergo works out! Oh, and verify what kind of carseat your friend will have. It will stink if she shows up with a backless booster or something (not everyone is up on carseat safety stuff).

Beth

There child is very close in age to our son and we will be using his extra seat. I have no doubt that it will be correct and safe.

[AlbrightRC]

Ok so this trip is happening soon. We leave on friday. At this point we are taking the carseat but checking it with our suitcase. Our trip has been extended to a road trip to texas from TN and then flying home from Texas in two weeks. Noah will have a small backpack and i will have a backpack so we should be able to get thru security fairly easily. I also have a child harness to help contain him if needed but honestly I think he'll do better being carried or holding hands because the one time i used the harness he didn't care for it. I'll update and let everyone know how he did without a car seat when we return.

[pastrygirl]

I ordered one of these instead of the GoGoKidz: http://www.amazon.com/Traveling-Toddler-Seat-Travel-Accessory/dp/B000JHN3AS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1280234352&sr=8-1

I'll be trying it out in a couple of weeks...

[janine]

We're in the same boat except with a 22 month old and no seat...I must be crazy! My mom is travelling with me so we figured she might be able to find a loose seat and the baby can take hers. However I believe this means we cannot bring a car seat on the plane. Personally I don't think it's an issue if you have a car seat on the other side (as we will) and in that case I'd opt for lightweight stroller).

Good luck, I think you'll be fine!

PASTRY: looks interesting..I don't have one of those cases though..tell us how it works out!

On that note, anyone know the best deal on a Go Go Kidz..or is it pretty much standard price.

[AlbrightRC]

Ok so the big trip is over. We took the car seat but we checked it. No stroller, no carrier of any kind and ended up not even using the harness. Our only issue on the plane was on the flight to TN he didn't want to get on the plane or be strapped into the seatbelt (this would have happened with a carseat also). He was upset because daddy wasn't with us and because he had fallen asleep 5 minutes before we boarded the plane. Once the flight was in the air he did very well. On the flight home it was no problem getting him on and strapped in because he knew we were going home to daddy. He did spend time playing with the window shades and the tray table but we had a great flight with all the toys i had packed. Getting thru security was tricky but i'm glad we didn't have anything more to deal with then the two backpacks (mine and a toddler size one). We had purchased a bag at babies r us to put the car seat in to check it with our regular luggage and that worked out well.

[klwa]

Ignore, just saw that you've already travelled. :)