CARES is only good to 40 inches?

[HIU8]

Oh my. I really wanted to use it for DS on an upcoming flight. DS was 38 inches, however in the last 3ish weeks has had a pretty substantial growth spurt. He is probably much closer to 40 inches now. If he is 40 inches or even over that a bit, can I still get away with using the harness or is it to risky?

[symesa]

Their website says:
Children who are 4 years old, weigh at least 44 pounds and are more than 40 inches tall are considered old enough and strong enough to travel without an airplane child safety belt.

Does your DS meet both the 44 pound AND 40 inches max? If not, then I'd say it is still probably fine...

[HIU8]

DS is 3.5. He is just 33ish lbs and 39 inches. I would buy it, but we only travel via plane twice a year. So I would get to use it once for him and then it would sit for at least a year until DD could use it--translation--until I am comfortable not having her in a carseat on the plane :-)

I am considering just having DS sit on the seat with the lapbelt and not use the CARES Harness or the carseat. He is mature enough to do so. Has anyone else done this? Has it worked for you and your DC?

[mikeys_mom]

I've done it with my DS - he was also around 3.5, but he was already over 40lbs. I was actually worried that he wouldn't sit still, because I did not think he was mature enough, but really had no choice. I was travelling alone with DS and DD who was 15 months old. I had DD's comfortsport to lug through the airport and install on the plane. I could not imagine bringing 2 carseats on my own.

I downloaded a few backyardigans episodes onto my ipod, and the plane had seatback TV's. The flight was only 45 minutes, but DS sat still and stayed buckled the entire time. I know it might not be the best from a safety perspective, but logistically, it worked really well for us.

HTH.