razfamily

Greetings, I've done a search but can't find any info on this...Going to Charela Inn at the end of January '04 with two kids, both under two years old. Anyone have suggestions about how to handle a car seat with a taxi driver? Might I be able to schedule a driver in advance that would have a car seat? Any thoughts and suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

Dee2

Won't the children be using the car seats to fly? My grandkids always use them for the flight and they are there for car use upon arrival. Just a thought.

razfamily

they're both under two so they will be sitting in our laps (i hope this isn't a mistake!). we're in first class so there should be ample room, though i imagine there are some safety concerns. anyways, we won't have carriers for the most part unless it'll be impossible for us to find a taxi with car seats. thanks for any additional thoughts.

KaribIslander

Y It is a mistake having the lap babies. In the event of a problem, they can become projectiles in the cabin no matter how tightly you hold them. They are much safer and more comfortable tucked into their own seats and then you have the seats for your trip.

MuyLinda

Flying with a child in your lap is very dangerous and something I wouldn't dream of doing. I implore you to rethink getting them their own seats where they can sit much more comfortably and safely strapped into their carseats - and then you will have both carseats for taxi rides while on vacation.

caribtraveler

Your best bet might be to rent a vehicle. Some car rental agencies provide car seats if you request in advance.
My husband and I went on vacation in June with our 16-month-old (first trip with him). We went back and forth about whether we should take his car seat or not. We decided not to. We had to carry so much stuff for him already. He sat on both our laps (with the seatbelt) and it was fine. Our hotel provided car seats.
I can't imagine how much luggage you'll have with 2 of them!
Good luck.

tivertonhouse

Might be a good idea to bring your own since few private drivers and even fewer taximen have car seats for infants. Collapsible strollers that have a detachable car/strapped seat are a good,if bulky, idea. Try the car rental agencies at MoBay airport including Island and Sun and transport firms like JUTA for assistance, tho a private driver would be preferable to driving yourself.

razfamily

thanks for the feedback so far.

liza

We always brought our own car seats - if they're booked on your lap for the flight you can either check the car seat or, if there is space on the flight, they let us use it. Maybe call the airline and see how full the flights are.

I've not seen carseats in any Jamaican cab.

ChristieP

Find one of the cabs that is a minivan, and you shouldn't have any problem.

robsmom

I have checked the car seat for my son who is old enough to sit in a plane seat without the car seat but still needs it in the car. It was not a problem. we put it in a green plastic bag, tied it with a label and the airline put it in one of those bins.

gingele

By the simple fact that you are asking about child safety seats to get from point A to point B on your vacation, you clearly are a concerned, conscientous parent. So please, please pay attenetion to the several posters here who commented on the "lap-child" issue.

I will repeat what they said - it is VERY dangerous to your child (read = DEADLY) in the event of turbulence. Also, the airline will NOT allow the parent to buckle the child in while on the parent's lap (i.e., use the same seatbelt to strap in parent + child).

Instead, there is a product out there called "Baby B'Air" - it's a harness that fits on your child like a vest, and it has a strap on the back of the vest that then loops thru your seatbelt before you buckle up. That way, in the event of turbulence, the child will not fly across the cabin or slam his head on the overhead - he'll stay tethered to your lap.

Do a google search for Baby B'Air or look for it at the Right Start.

Worth every penny. We have 2.

travelfun

to razfamily:
people who feel the need to make you feel bad for putting your kids on your lap have failed to tell you you'd need to make sure your car seats are approved for airline use. not all car seats are. you'd need to call the airline you're flying to find that out, especially if you're traveling on a smaller commercial plane.
also, not all airlines accept car seats. a lot of non-u.s. airlines don't. their version of the faa haven't approved them. for example, i know alitalia doesn't accept car seats (unless it's changed recently).
and according to the faa website AND the babybair website, the faa does not approve vest-type devices to carry your infant during takeoffs,landings and while taxying.
i personally think traveling with your kid on your lap while on a bus is a lot more dangerous than on a plane. have you ever noticed how much buses lurch when they come to a stop and when they start up again?

MuyLinda

Travelfun - I don't see where anyone was trying to make the OP feel bad for carrying the children on their laps - what I see is people educating on the subject. Have you ever been on a very turbulent flight? I was several weeks ago from Cancun to Boston and let me tell you, there were two families who had "lap babies". Luckily neither of them were hurt but I couldn't imagine having to hold a baby tightly in my lap through something like that. Your recommendation regarding the car seat was a good one. Whether you think a having a child ride on a parent's lap on a bus is more dangerous than a plane is your opinion. The fact is a child, no matter what vehicle they are traveling in, is most safe when in a car seat or seat belt. And a child's safety should always be a parents first concern.

travelfun

muylinda, don't get me wrong. i'm for car seats on planes. but i had a really interesting conversation one time with a state police officer who was installing my child's car seat (in my car). he was telling me how parents get a false sense of security when they put their child in a car seat on a plane. car seats are for cars (that's why they're called car seats), they're not made to fit perfectly on those plane seats. chances are in severe turbulence or a plane crash, the seat will move (statistics show that about 90% of parents install car seats improperly in their cars, imagine on a plane!). he wasn't saying not to use it, but was saying we have to understand they're not infant "plane" seats and the risks are still there. that's all.
also, i don't know about you but my child would not stay hours strapped in a car seat on a plane. he'd lose it and the other passengers would lose it too!
if yours can, god bless you.
i think there are more chances of something happening to us driving him to daycare daily (safely strapped in his car seat), then once to 2 times a year on a plane while under 2 years of age traveling to a vacation spot. and yes, just my personal opinion.

razfamily

thanks to those who provided helpful replies and didn't have a condescending tone--i'm sure everyone had good intentions re. the suggestions on air travel with kids, even though my question was about taxi travel--not air travel. frankly, if the answer to air travel with those under 2 was so obvious and life threatening the FAA wouldn't allow kids on a lap. good suggestion re. baby b'air, we'll look into that. obviously i want for my kids to be safe and arrive healthy.

tivertonhouse

Check also with Charela directly; they or one of their workers may have a loanable car seat -- and they surely have PPV insured/certified drivers on call who can provide roundtrip transfers at about US$120 plus driver tip. Far better than an unknown taximan is a vetted and insured driver.

caribtraveler

razfamily. when our son sat on our lap, we buckled him up with us. not sure why the previous poster (ginsele) says airlines won't let you do that. the flight attendants saw us do it and didn't say a thing. i looked on the faa website and it doesn't say anything about that(unless i'm not reading their rules properly). the only thing it says is: a child that has reached 2 years of age cannot share same seat belts with someone else. you can always call the airline you're using if you wanna be sure.
have a great vacation.

gingele

caribtraveler: With the risk of stating the obvious, the reason that I said in my earlier post that the airlines won't let you double up in a seat belt is that when I traveled with my children (before getting the baby b'air), that is PRECISELY what the flight attendants told me. Not one of them would allow me to buckle my toddler in with me. I learned my lesson on that trip and never flew without a carseat or a baby b'air after that.

Your advice regarding calling the particular airline is good so long as you get someone on the phone who actually knows what they are talking about

I guess what it comes down to is the parent's level of what they consider to be acceptable risk regarding their own children.

wills

If the carrier is a US airline it is not allowed to buckle the baby up with the parent. Also, those Babyair things are also not acceptable. I think British Airways allows them though. Since the razfamily is comfortable with their choice, I recommend taking your carseats, checking them if you have to, and then having them for your destination. Even in FC a flight attendant who is a parent would allow you to take two other seats if they are not occupied to strap in your children. Assuming one of your children is a baby and one is a toddler, the stroller/carseat combination is easy enough to check at the gate, and then retrieve at the arriving gate. That leaves you with one carseat to schlep. By the way, depending on the aircraft, you may have to sit separately from your mate, because of oxygen masks. Three in one set of seats is always fine, four is iffy. Barring all of this, you may find yourself holding your children in the plane and taxi. Good luck.