The Eternal Question of Parents Everywhere: Car Seat?
 

We've flown with our 2 year old daughter several times, and it usually goes pretty well. We buy her her own seat, of course, and carry-on her car seat. The only problem is that my husband HATES hauling our huge car seat (an Evenflo Triumph Advance) through the airport, onto the plane, etc.

We looked into the CARES harness, but the reviews seem very mixed. Apparently, some children are able to do a fair amount of squirming (there isn't a strap between the child's legs, so they can slouch down in the seat and practically wiggle free). At $75-80, I don't want to buy one and find out my daughter hates it.

We've also looked into the straps that you use to attach the car seat to your rolling luggage, but we usually check our bags, so this wouldn't help once we're in the airport. Some of the rolling carseat contraptions also get low reviews.

Which brings me to my question: does anyone have recommendations of an inexpensive, lightweight convertible car seat that we could use just for air travel/trips? Or should we take a chance and just let her fly without a car seat? Is this even allowed on most airlines?

Thank you!

www.car-seat.org has some great recommendations for lightweight car seats for travel. I haven't searched their forums for a few months so I can't think of them off the top of my head, but you might have luck there. We use Britax which is extremely heavy.
I just returned from a trip using a Cares harness and the GoGo Kidz. I've used the GGK many times and it's the best purchase I've made considering we travel a few times a year with kids.
I've searched airline websites for height/weight/age restrictions on car seat vs. none and have found nothing. As for Cares - if DD slouched or squirmed *a lot* she fell through. But as long as she was entertained and engaged she was perfectly happy to sit buckled. It wasn't a long flight though (1.5 hrs, plus a 1 hr delay) so I don't know how she'd do overseas. Another drawback though is that she couldnt' see out the window, which was disappointing to her. She really enjoys looking at the world go by. I got mine for a bit less from Kidlet Innovations in Canada. Love that site too. HTH!

BTW - my older DD with the Cares is 3.5 years, 30 lbs and about 37 inches. We used the GGK for the 1 year old.

Thanks hlphillips2! With the GoGokidz, do you have trouble fitting it through the x-ray when you go through security? Is it easy to attach/remove the carseat? One complaint I heard was that it is difficult to attach the seat quickly, but I think they have changed the design since then.

I'll check car-seat.org too!

It can be tricky to attach the seat quickly. The two bolts that screw in definitely take some time. And may need some maintenance - there's a screw on ours that loosens enough after every trip that we need to fix it. No big deal for us but just to let you know. As for x-rays, some airports and staff are picky and it has to be taken apart (PHX is one). In IND and ATL they happily use a wand. The car seat itself though is too big to fit in IND so I might as well leave it attached.

I just wanted to comment on the last part of your question as to airline policy on car seats in planes...I have a 2.5 yr old daughter and we have taken her on 2 international trips and several local flights and we never take a car seat with us on the plane itself. we usually check it in.During landing and take off, I usually just hold her and that seems to be fine.

My carseat days are long over, so I cannot make any recommendations for brands, etc., but on the carseat/no carseat equation I would recommend trying this. Take her out to your parked and stationary car and put her in the backseat in a seat belt. If the lap belt part is over her hips and seems to hold her comfortably back in the seat, it's probably safe for her to sit in the airplane belt. If it's sitting across her stomach, or she seems very "loose" even when it's tightened, I wouldn't do it. Most two year olds are not going to pass this test, unless they are unusually tall and/or heavy, however. Back when dinosaurs were roaming the earth and car seat laws were somewhat different, this is how you would determine when the kid could sit in the belt and didn't need the car seat.

Thanks mythical and persimmondeb for your thoughts. After discussing it some more, we think that she will need something to keep her restrained on the plane. I think we're going to head over to Babies R Us and try to find a lightweight car seat. The most important thing is our little kiddo's safety, and our own comfort has to come second to that.

We might try the straps that you can use to attach the car seat to rolling luggage. This won't help once we've checked our bags, but at least it will making getting in and out of the airport and taking the subway a little easier!

Still looking for suggestions of light weight car seats, if anyone has any ideas. :)

Siena, I see your post is older and was wondering what you decided on. I've tried a carseat with a rolling bag (bag ripped between the parking lot and the terminal on our departure), go go kidz (hated it, such a pain to connect and disconnect and you are still wheeling this bulky car seat around) and CARES.

CARES was the best but I only tried it on a short flight. I didn't feel that my 2, almost 3, yo 30lb daughter was going to slip out anywhere and she didn't seem to mind it. I am not sure how she'd do on a long flight with it but I don't think most kids do well on long flights regardless of the seating arrangements.

Hi there! Sorry I didn't stop back sooner to update this thread!

We ended up buying a new car seat that is much lighter and narrower than our normal one....an Evenflo Chase. We normally use an Evenflo Triumph Advance, but it's huge. The Chase is nice because it's similar in many ways to the ETA, but is better for travel, in my opinion. In addition to being lighter, it also sits up straighter so that our daughter has more leg room and she can use her tray table.

Dragging a car seat around isn't ideal, but it definitely helps to have a lighter seat. This one was light enough that my husband carried it through the airport and it really wasn't a big deal. Once we got to our destination, he strapped it to our rolling bag.

Our daughter was perfect on the way out of town, and a nightmare on the way home. I guess I should just be thankful that we all made it safe and sound! ;)

Forgot to mention: the Chase can be used as EITHER a 5 pt. harness or a booster. As a 5pt., it is FAA approved, but it ISN'T FAA approved when used as a booster (since planes don't have shoulder belts). Also, it only cost about $65, which I thought was pretty reasonable.

I tried the 5 in 1 carseat by Lily Gold, which worked, but in all honesty, I did not like the flimsy wheels. It wasn't too heavy, until I put my daughter in, and then it was a bit on the back breaking side. Have you tried the Baby B'Air flight harness. I know they come in large. I own a CARES and love it, but you are right, there is no crotch strap. We were fortunate that my daughter did not wiggle out of it (and she is quite a wiggler). I know you can get them for less than $75 if you look around. Try http://www.familytravelgear.com/page/FTG/PROD/CARES as they sell them on sale a lot of times for $68 and have a good return policy. Good luck. I feel your pain.

Ihave used and purchased both the sit n stroll and teh CARES harness. The sit n stroll is the car seat that hasthe wheels that are retractable. When i have needed a carseat for travel in a car on vaca, i have used the SNS, but when we've gone on trips and not rented a car , i have used the CARES.

that said, I LOVE The CARES. My daughter is a very active 3 year old and she sits put with the cares, b/c i think it mimics the 5 point harness she's used to with her britax marathon. I can't say enough how much i love this thing- esp since it's SO light weight.

she is turning 4 now, so when we need a carseat for travel, I'm going to pack a backless booster and still use the CARES.

I will never regret the 75 or 80 investment in the CARES. I don't think i would spend the 200 on the sns if i had to do it all again.