Why do you fly with your infant on your lap if you can afford another seat?

[Anonymous]

You can get annoyed at me for this, but I have never understood it and have to ask. Unless you have to take the flight and absolutely cannot afford another seat, why do you fly with your infant as a lap child? The FAA is crystal clear that it is not safe. The reason it’s allowed is because the FAA knows people would balk at the requirement and not fly as much. The airline lobby is strong.

This article includes statements from the FAA making that argument: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/should-small-children-have-their-own-plane-seats/

So why do you do it?

[Anonymous]

If you buy a seat for an infant, they have to be in the seat for take off and landing. It can be a pain to drag a car seat thru an airport. And my babies always screamed the most on takeoff and landing, unless I was nursing them. Which isn’t allowed if you have a seat for them. I was offered an extra seat on southwest when the flight wasn’t full, and declined it for this reason.

I have also never heard of a baby getting hurt as a lap held infant. I’m sure it has happened, but it seems pretty rare.

[Anonymous]

Because the odds are very, very long. This study showed that over a 3 year period, with 7573 reported medical emergencies, 10 results in infant death. That's about 3-4 per year. And those are not necessarily due to lap children. That's all deaths including unrelated medical issues. How many children fly annually? According to the CDC, in 2016, there were 3965 deaths of children under age 5. The risks of infant death on an airplane are significantly lower than many other issues, including deaths in traffic accidents (even in car seats), number of deaths from infants left in a hot car, deaths from household accidents, deaths from guns, and so on. You realize that putting your child in a car seat and driving out of your driveway is hundreds of times more dangerous than carrying your child in your lap on a plane?

There are far, far greater risks in this world for parents to consider than this very, very unlikely situation, but you go ahead and spend your money for the rare chance that your child will be killed on an airplane because it didn't have a seat. I'm glad that you can afford to throw a few hundred dollars away on this over-cautious mentality, but I chose other safety options and concerns when my children (now 7) were small.

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/study-lap-infants-at-increased-risk-of-death-on-airline-flights-080414.html
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/child-health.htm

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you buy a seat for an infant, they have to be in the seat for take off and landing. It can be a pain to drag a car seat thru an airport. And my babies always screamed the most on takeoff and landing, unless I was nursing them. Which isn’t allowed if you have a seat for them. I was offered an extra seat on southwest when the flight wasn’t full, and declined it for this reason.

I have also never heard of a baby getting hurt as a lap held infant. I’m sure it has happened, but it seems pretty rare.

Of course it’s rare, but why take the chance? My kid got upset too and it was a pain to drag the car seat through the airport, but we did it.

Guess what a lap infant becomes during bad turbulence or a crash? A projectile: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.consumeraffairs.com/amp/news/study-lap-infants-at-increased-risk-of-death-on-airline-flights-080414.html

[Anonymous]

Always bought a seat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because the odds are very, very long. This study showed that over a 3 year period, with 7573 reported medical emergencies, 10 results in infant death. That's about 3-4 per year. And those are not necessarily due to lap children. That's all deaths including unrelated medical issues. How many children fly annually? According to the CDC, in 2016, there were 3965 deaths of children under age 5. The risks of infant death on an airplane are significantly lower than many other issues, including deaths in traffic accidents (even in car seats), number of deaths from infants left in a hot car, deaths from household accidents, deaths from guns, and so on. You realize that putting your child in a car seat and driving out of your driveway is hundreds of times more dangerous than carrying your child in your lap on a plane?

There are far, far greater risks in this world for parents to consider than this very, very unlikely situation, but you go ahead and spend your money for the rare chance that your child will be killed on an airplane because it didn't have a seat. I'm glad that you can afford to throw a few hundred dollars away on this over-cautious mentality, but I chose other safety options and concerns when my children (now 7) were small.

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/study-lap-infants-at-increased-risk-of-death-on-airline-flights-080414.html
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/child-health.htm

It’s not mutually exclusive. I choose to do everything to make sure my child is safe, including purchasing a seat. I don’t care if there’s only a small chance of its being an issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you buy a seat for an infant, they have to be in the seat for take off and landing. It can be a pain to drag a car seat thru an airport. And my babies always screamed the most on takeoff and landing, unless I was nursing them. Which isn’t allowed if you have a seat for them. I was offered an extra seat on southwest when the flight wasn’t full, and declined it for this reason.

I have also never heard of a baby getting hurt as a lap held infant. I’m sure it has happened, but it seems pretty rare.

Of course it’s rare, but why take the chance? My kid got upset too and it was a pain to drag the car seat through the airport, but we did it.

Guess what a lap infant becomes during bad turbulence or a crash? A projectile: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.consumeraffairs.com/amp/news/study-lap-infants-at-increased-risk-of-death-on-airline-flights-080414.html

I understand that lap held infant are at greater risk than those secured in car seats. But the absolute risk is still incredibly small. And the risk that my kid will scream her head off is 100% unless I’m able to hold and comfort her. It is much much riskier to drive in our car, and yet we choose to do that too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you buy a seat for an infant, they have to be in the seat for take off and landing. It can be a pain to drag a car seat thru an airport. And my babies always screamed the most on takeoff and landing, unless I was nursing them. Which isn’t allowed if you have a seat for them. I was offered an extra seat on southwest when the flight wasn’t full, and declined it for this reason.

I have also never heard of a baby getting hurt as a lap held infant. I’m sure it has happened, but it seems pretty rare.

Of course it’s rare, but why take the chance? My kid got upset too and it was a pain to drag the car seat through the airport, but we did it.

Guess what a lap infant becomes during bad turbulence or a crash? A projectile: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.consumeraffairs.com/amp/news/study-lap-infants-at-increased-risk-of-death-on-airline-flights-080414.html

I understand that lap held infant are at greater risk than those secured in car seats. But the absolute risk is still incredibly small. And the risk that my kid will scream her head off is 100% unless I’m able to hold and comfort her. It is much much riskier to drive in our car, and yet we choose to do that too.

Fine, then accept that risk. If there’s bad turbulence you won’t be able to hold onto your kid, but that’s your choice. We all have to take risks in life (driving in a car, flying on planes), but some of us choose to find other ways to comfort our kids on planes and make sure they’re secured in case of bad turbelence or a crash. I hope you never have to try to hold onto your kid if god forbid the plane hits bad turbelence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because the odds are very, very long. This study showed that over a 3 year period, with 7573 reported medical emergencies, 10 results in infant death. That's about 3-4 per year. And those are not necessarily due to lap children. That's all deaths including unrelated medical issues. How many children fly annually? According to the CDC, in 2016, there were 3965 deaths of children under age 5. The risks of infant death on an airplane are significantly lower than many other issues, including deaths in traffic accidents (even in car seats), number of deaths from infants left in a hot car, deaths from household accidents, deaths from guns, and so on. You realize that putting your child in a car seat and driving out of your driveway is hundreds of times more dangerous than carrying your child in your lap on a plane?

There are far, far greater risks in this world for parents to consider than this very, very unlikely situation, but you go ahead and spend your money for the rare chance that your child will be killed on an airplane because it didn't have a seat. I'm glad that you can afford to throw a few hundred dollars away on this over-cautious mentality, but I chose other safety options and concerns when my children (now 7) were small.

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/study-lap-infants-at-increased-risk-of-death-on-airline-flights-080414.html
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/child-health.htm

It’s not mutually exclusive. I choose to do everything to make sure my child is safe, including purchasing a seat. I don’t care if there’s only a small chance of its being an issue.

You realize that by this logic, you shouldn’t be driving your kid or really leaving the house st all, right? I don’t have a dog in this fight, but I call BS on the “I choose to do everything to keep my child safe” thing. You do not. All these decisions are calculated risks.

[Anonymous]

Because millions of lap babies fly annually and serious injuries to lap children are like being struck by lightning. If I had unlimited money I’d buy a seat, but I don’t. The $1000 a year we could have spent to buy seats for a lap child was put to other uses that had a statistically greater impact in his wellbeing, like buying healthy foods, a car seat that allows extended rearfacing, installing a fence in the backyard, etc.

There is ALWAYS more you could do to protect your child. Why not buy the safest vehicle on the market to drive him around? Isn’t your child’s life worth it? At some point you have to live your life and balance many competing factors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because the odds are very, very long. This study showed that over a 3 year period, with 7573 reported medical emergencies, 10 results in infant death. That's about 3-4 per year. And those are not necessarily due to lap children. That's all deaths including unrelated medical issues. How many children fly annually? According to the CDC, in 2016, there were 3965 deaths of children under age 5. The risks of infant death on an airplane are significantly lower than many other issues, including deaths in traffic accidents (even in car seats), number of deaths from infants left in a hot car, deaths from household accidents, deaths from guns, and so on. You realize that putting your child in a car seat and driving out of your driveway is hundreds of times more dangerous than carrying your child in your lap on a plane?

There are far, far greater risks in this world for parents to consider than this very, very unlikely situation, but you go ahead and spend your money for the rare chance that your child will be killed on an airplane because it didn't have a seat. I'm glad that you can afford to throw a few hundred dollars away on this over-cautious mentality, but I chose other safety options and concerns when my children (now 7) were small.

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/study-lap-infants-at-increased-risk-of-death-on-airline-flights-080414.html
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/child-health.htm

It’s not mutually exclusive. I choose to do everything to make sure my child is safe, including purchasing a seat. I don’t care if there’s only a small chance of its being an issue.

You realize that by this logic, you shouldn’t be driving your kid or really leaving the house st all, right? I don’t have a dog in this fight, but I call BS on the “I choose to do everything to keep my child safe” thing. You do not. All these decisions are calculated risks.

You are making no sense. I choose to minimize the risk in the things we have to do. My kid will be in a rear facing car seat until she hits the weight limit for her seat’s rear facing setting. I choose to fly with her in the safest possible way. The answer isn’t to stop living, but there’s an option in between never going anywhere and knowingly putting your kid at greater risk—it’s called buying them a damn seat, which the AAP and FAA strongly recommend you do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because millions of lap babies fly annually and serious injuries to lap children are like being struck by lightning. If I had unlimited money I’d buy a seat, but I don’t. The $1000 a year we could have spent to buy seats for a lap child was put to other uses that had a statistically greater impact in his wellbeing, like buying healthy foods, a car seat that allows extended rearfacing, installing a fence in the backyard, etc.

There is ALWAYS more you could do to protect your child. Why not buy the safest vehicle on the market to drive him around? Isn’t your child’s life worth it? At some point you have to live your life and balance many competing factors.

We do have the safest vehicle on the market. You compromise on vehicle safety ratings?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because millions of lap babies fly annually and serious injuries to lap children are like being struck by lightning. If I had unlimited money I’d buy a seat, but I don’t. The $1000 a year we could have spent to buy seats for a lap child was put to other uses that had a statistically greater impact in his wellbeing, like buying healthy foods, a car seat that allows extended rearfacing, installing a fence in the backyard, etc.

There is ALWAYS more you could do to protect your child. Why not buy the safest vehicle on the market to drive him around? Isn’t your child’s life worth it? At some point you have to live your life and balance many competing factors.

You should be buying healthy foods regardless and they don't cost a fortune. There are plenty of affordable seats that allow extended RF- we had several and did it till age four. If you supervise your kids you don't need a fence. If you can afford multiple plane trips for $1000 a year, you can afford to buy your child a seat on a plane. Why take the risk? Plus its more comfortable for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because millions of lap babies fly annually and serious injuries to lap children are like being struck by lightning. If I had unlimited money I’d buy a seat, but I don’t. The $1000 a year we could have spent to buy seats for a lap child was put to other uses that had a statistically greater impact in his wellbeing, like buying healthy foods, a car seat that allows extended rearfacing, installing a fence in the backyard, etc.

There is ALWAYS more you could do to protect your child. Why not buy the safest vehicle on the market to drive him around? Isn’t your child’s life worth it? At some point you have to live your life and balance many competing factors.

You should be buying healthy foods regardless and they don't cost a fortune. There are plenty of affordable seats that allow extended RF- we had several and did it till age four. If you supervise your kids you don't need a fence. If you can afford multiple plane trips for $1000 a year, you can afford to buy your child a seat on a plane. Why take the risk? Plus its more comfortable for everyone.

OP here. Exactly. $1000/year means multiple plane trips. I specifically asked in my post about people who can afford the seat and choose to not buy it.

[Anonymous]

OP, do you always make the safest choice for other things?

Driving your kid to school in 7 times more dangerous than riding a school bus (both are way more dangerous than flying with a lap baby), and yet I know parents who don't think twice about picking up their kid on the day they have soccer practice. Do you write posts about how horrible those people are?