LONG Flight to Asia with Two Year Old

[Anonymous]

We will be traveling internationally next week. The flight time will be 12 hours (overnight). We can't decide whether to bring our carseat on the plane or let our toddler just sit in the seat (and let her have a bit of extra space). Does anyone have any experience traveling internationally with a toddler? What would you recommend?

[Anonymous]

We flew with a 10 month old and having the extra seat without the carseat was great for the extra space. Plus you can fold the armrest down so she can lie down/stretch out, play, etc. But, we had the best of both worlds, the infant seat we had fit in the overhead storage so we were able to use it for napping and takeoff/landing. Not sure how much bigger the toddler carseats are and if they can do that.

If there is any chance you can get bulkhead, then definitely bring the carseat -- you can just leave it in front of your toddler's seat when you want the extra space and put it in the seat when you want to use it.

Also look up the posts on the CARES harness instead of the carseat.

[Anonymous]

We won't be making this trip until later in the month so can't give you the advice you're looking for. I'd probably consider how much you'd use the seat once you reach your destination. We know we won't use it at all so aren't taking ours. Also, our DC doesn't like sitting in the car seat on a day to day basis to that's 2 strikes against carrying the extra weight for us.

Also, consider the new restrictions on carry on access and requirement to stay seated for the last hour before landing (at least on the way back to DC) in how you pack your carry ons.

[Anonymous]

When my child was newly 2, I found she slept better in the car seat on those long flights. It made her feel secure. What kind of sleeper is your child?

But by the late 2s, closer to 3, we ditched the car seat and gave her the full seat space. By that time, she was ok with lying down across my lap to sleep.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I've not flown internationally, but we did fly to Hawaii with DS when he was 2.5. We did take the car seat and use it onboard. On the plus side, I think he's a little more inclined to sleep on the plane with his car seat than without (at least at that age). On the down side, he was always wanting to kick the seat in front of him (which isn't an issue without the car seat). While I don't regret using the car seat on board, it was the last time we did that. With a 12 hour flight - I might be a little more inclined to not use the seat but its a tough call.

[Anonymous]

i flew to buenos aires with my 2 yr old son with a car seat and it was great. buckled him in and he fell asleep.

[Anonymous]

We've done Asia and South America. For us, the carseat was a nightmare during waking hours and we no longer bring it. And you can't get rid of it once on board. Perhaps for a strict overnight where you are confident of sleep, it is good....

[Anonymous]

We flew to India w/ 2 yr olds and did not bring carseats on board. Kids were fine and had more room to move around, color, and stretch out when they slept.