car seats on airplanes -- why I think it is a big deal
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Anonymous
If you're comfortable flying with a lap child that's your choice but it's just asinine to pretend that airplanes never hit turbulence. It makes your whole argument way less credible. |
Anonymous
| OP thanks for the thoughtful, well-considered, and completely civil post. Unfortunately the responses are quite the opposite. But that's to be expected I suppose. |
Anonymous
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I love being a hysteric! One of my favorite things to be. Did you not read the FAA's position on child safety in the link provided? Did you Google the number of people unrestrained people who were injured during turbulence? I'm sorry if it doesn't break out the figures like you'd like it to.
Remember that coffee pots must be restrained during take off and landing and passengers must be restrained during take off, landing and turbulence. Children under 2? No need to restrain them. No need at all. |
Anonymous
| I fly with a lap child because it's safer and easier than driving. I've considered the risks, and I don't consider this risky enough to warrant the expense of paying for a seat. |
Anonymous
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I agree with you OP
However, I DON"T "understand that buying another ticket is economically out of reach for some families." If it is out of reach, than their trip is out of reach. They shouldn't go. The end. But they are selfish and they WANT to go on vacation, baby's safety be damned. |
Anonymous
OP here. I certainly don't expect civil responses here, but maybe one person will understand the risks more clearly. Probably not though, DCUM moms never let facts interfere with their realities. |
Anonymous
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It really isn't that I don't care about the safety of my child. It is that I have looked at the risks and determined that it is safe for my child. I also take her out in a stroller without a helmet despite the fact that if we were hit while walking across an intersection it would be much safer if she was wearing a helmet. I do all kinds of things with my child that involve a small element of risk and so do you OP. If carseats on planes is your hill to die on, that is your choice. There are likely other things you do that involve risk that another parent wouldn't.
I too have flown extensively for over 20 years and have never hit turbulence so strong that I wouldn't be able to hold onto my child. |
Anonymous
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OP - I think it's overly simplistic to claim that lobbying led to the FAA rules regarding lap children. I agree with you that children should be in car seats. That being said, I understand that the FAA allows lap children to keep people off the roads. For a kid under 2, flying (even on the lap of a parent) is safer than being a passenger in the car for the same distance.
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/columnist/mcgee/2008-07-29-lap-children_N.htm You're correct, but not for the right reasons. |
Anonymous
| After a cursory google search...I have found two lap children total injured in turbulence and one incidence where a lap child 'might' have survived a crash landing. |
Anonymous
| I've always bought my daughter her own seat, but we switched from the car seat to the CARES harness as soon as we could, because we don't need a car seat at the other end (generally my folks' place, who have a car seat) and a car seat was too much to carry for one person, in addition to my child, the purse, the carryon(s) and the giant suitcase. |
Anonymous
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I agree with you. I was on a flight once in which the plane hit an air ppocket and dropped. I banged my head pretty hard on the wall.
I will never fly with an unrestrained child. It's not worth it. |
Anonymous
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So for those of you who fly long flights..what if your child needs to use the bathroom or have a diaper change?
Sitting in one position without moving barely at all for 10+ hours sounds pretty awful. I wouldn't expect that of myself. I need to shift around, to get up and move. I would never put my child in the car and not give them a break from the chair in 10+ hours so why would I do it to them on the plane? |
Anonymous
I don't understand. If my child needs the bathroom, I wait until the seatbelt sign is off, get up, take them to the bathroom, then go back to our seats and buckle in. Most bumps are foreseen, but if the captain puts on the seatbelt sign (when even coffee pots have to be restrained) I prefer my kid be buckled in, too. |
Cloud
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Thank you for making a good decision. Esp. in good flying conditions without turbulence. And at least you had the seat so you could restrain your child if things got rough... but you didn't force the plane to endure your crying child. That is balanced decision making. |
Anonymous
So ridiculous. Are you even more judgmental of families who have the nerve to drive to their vacation, with their child in a carseat, given that is considerably more dangerous than flying with a lap child? I assume they too shouldn't go, the end? |