Children under age 2 can fly for free in a parents lap, but that doesn’t mean it is always a good idea. You will read a lot of articles that weigh the pros and cons of purchasing a seat for your child, but we say, if at all possible, do it.
Buying our toddler a seat is money well spent in our opinion, because we know that our daughter will not only be more safe in her own seat (with a car seat), but also more comfortable and more likely to be successfully entertained by us, and more likely to sleep. All of this leads to a happier child, happier parents, and last but not least, happier neighbors on your flight.
When flying with small children, there are so many variables that you will not have control over such as flight delays, missed connections, etc. This, however, is something that you do have control over.
The only situation were I would possibly consider not purchasing a seat for my child would be for a very short flight. If you have a flight that is only an hour long, sure, go ahead and try to save some money if you want. We actually still purchase a seat for short flights, because we feel that it is overall a better situation for all of us in terms of safety and comfort. Our toddler is also not much of a lap-child.
Some will suggest that you try not purchasing a seat, and wait see if you can get one for free when you get to the gate. This is certainly a worthy exercise if you didnt purchase a seat for your child in the first place, because having a seat is a really good idea. This is not, however, a good reason, in my opinion, not to purchase a seat for your child. I could go on and on, but if you think you and your child (and an airplane full of neighbors) would benefit from them having their own seat, plan accordingly and buy one.
In our experience, airlines are not nearly as accommodating as the stories that you read online. We have personal only seen this work for people when there was an open seat in their row, allowing them to spread out. Airlines giving seats away is the exception to the rule, as they want to make sure that next time you fly that you purchase a seat. In fact, we have watched airlines go out of their way to ensure that only children under 2 who have purchased a seat get a seat, even on flights that were clearly not full. Oh, and we also get heckled as we approach the gate with our carseat about whether or not we have purchased a seat for our toddler, which of course, we always do.
Plan to Bring a Car Seat
Ok, so you know my thoughts on having a seat for your toddler and you saw me mention something about bringing a car seat. You are probably thinking, “How do I juggle a car seat, a toddler and my luggage?” Is it really worth all the hassle?
For reasons of safety, comfort and restricting your child from moving around, I say yes, it is well worth it. And this comes from parents of a pretty easy kid too, regardless, toddlers are busy and have a ton of energy they need to burn through. If they have the option to get up, climb and jump around, they will.
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I have to share my experience on just how to do this with you because there are a number of options out there and none of them are 100% ideal. Here are the top 2 scenarios that I considered:
Bring your child’s existing convertible car seat with you. (We almost did this)
This is an option, but since most convertible car seats are quite heavy, it can be difficult. Our Britax Marathon, (which we LOVE!) for example, weighs about 20 pounds. No biggie, I guess, if you didn’t have a child, luggage and everything else to maneuver around the airport as well. You can choose to tow it to the gate (with your child in it) with this cart (pretty pricey), or strap it to your suitcase with this gadget.
- Pros: A nice, comfy car seat (I’m guessing your’s is too) that your child is already comfortable using. It probably has a bunch of features and extras that you would like to have available to you.
- Cons: even if you buy the cart or other gadget to get it through the airport, you still will have to carry the heavy car seat onto the airplane and to your seat. Even if TSA approved, it may be too large to fit down the tight aisle space and also might be too large to fit in the airplane seat, causing you to drag it off of the plane and gate check it (an incredible waste of time). Also, if you are dragging around the car seat, you may not have enough hands to also get your stroller to the gate. Your stroller is less likely to get damaged if you gate check it as opposed to checking it when you arrive.
Purchase a different car seat for traveling (We did!)
I know how this is going to sound, I am asking you to throw more money around, right? Wrong! The car seat I am about to recommend that you purchase is actually cheaper than the travel cart option that I showed you above.
Purchase another convertible car seat, one that is smaller, lightweight, and affordable. The Cosco Scenera Next is what I chose to buy. While it’s not my top pick for everyday use, it works perfectly for traveling. Weighing under 7 pounds, carry options are limitless, I can literally carry it with one finger. It obviously is still awkward to carry, but we usually just clip it to our stroller with a stroller hook like this. There are also tons of stroller hacks out there for this carseat if you google “Cosco Scenera Stroller Hacks” and you may find a way to place the seat in your stroller with your kid in the seat. Do that at your own risk of course.
- Pros: You have a lightweight car seat, so it’s much easier to carry. It’s also narrow so if any convertible car seat will fit in your particular airplane seat, this one will. (It is one of few options that fit 3 wide in vehicle.) It meets all safety standards and has side impact protection. Justify your purchase even more and use it as a backup car seat for grandma or a babysitter when you are not traveling. I found it to be quick and easy to install.
- Cons: It may not be quite as comfortable as your everyday car seat (my daughter was very happy and comfortable in it) and it may lack some other features that your more expensive car seat has.
Aside: I tried the stroller hack and it worked with my Chicco Bravo Mini Stroller. The Cosco Scenera Car Seat fit in it pretty securely. I personally would have secured it with an additional luggage strap at the airport for my child’s safety. I ultimately decided this was not necessary, and that I wanted to bring my jogger, but do this at your own risk if you choose!
