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Children Should Fly in Their Car Seats - Not on Your Lap!Mar 15 '06 Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line Children are safest flying in their FAA approved car seats. If you decide to hold them on your lap make an informed decision. I’ve worked in the aftermarket airline industry on and off for the past 13 years. I’ve seen and learned a lot in that time. From what I have read and observed there is no doubt in my mind that children belong in an approved car seat during any flight. People give lots of reasons for holding their children under the age of two on their lap during a flight, but providing a reason and having a valid reason are two different things entirely. If They Allow it, it Must be Safe Let’s define they. The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) is responsible for the rules you must follow on board an aircraft, like the little faster seatbelt light and no smoking signs. It would seem to make sense that if the FAA has said it is acceptable to hold a child under the age of two on your lap it must be safe. The FAA has been lobbying for years to change that law. They realize that children are not safe when they aren’t buckled in. However, the FAA isn’t the they I am referring to. The they who don’t want to see the rule change is the airline industry and its government lobbyists. Concerns over profits means they would rather have two paying customers and a child on a lap than risk people not flying at all. The decision to allow a child under 2 to sit on a lap has nothing to do with safety; it is purely economics and outside pressure on the FAA. Study after study draws that same conclusion; your child needs to be buckled in for their own safety and the safety of everyone else on the plane. If the Plane Crashes a Car Seat Isn’t Going to Help True. I can’t argue with that statement. But that is not why children need to be in car seats. The small lap seat belt you fasten over your hips won’t do much for you in a crash either. Your seat belt and your child’s safety seat are there to keep you in your seat during turbulence. If you’ve flown often enough you have probably experienced turbulence at one time or another. Sometimes the pilot is able to provide adequate warning for you to get back to your seat and buckle up, and sometimes not. The recommendation to keep your seat belt on while you are in your seat is to protect you from turbulence. A child sitting on your lap can become airborne and hit the ceiling of the plane. People have broken their necks and died from hitting the ceiling of a plane during sudden turbulence. You may think that you will be able to hold onto your child tightly enough to protect them. But what happens when you reach for your drink and the plane takes a sudden 10 foot dip? In that instant you child can end up bouncing around the plane, and no one wants that. My Child Will be More Comfortable in My Lap Yeah, right. Most children are used to being strapped into their car seats for long durations. Both of you will be more comfortable if your child is sitting comfortably in their car seat instead of on your lap. There is an easy way to prove it. Get one of your kitchen chairs and face it toward the wall, about 2 feet away. Get your child and hold him or her on your lap and see how long you both can last. Infants are fairly easy to hold, but once your child becomes mobile their patience for sitting still runs out very quickly. If you can't hold them for the length of your flight without your child throwing a fit at home, what are you going to do at 30,000 feet? Just because you choose to use a car seat does not mean that you can’t take your child out, just use common sense. If the fasten seat belt sign is on your child should be buckled in just like you are. I Can’t Afford to Fly if I Have to Pay for My Child I’m never sure if I should laugh or scream when I hear this argument. So often parents say that they can’t afford to fly if they have to pay for their child too and flying is the only way to see cross-country relatives. If you are going to use finances as an argument at least make it logical. Once your child turns 2 you are going to have to purchase a seat for him or her. Does that mean that once your child turns two they will never see their grandparents on the opposite coast again? Taking a child under two to see distant relatives is for the adults, not the child. A child under 2 is not going to have any memory of the trip. You aren’t taking the trip for your child; you are taking it for you and the people you are visiting, your child is just along for the ride. To use the argument that this is the only way for your child to know their grandparents makes no sense. Don’t take the trip, save your money and wait until your child is old enough to have some memories of the visit. If you want to use money as an excuse at least be honest and say “I don’t want to pay for a seat when I can get it for free.” I can’t argue with that and I won’t try. We all take calculated risks every day. Chances are extremely high your child will come through the flight without a scratch. Everyone has a different level of risk they are willing to assume, just make sure you have really given thought to the consequences. You may be fortunate that your flight is not full. If that is the case bring your car seat and you will be able to use an open seat for your child’s car seat. You can’t be sure that you will be able to use your car seat on a flight unless you reserve a seat. When making your reservation make sure that you mention you are traveling with a child under two in a car seat, many airlines offer discounted rates. Final Thoughts Every time I fly it seems that more and more people understand the importance of using child safety seats during a flight. Unfortunately some people still take chances. I’ve saw a child standing on his parent’s laps one minute only to have him landing in the aisle the next, hitting his head on the arm rest on the way down. I saw a little girl sitting on her mother’s lap fall forward into the upright tray table and cut her lip. My cousin’s son has a scar beside his eye where he hit his face on the tray table. These certainly are not devastating accidents but it is no way to start or end a vacation. Most parents wouldn’t let their young child ride in a vehicle without using a car seat. A plane shouldn’t be any different. Chances are when you pull out of your drive way you are not going to be involved in an accident but you still buckle your child in. Yes it is the law, but it is also responsible parenting. Don’t your children deserve the same level of protection on an airplane that you give them in the car? This has been another entry in the Advice W/O  |
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