# CARES on plane for 1.5 year old



## khanni (Jan 11, 2008)

Hi all,

I'm flying to Australia soon with my 3.5 yo DD and my 1.5 yo DS. We are not bringing our carseats because they have different carseat standards/laws in Australia, and our carseats won't fit.

A friend leant me her CARES to use with my 3.5 year old. She mentioned she had used it on her son when he was around 2, and it would ride up and become uncomfortable or something like that. So, I'm wondering if I should try to get one for my 1.5 year old or not. We don't technically have a seat for him (I know, I know, but going to Australia is really $$$$$$$), but we're hoping....

Any experiences would be helpful. Thanks!


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## Mama Mko (Jul 26, 2007)

I don't think it fits younger kids very well. When my son fell asleep he slouched down and looked pretty uncomfortable. I'd get a Baby B'air since you might be holding him. That will secure him to your seatbelt. (It is not approved for takeoff and landing but we have sometimes kept it on during that time anyway without a hassle.)


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## Maedze (Dec 16, 2008)

A 1 year old is not going to fit well or safely in the CARES harness. It will force the lap belt up unnaturally high.

You should have no trouble installing your car seats in Australian cars







All car seats can be installed with the seatbelt.

Also, the selection in car seats for sale in Australia is pretty awful, so if you're going to be a temporary transplant, you're better off bringing what you've got with you.


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## tabrizia (Oct 24, 2007)

I don't think it would work well with an 18 month old. We had issues with it with out DS at 26 months when we tried it with him. It just didn't fit him right, and he is 75%tile for height. I really couldn't see how it would possibly fit anyone smaller at all.


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## caemommy (Apr 16, 2009)

We have used the CARES for our son from about 3.5 - 5 yrs old. It works for the purpose of being a harness, and felt safer for take-off, landing, turbulence. My son, who always slept on the plane in his carseat, could not sleep in the CARES. We used it on shorter flights, but you would have to take it off if he needed to sleep (same for your older. They are kind of pinned to the seatback, and although he didn't complain about it, he could not get comfy to sleep). The only reason I used it instead of the carseat was when I was flying alone with two kiddos. Baby was in the carseat at the window, and I needed to be between them, so had to have older child in the CARES. It would be helpful for keeping him in a seat if you thought he would be unbuckling the regular belt all of the time. A small child could not undo the CARES by themselves. But I think that under about 3 yrs/35" would be too small for it.


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## Eclipsepearl (May 20, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rebeccajo* 
I don't think it fits younger kids very well. When my son fell asleep he slouched down and looked pretty uncomfortable. I'd get a Baby B'air since you might be holding him. That will secure him to your seatbelt. (It is not approved for takeoff and landing but we have sometimes kept it on during that time anyway without a hassle.)

Please *NEVER HAVE YOUR CHILD ATTACHED TO YOU IN ANY FORM FOR TAKE-OFF AND LANDING*. This poster put her child AT RISK by doing this. For your child's safety, if you are saving money and putting your child in your lap, do not put him or her further at risk by having him or her attached to you. YOU WOULD CRUSH YOUR CHILD IN FORWARD IMPACT.

As a former Flight Attendant, it really breaks my heart to think of parents who disregard their child's safety in this way. I like the way she says she says it was "without a hassle" as if she's proud she got away with putting her child in danger. Please let me not read about this again on this board!!!

I hope that was clear. This Baby B'air though is a waste of money. It doesn't hold your child any better than a baby carrier would

I'm not sure about buying a CARES harness (which, as you know CAN be used for take-off and landing) if the child doesn't have a seat. It's kind of expensive.


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## Mama Mko (Jul 26, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Eclipsepearl* 
Please NEVER HAVE YOUR CHILD ATTACHED TO YOU IN ANY FORM FOR TAKE-OFF AND LANDING. This poster put her child AT RISK by doing this. For your child's safety, if you are saving money and putting your child in your lap, do not put him or her further at risk by having him or her attached to you. YOU WOULD CRUSH YOUR CHILD IN FORWARD IMPACT.

As a former Flight Attendant, it really breaks my heart to think of parents who disregard their child's safety in this way. I like the way she says she says it was "without a hassle" as if she's proud she got away with putting her child in danger. Please let me not read about this again on this board!!!

I hope that was clear. This Baby B'air though is a waste of money. It doesn't hold your child any better than a baby carrier would

I'm not sure about buying a CARES harness (which, as you know CAN be used for take-off and landing) if the child doesn't have a seat. It's kind of expensive.

Wow, that's incredibly harsh. I know some people disagree with having lap babies and especially having them attached to mama during the flight, but I have looked at the risks and benefits and decided I think it's safer to have the baby attached to me. I have been flying with my kids this way for 4 years and have never had an issue, even during turbulence. I hold on to them and like to have something else anchoring them to me.

The difference between a baby b'air and a regular baby carrier is that the flight attendants on the planes I've been on have not let me keep my child in a baby carrier while they HAVE let me keep them in a baby b'air.

I'm not proud I "got away with putting [my] child in danger" by the way. I don't think I put them in any extra danger. Flying is incredibly safe. The risk of something happening is very very low.

Also, if you could show me a study that shows how much more dangerous it is for my child to be attached to me than it is to just be loose on my lap, I'd appreciate it.


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## moondiapers (Apr 14, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rebeccajo* 
Wow, that's incredibly harsh. I know some people disagree with having lap babies and especially having them attached to mama during the flight, but I have looked at the risks and benefits and decided I think it's safer to have the baby attached to me. I have been flying with my kids this way for 4 years and have never had an issue, even during turbulence. I hold on to them and like to have something else anchoring them to me.

The difference between a baby b'air and a regular baby carrier is that the flight attendants on the planes I've been on have not let me keep my child in a baby carrier while they HAVE let me keep them in a baby b'air.

I'm not proud I "got away with putting [my] child in danger" by the way. I don't think I put them in any extra danger. Flying is incredibly safe. The risk of something happening is very very low.

Also, if you could show me a study that shows how much more dangerous it is for my child to be attached to me than it is to just be loose on my lap, I'd appreciate it.

It's because airplanes only have lapbelts and you get folded in half in an impact. when taking off and landing, you are at risk of hitting something on the ground, just as if you were in a car....only much higher speeds.


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## Mama Mko (Jul 26, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *moondiapers* 
It's because airplanes only have lapbelts and you get folded in half in an impact. when taking off and landing, you are at risk of hitting something on the ground, just as if you were in a car....only much higher speeds.

Yeah, I've read that. Have there been actual studies or proven incidences of lap babies being injured by someone using a device that attaches the child to the parent on an airplane? I haven't read them and if there are, I'll definitely rethink using the baby b'air in the future.


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## moondiapers (Apr 14, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rebeccajo* 
Yeah, I've read that. Have there been actual studies or proven incidences of lap babies being injured by someone using a device that attaches the child to the parent on an airplane? I haven't read them and if there are, I'll definitely rethink using the baby b'air in the future.

Probably aren't any studies, but i bet it'd be pretty easy to look up some documented runway crashes and see what types on injuries happened.


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## duchess_of_dork (Oct 6, 2008)

The CARES restraint didn't safely hold my kid until he was 2, easily, and he's a big kid.


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## khanni (Jan 11, 2008)

My son is really big, too, so I was hoping maybe he'd fit, but it sounds like it's not going to work. If he gets his own seat, I might try it on him just to see and have my daughter sit in the belt. She's almost 4 and almost 40 lbs, so maybe, on the off chance the CARES fits my son AND we have a spare seat, we'll go that route.

Thanks everyone!


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## mamatoElias (Aug 2, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rebeccajo* 
Wow, that's incredibly harsh. I know some people disagree with having lap babies and especially having them attached to mama during the flight, but I have looked at the risks and benefits and decided I think it's safer to have the baby attached to me. I have been flying with my kids this way for 4 years and have never had an issue, even during turbulence. I hold on to them and like to have something else anchoring them to me.

The difference between a baby b'air and a regular baby carrier is that the flight attendants on the planes I've been on have not let me keep my child in a baby carrier while they HAVE let me keep them in a baby b'air.

I'm not proud I "got away with putting [my] child in danger" by the way. I don't think I put them in any extra danger. Flying is incredibly safe. The risk of something happening is very very low.

Also, if you could show me a study that shows how much more dangerous it is for my child to be attached to me than it is to just be loose on my lap, I'd appreciate it.









:

Not trying to pick a fight, but yes, that sounded pretty harsh. We're all trying to do the best we can for our children and keep them as safe. And I have slipped my baby back into a carrier after the flight attendants were seated. Unless I see some hard a fast evidence that it is safer to have a baby catapulted through the plane, unrestrained than attached to mom, during a crash or rough landing/ take off, I will continue to do so.

Of course, it is safer for baby to have a seat with his own carseat. It would also likely be safer for us to be in a hummer during an automobile accident. But neither one of those things is in the budget for our family right now.


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