Who is 21 months...
...do you recommend?
Getting his own plane ticket isn't an option so we may just opt to leave him home if we must!
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Depends on the baby! We've flown many times with my LO (who is now 22 months) - the most recent being over the Christmas holidays. Our flights are usually 3.5-4 hours long. He's excellent on a plane though and we have never had to leave our seats unless he poops. We bring lots of books, snacks, colouring activities and the iPad.
Our worst flight thus far was our last one but only because we were delayed for FOUR hours and my LO skipped his nap. He ended up watching movies on the iPad for over half the flight :shocked:.
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Depends on how long the flight is! I think 3 hours would be my max.
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No way! Lol my LO is way to anxious to move to sit still in my lap. If t was 1.5 hours or less, maybe. And we fly all the time coat to coast.
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How long is the flight? I've done it at 20 months, but that was a short flight, like less than an hour.
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How long is the flight? I would think about 2 hours is my max at that age...
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I've never done it myself, but when we flew to Europe there were some people who had a baby who looked about that age, and they'd booked one of the "more leg room" seats right behind the first class area and the toddler was able to play on a blanket on the ground in front of them. They probably had a good 3 feet of space in front of them.
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When I think back to when D1 was 21 months old...It would entirely depend on how long the flight was. But generally, no, I wouldn't do it.
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We have flown cross country with T several times now, the most recent of which was at 19 months. The flight is usually 4 hours and then 1.5 hours. He was a lap baby every time. It's hard but totally doable esp. if you and your husband are both going....and he is not the type of kid to sit still for very long. A lot of times I pick seats that are aisle and window and hope that no one has the middle seat or wants to sit there. Flying soutwest is sort of key since you can pick your seats day of, and unless the flight is 100% full, no one will pick that middle seat. We bring lots of snacks (including unhealthy things he is not allowed to eat at home), a few new books or toys, and...the ipad. I know parents feel differently about screen time, but the ipad saves us that last hour of a flight. The first 30 minutes he sits on dads lap for takeoff and talks about the planes and everything going on outside (he's obsessed with plans) and does the same after landing. The rest of the time we shift him back and forth between us but usually is sitting in dads lap at the window and i'm in charge of whipping out stuff to keep him entertained. I'd say fly at nap time...but it's so hit or miss with us. If it is truly nap time T will nap on dad for an hour, sometimes more. Once we flew at bed time and he did not sleep at all, which was bad.
I'm flying alone with T in a month and he will be 21 months. Lord help me!
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Totally depends on how long the flight is. Up to two hours? Probably. 7 hours back to the UK? Hell no! Unless it was a family emergency.
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A couple hours? Yes. Longer? Nope.
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I just did this Saturday with my 20 month old. We were lucky in that the flight attendants worked it out so that LO had her own seat on the plane (which we didn't expect and didn't have a car seat for). She did awesome. She was even fantastic during the layover! I think there was enough going on and it was different enough that she didn't mind sitting when she needed to.
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I'm surprised at all of the responses saying not to do it! Maybe my LO turns into a magical unicorn baby once he gets on a plane (because he definitely isn't one on a daily basis!).
@winniebee: our process is much the same. My LO sits with dad for take offs and landings because I hate the window seat. They stare out the window and learn about things that I could never explain properly. After that, he either sits between us or stands on the floor between our legs.
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We flew with DS when he was that age, and it wasn't that bad. I had loaded the iPad up with Elmo videos but didn't even use it at all. He just ate lots of snacks and read books. If you can get a seat in the very back, with nobody in front of you, that's ideal.
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we did it for the holidays with a 23-month-old . . . not the most fun I've ever had, but worth the cost of a seat. she's tall too so even more cramped. it would be really hard to do it alone (i.e. no DH) since you'd really have to keep them in a super small space.
bring lots of snacks and options for playing!
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We just did it with DD who is 16 months. She was an active little baby and wanted to play with the tray table, kick the seat in front of her look at the people in front of us and behind us and grabbed everything in the seat back pocket. she did not want to sleep because there was a lot to see and do. She had a full tired meltdown and then knocked out during the last 45 minutes of the plane ride (our trip was only 2 hours).
On our trip back I sprung for more leg room seats and she sat on the floor and played and she couldnt kick the seat in front of us.
When we fly again with her in our lap we're going to get the extra room seats again.
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@Sammyfab: @lilyann: @Weagle: @Sammyfab: ok so it would be a 2 hr flight, layover, and then a 3 hr flight. We have never flown before but he is ok in the car. I know I am being really naive but I feel like a plane would in some ways be easier than a baby who is RF in a car, at least on a plane we could play. As far as being squirmy, this is really a question, not a statement, but how does having his/her own seat mitigate that? Because they are strapped in?
From a safety perspective does it bother you?
@Weagle: so without a car seat, what did you end up doing?
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@winniebee: ok so with SWA, does the pick-your-own-seat work for gotta get away prices?
Come to think of it, can you bring a baby as a lap baby on gotta get away tickets?
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Flew to Europe when DS was 13.5 mo old. In Israel now and he is 18 mo old, and I'm 20 weeks pregnant. You can do it! Important thing is just to be prepared with distractions.
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@Mrs. Sketchbook: we always fly wanna get away or the cheapest option and t is always a lap baby. You just check in online per usual and regardless of your boarding position families with small children can board between A and B group. We then just pick a window and aisle. Having a middle seat is great so you aren't elbowing your neighbor every time you need to get a toy. Also LO can sit or stand on the middle seat.
Make sure you bring Los birth certificate as proof of age and be sure to check in at counter to let them know you have a lap baby and they will print a boardig pass for your LO.
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@Mrs. Sketchbook: She sat in the seat like she knew what she was doing. She asked for the seatbelt to be buckled and sat like a big girl. For part of the second flight she did lay down with her head in my lap and nap. I really think she thought she was hot stuff for being able to sit like an adult.
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I think if you're willing to give him unlimited screen time you're all set
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@Mrs. Sketchbook: Okay, I'll be the voice of dissent and say that yes, it does bother me from a safety perspective. I've been holding off on posting because I really didn't want to ruffle feathers, but since you mentioned safety I decided to go ahead and post.
We're flying with DD for the first time in a couple weeks and she has her own ticketed seat. I know this can be prohibitive from a cost perspective - we were fortunate to be able to book using points.
This has some good info though: http://carseatblog.com/16971/lap-babies-on-airplane-a-warning-all-parents-must-see/
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Yep, I'd fly with a lap toddler at that age.
I flew solo with DD when she was 18 months old and I was 20 weeks pregnant! It was fine for the most part. I almost died while she napped on me though. -
@heartonastring: I think you've done a good thing by posting that. Just because the airlines allow kids to travel as lap children doesn't mean it's the safest option. After all, the lap child policy is from a time when cars didn't have seatbelts, so there wasn't a precedent.
And if I am really being honest, I hate flying with a lap child because I am super worried about getting into the space of the person next time. Imagine how annoying it is if you're flying solo, you paid a full fare and you're sitting next to a passenger with a lap child and they don't even have space to manuever. It's crappy for everyone, but that's just my opionon.
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I've flown multiple times with DD as a lap baby, and we are flying again in May. I've been doing a lot of thinking and research about it, and I will be buying her a ticket this time. It's not easy on our budget, but I really believe it's the safest option. I mean, you're not even allowed to hold your purse during take off and landing, but you can hold your baby and are supposed to be able to keep them safe?
That being said, I'm more worried about how she will act in her carseat- she has always done really well as a lap baby, starting at 8 months through 15 months. Good luck!
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@LulaBee: I was very nervous when the flight attendant told me I had to put the seatbelt on ME but just hold LO!!! What?!!?
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We just booked our first flight with LO and we got him his own seat. First reason is for safety as @heartonastring mentioned; we plan to bring a carseat and have him strapped into that (hopefully rear facing altho I don't know how this works on planes?). Second is because there is no way he would be ok with sitting on our laps for more than 15 minutes. I think he will do better in the carseat, because he will have his own space.
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@locavore_mama: You know why that is, don't you?
The force of your body will absolutely crush a lap child that is buckled to you. They are safer as a projectile.
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@looch: it makes sense but doesn't make me feel any better!
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@locavore_mama: it wasn't intended to make you feel one way or another, it's the truth that we often gloss over when we fly with lap children.
@hilsy85: you can rear face the seat on the plane, but the person in front won't be able to recline their seat.
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@looch: Thanks, I appreciate that
I felt compelled to say something because it was only recently that I learned about the dangers of lap babies. Then when I started thinking about it I was like like, yeah, this really shouldn't be allowed.
It's my understanding that several large bodies like the NTSB and FAA are actively trying to do away with lap babies and require all babies/children to be properly restrained on planes. The airlines, however, are resisting these attempts, as they are concerned about how it was affect their bottom line if families would have to pay for seats for ALL family members. I'm sure it would affect profits, but IMO, safety should always come first.
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@heartonastring: if that's the case then I think planes should be built with toddler/baby safe seatbelts much like some school buses do!
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@looch: ah ok...yikes, I feel bad about that then! I guess it's not a super long flight (4 hours, so maybe the person won't mind too much?
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@heartonastring: That is exactly how I understand it as well. Let's face it, this very thread is the heart of the matter. I have done both, I am not perfect, but I kind of like it now that the decision is made for us. My son is 3, if he's flying, he has to be in a seat, period.
I would be okay if there were maybe reduced fares for children under a certain age.
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@heartonastring: We flew with our 7 month old as a lap baby, but I won't do it again. I've read too much. Thankfully, I don't have to convince DH because our next flight won't be till after she's turned 2, so it's moot. I will be bringing our car seat on the plane for her though — and fighting to rear face it.
Basically everything, including small bags of peanuts, is locked up tight for takeoff, landing and turbulence — except lap babies.
I know it's hard to pay for a baby when you don't HAVE to, but it's really the safest option.
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@hilsy85: I tell the passenger as soon as they get in the seat and I offer to buy them a drink if they would like. No one has ever accepted, lol. I have also heard some parents buy a $5 Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks card to give to those folks.
Be prepared that the flight attendant may tell you the seat can not rearface. The policy manuals clearly state that the seat can not be put in a seat that rearfaces, like those jumpseats the FAs sit in, but it can go rearfacing in a regular forward facing seat.
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We flew cross country with Olive at 22 months and she was totally fine, but she was still nursing! We also paid extra for bulkhead seats which made a HUGE difference because she could walk around in our row. It depends on the baby and I might not have done it with Charlie, but Olive was totally fine!
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@locavore_mama: They do actually! It's called the CARES harness, but it's really only appropriate for bigger kids (44 lbs+). Anyone smaller than that is best restrained in a car seat, just as you would use in the car
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