Olive will be 1 year and 11 months when we visit Mr. Bee's parents this summer. The flight is 18 hours (well one of the flights! we'll be taking at least 7).
Would you get them their own seat?
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Yes, I think she would be more comfortable since the flight is so long. If it were a quick flight, then maybe not.
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When the seatbelt light is off, if you lifted the arms to create a bench style section, would Olive, You, Charlie and Mr. Bee all fit onto 3 seats? If not, then yes, I'd get her a seat.
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Yes just because it's so long. A short flight maybe not? Definitely on that one!
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I would. I can't imagine having LO in my lap that long just shy of two! Though it sounds like Olive is smaller and more mellow
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Definitely. Besides comfort I think babies and children in their own seat is safer.
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It depends...how much is it?
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@MaisyMay: I like this suggestion!
@Mrs. Bee: If what MaisyMay suggested isn't allowed, I would suck it up and get the extra seat. It's a pretty long flight to have her in your lap the entire way. And though I would hate spending the extra money, I would want her to be comfortable!
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@mediagirl: it would definitely be over 1k.
what about for a 5 hour flight?
we have to take many flights, and we'd save a lot if olive didn't have her own seat, but she's a big girl now and i doubt i could hold her the whole way!
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@Mrs. Bee: can you get her a seat on the longer flights and keep her in your lap for the shorter flights? That should be possible, I think?
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Hmmm, personally to save money I wouldn't. I'm pretty frugal like that though. I mean maybe for comfort it would be ideal, but I'm sure those international flights are VERY expensive! If Olive is a snuggler, she could just snuggle a lot!
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I definitely wouldn't for $1,000.
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For the longer flight, yes. For the shorter flight no. I'm thinking about squeezing in a trip back east to visit family before my LO turns 2 since I don't have to pay for her. I think it'll be a struggle since she's not a snugly type of kid but it's only 5 hours. If you get bulkhead seating though, she might be spending a lot of the time on the floor so maybe you won't need a seat. My LO hangs out on the floor during flights.
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Ouch, that's a lot of $$$. I can see why it's a dilemma.
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It depends on how wiggly she is. I have a feeling my DD would be too busy wanting to wander around that we wouldn't be sitting in our own seats much, so I'd probably skip it. If she's miraculously chill by that age, I'd consider it.
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We just flew with Lilly. She is the same age as Olive. It was kind of a pain to have her on my lap but doable. Our longest flight was 6.5 hours. Sometimes she just sat next to her brothers and was fine with it. If I had to fly again in a few months though when she is closer to 2 I might spring for the seat.
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I would for both safety and extra room.
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I probably wouldn't due to the cost. Would Olive even be willing to sit in her seat? Especially if the seatbelt sign is on... she'll be required to sit in her own seat. If she's a lap infant, she will be required to be held by you. We'll see what kind of temperament my LO has at that age, but as of right now her own seat would be a waste -- she wants to be held by me about 90% of the time.
I would invest in a CARES harness though.
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I wouldn't but I'm cheap like that! Maybe for the longer leg you could spring for a seat?
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If lo isn't strapped down she'd want to be running around the whole time. Id be miserable!
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Yes! We always get LO her own ticket, but we've only ever flown about 6 hours with her (1 flight.) For that age and that long of a flight, definitely!
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Yes. We bought our 12 month old his own seat for our recent trip (CA to NY with a weekend in Toronto). It cost approximately $800 for his seat but you can't put a price on safety. There was some sudden turbulence during one leg and I was so happy he was strapped in his convertible carseat. I had to entertain him for most of the flights but holding him the entire time would have been even more exhausting.
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We took DD overseas at 20 month as lap child and it was horrible. I envied the parents who were smart enough to buy a seat.
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Yikes... that's a tough call. I don't know the answer, but I do know that I would be annoyed if we paid for a seat for her and she just ended up snugging the whole time!
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No way, my son was too wiggly to even consider it. I think he also likes being in a car seat on the plane, helps familiarize things for him.
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Even though the FAA allows children under the age of 2 to be lap infants, they "strongly urge" that kids have their own seat, stating that an approved restraint is safest during turbulence or an emergency. http://www.faa.gov/passengers/fly_children/crs/
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/travel/columnist/mcgee/2008-07-29-lap-children_N.
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I've taken my LO to Asia twice, once with DH at 9mo and by myself at 15mo. Definitely get the seat. At 2yo the child is too big to lapsit comfortably for an extended period of time.
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Yes yes yes! LO is 20 months right now and she is sooooooooo squirmy! I couldn't imagine her being on my lap that long!
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I would definitely get her her own seat. I think you'll all be much happier!
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It depends whether the seats are 4 across or 3 across. I would if all 4 seats were together. We just flew with my newly turned 2 year old so had to purchase a seat for her on a plane that had 3 seats, aisle, and 3 seats so one of us had to sit across the aisle from the rest of the family. Due to my needy kids, we all ended up siting in 3 seats, bench style with the arms up or one of the kids was in a lap. It kind of seemed like a waste of money to leave the seat across the aisle empty for the majority of the flight, although it came in handy when both kids napped at the same time. If you have the option of picking which flights to buy 4 seats vs 3, maybe get 4 seats during naptimes and 3 seats for the rest?
ETA: My 2 year old refused to be buckled in her seat during take off and landing, so she sat in my husband's lap for both.
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I definitely would buy a ticket at that age. My son is 28 months and we are going to fly to Asia in a few weeks. I was almost glad that we "had" to buy him a ticket so that we didn't have to deal with the decision. When he was 11 months we flew with him from NYC to Hawaii...on our laps. Even at that age it was kind of hellish.
Also, if you don't buy a ticket make sure your child is not turning 2 before your return trip (I assume this is a long trip since you are flying 18 hours to get there....).
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Yes. Yes. YES. DD is only 9 months and it's hard enough holding her on my lap. We just flew 4 hours today and I was so, so grateful DH and I were given a block of three seats with the middle seat 'empty'. I had LO on my lap for takeoff/landing obviously as she had to be strapped in with the infant seatbelt (sidenote: I can't believe US airlines don't have infant seatbelts! I've only flown American in the US since having DD but I was shocked when they looked at ME like I was the crazy one for asking for an infant seatbelt!) but other than that, we had her in the empty seat between us. We kept the normal seatbelt on her but she was able to lay down and sleep, eat solids, and entertain herself whilst sitting on her own seat. I don't think I could go back to her being a lap infant now!
So yes, it's expensive but you're going to pay 10% of the fare plus taxes for her to be a lap infant, so you might as well shell out a bit more cash and have everyone be comfortable and safe!
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Yes! We just took a 12+ hour flight from Beijing to Chicago. I can't imagine how much longer the flight would seem if LO didn't have her own seat. Plus you can't always count on the flight to be not full. Our rule is any flight over 3 hours, LO needs her own seat.
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32 comments