I just don’t get it. Parents stress more about their babies annoying other airline passengers than whether they are safe on board.
They wouldn’t think of driving anywhere without securely strapping their baby in an appropriate safety seat and spend countless hours considering which safety seat to buy. But on airplanes, you are more likely to see infants and toddlers sitting in a parent’s lap than in a safety seat.
This despite the fact that everyone from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board recommends safety seats for young children, but many parents continue to ignore the advice. See what the FAA says at (www.faa.gov/passengers/fly_children/crs).
The NTSB has recommended that each passenger — including those under two — be restrained in a separate seat in an appropriate child restraint system during takeoff, landing and turbulence.
Everything on a plane — including coffee pots — has to be restrained during takeoff and landing and in times of turbulence–everything, that is, except young children sitting on a parent’s laps.
More than 7 million children under the age of two fly on parents’ laps on American carriers each year, according to government estimates. But you are not required to purchase a seat for your baby until they turn two and airlines don’t charge for families to check a car seat. That is the crux of the issue that has stymied safety experts and pediatricians for years and has perhaps lulled parents into a false sense of security.
“I don’t believe she’d be much safer in a seat. Having flown hundreds of flights, I’ve never experienced turbulence so strong it would cause me to lose grip of a child,” one dad emailed me.
“It’s cheaper and we are trying to take advantage of the savings before having to buy her a seat,” said another.
The NTSB has been arguing for more than 15 years that each passenger should have their own seat, but the NTSB can only make recommendations. www.ntsb.gov/children.
It is up to the FAA to take action and so far, all they have done is “strongly urge” parents to use a safety seat approved for air as well as auto travel.
Meanwhile, it is up to you. Yes, that means you would have to buy a seat for your baby. Tell all your friends they should too. If you don’t want to lug your safety seat to the gate, check out www.kidsflysafe.com , which makes CARES, the Child Aviation Restraint System, an FAA-approved, harness-type safety device — designed by a grandmother — that fits into a six-inch stuff sac and adjusts to fit airplane seats. It is designed for kids weighing 26 to-44 pounds (typically one to four years old).
I know in this economy it is tough to justify buying an extra plane ticket when you don’t have to, but isn’t your child’s safety worth it?
Eileen Ogintz interviews families and experts around the world for her widely syndicated column "Taking the Kids™" and is the creator of www.takingthekids.com. She's written seven family travel books, most recently The Kid's Guide: NYC and The Kid's Guide: Cruising Alaska. E-book guides are available in the Nook and Kindle e-book stores.
