{"id":5341,"date":"2014-07-17T06:51:19","date_gmt":"2014-07-17T10:51:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beyondmommying.com\/blog\/?p=5341"},"modified":"2015-11-02T15:39:30","modified_gmt":"2015-11-02T20:39:30","slug":"infant-safety-in-the-air","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beyondmommying.com\/blog\/2014\/07\/17\/infant-safety-in-the-air\/","title":{"rendered":"Infant Safety in the Air"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s no secret we are avid travelers and the majority of our travel has been by air.\u00a0 Sugarplum\u2019s first airplane trip was at 5 \u00bd weeks old and Honeybun has been on over 100 airplanes. \u00a0I’ve flown more hours alone with my children then we have driven as a family on roadtrips (though I do have some\u00a0tips for car travel with kids<\/a>\u00a0as well!).\"IMG00530-20110318-2029\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We have had a child under the age of two on almost every flight we\u2019ve taken in the past 6 years and we\u2019ve had more \u201clap babies\u201d than I can count (or would like to admit to) but truthfully, I will never do it again.\u00a0 No matter the cost, my babies will have their own tickets from now on and will be securely buckled into their car seats<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"lap<\/a><\/p>\n

I used to think if it was allowed to carry a baby on your lap then it must be safe.\u00a0 But this logic is severely flawed: allowed does not equal safe!\u00a0 There are many things that are legal but not safe and flying with a baby on your lap is one of them.<\/p>\n

But does it really matter?\u00a0 If the plane goes down, a car seat isn\u2019t going to make one bit of difference, right?\u00a0 True.\u00a0 But what about turbulence?\u00a0 An unrestrained child could be flung through the cabin.\u00a0 What about aborted take offs or landings?\u00a0 A lap child could be smashed into the seat back by the adult holding him\/her.\u00a0 What about ground collisions?\u00a0 A child that is not properly buckled into a car seat on the plane faces the same risks as a child not properly restrained in a car during an accident (though planes go wildly faster).<\/p>\n

\"\"So after so many flights with lap babies and no bad outcomes, what finally changed my mind?\u00a0 One simple fact: bags must be properly stowed; adults and children must be buckled; all cabinets are locked and everything secured from the coffee pot to the safety cards; and flight crew area seated and buckled when necessary (often in harnesses!) \u00a0The only thing that isn\u2019t properly secured during taxi, take-off, landing and bad turbulence on any flight: the babies.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s reason enough for me.\u00a0 My babies are worth more than ANYTHING therefore deserve to be properly restrained as much as every other person and item on an airplane.\u00a0 The expense is hard to swallow, trust me.\u00a0 I\u2019m paying for 6 seats on every flight, but I cannot put a price on my children\u2019s lives and well being.\u00a0 If we are ever in a bind where we cannot afford tickets for every person, then we will not all fly.<\/p>\n

So why is it allowed?\u00a0 Part of me wants to believe that it can\u2019t be TOO unsafe if every country in the world allows it but it only takes one time to change a family\u2019s life forever.\u00a0 And just as I take (what some may call) extreme precautions to protect my children in the car despite the rules being much more lax (see all of my posts on\u00a0Car Safety<\/a>), I know the rules for lap babies are just outdated and that doesn\u2019t make it safe and most groups who know anything about air safety advise against lap babies:<\/p>\n