Scared of travelling with baby after Singapore airlines incident

[esgill]

I have to travel a lot for work this next year and planned to do so with my husband and baby. We took her on one flight at 3 months old and thought the seat belt for her was quite flimsy. She’s now almost 8 months old and mobile so I don’t imagine she’d want to be tied down anywhere (carrier or a car seat). The idea that turbulence is increasing with climate change is terrifying me. How can I make her safer while travelling? I know the chances of this happening are slim but still…

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8889d7x8j4o

Buy her a seat and put her in an airline approved car seat, or alternatively a CARES harness once sitting independently. I’ve found they’re pretty accepting of it, actually more so than sitting on your lap, because they’re used to being in the seat in the car and know they can’t move around.

In America banning lap infants for safety reasons sat on the FAA’s list of most wanted improvements for years and was only removed because it was determined that if faced with the cost of buying a seat for their babies more families would choose to drive instead. Road travel is a lot more dangerous than air travel so it would ultimately cause deaths rather than save lives. Granted this was in America where they don’t use infant seatbelts and you just hold the baby but apparently the belts aren’t particularly safe either and can cause internal injuries.

So if it’s purely about safety then you want the car seat. Added benefit is that they have their own supported sleep space and don’t end up on top of you. You can go to the loo once they’re napping! It’s great. And car seat arrives unscathed to use at the other end without risking damage in the hold. Win win.

Use an airplane approved car seat.

holding a baby or belting a baby to an adult body is dangerous. Just holding, baby potentially becomes a projectile. Belted to you, as your body starts to flail, you have the potential to crush your child.

I understand why government regulators worldwide have made the decision not to ban lap children. That doesn’t mean it hasn’t always been the smarter decision to do better for your own child. Buy them a seat and put them in a car seat

@esgill I know it's easy to say, but TRY not to worry.

air Travel is incredibly safe compared to land travel.

id keep her strapped in as much as possible, but she's probably going to want out!

each time you go away, she'll be a bit older and you can just teach her to stay strapped in. The sane way you do with car seats, and at least you're free to entertain her, not like when you're driving!!

Thank you, I wish I could say she’s used to a car seat but we don’t have one as we don’t drive at the moment and live in a very walkable city. Should I buy one and try and get her used to it now?

When are you travelling? I’d just get what’s suitable for your baby at the time of travel and not worry about getting them used to it too far in advance. Our travel seat is American and not great for side impact protection so it’s only used for holidays, not in our car at home, and DS is always fine with it as was his sister before. Your baby is presumably used to being strapped into the pram and it’s the same principle. Don’t overthink it. Also, if baby is over 1 when you next travel then you could do a cares harness instead which would be easier to carry and avoids buying a carseat you wouldn’t otherwise need.

Airline approved car seat if you can afford a seat, alternatively I used a baby carrier strapped to me or the carriers the airline provided at the bulkhead, like car seats

She won't need to get used to sitting in the car seat. Most babies find them comfortable and they feel secure in them.

Don't take a Boeing plane... Airbus instead

I'm not sure Airbus are immune to turbulence either?!

I've just looked at the reports for this and there were no babies injured on that flight. So try not to worry. There was a two year old who was injured, but it is under twos who are the most vulnerable as they must be held on laps. It is also a very rare incident and flying is many times safer than driving statistically.

Under 2s can have their own seat! You just buy one and take a suitable car seat. On long haul it's much safer.

This turbulence was very very rare. The best advice is not to wander around and keep your seatbelt on. Although I understand the need for the loo and leg stretching.

I know you can, but I mean if they don't have their own seat then they have to be on laps. And if you haven't brought a car seat, then they have to be on laps even if you have bought a seat for them.

@Beefcurtains79

So take a car seat! Even if parents don't have a car, surely a baby has a car seat for travel in other cars? If not, now is the time to get one. It's a longish flight to Singapore - they could book a seat with a bassinet. This might help .

And if you haven't brought a car seat, then they have to be on laps even if you have bought a seat for them.
I know you’re correct for Europe but this just reminded me that FAA rules are a bit different so the American carriers will usually allow any infant that can sit independently to occupy their own seat (presuming you’ve booked one or if you’re lucky enough to find a free one next to you) for the whole flight including take off, landing and when seatbelt signs are on without using a car seat or approved restraint device. We’ve actually done it with ours a few times between age 1 and 2, when we haven’t been travelling with the carseat for whatever reason. Still much prefer the car seat though as they can sleep without lolling across you but OP if your travel involves the US and you book with a US based airline then it could be a hassle free option. As always though check with your carrier for their specific rules so you don’t get any surprises!

As a mother to a 10month old baby, I too share the same worries. I agree that if your flight is short then buying a seat and an approved car seat is the safest. However, when flying long haul, it is not possible to keep the baby in the car seat for longer than 2 hours. The worry is the unpredictable clear air turbulence and if out of their belted seat to have them belted does take a few seconds. But then do you not fly due to this risk.