Air travel with a young child...?

So at first i was looking to see if I could check my son's carseat when we flew to California. But upon reading a few articles, it seemed the popular opinion was to take the carseat on the plane and have him strapped into it. My son and his father flew to Florida in November and they didn't use a carseat, but now im worried that maybe they should have? He is almost 3 and weighs 30lbs. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated :)

I'd buy a ticket and strap him in. He's more likely to survive a crash if he is in his seat, plus he's not wandering around the plane. Make sure it's FAA approved, of course. You can also get a rolling cart that the seat attaches to and you can have your son in his seat on the cart and can roll him behind you like a wagon and it's SO much less hassle on the plane and in the airport. The problem with checking the seat is that it's easily damaged. They throw things around, plus the really cold temperatures in the air can actually crack the plastic and you wouldn't know it until you've been in an accident.

At that age I preferred a carseat. My daughter was a wiggly girl and would get out of the airplane belt if I didn't keep an eye on her the entire time. Since it was a 12 hour flight and I wanted the option of a nap, I had her strapped in her carseat. It also gave her (and me) a place to prop her head if she went to sleep (it had those wing thingys near her head).

skycheck the carseat and buy a CARES harness. They are FAA/CASA approved and much safer for the age of your child. Seats on an airplane were never meant to hold and strap in a carseat, but the child still needs a harness type seatbelt, this is an adaptor that works awsome. It is actually made by the same company that makes the air plane belts themselves and is designed just for this purpose.

If your child is 44 pounds and more than 40 inches tall however the FAA say it is safe for him to fly without a restraint and that the plane belts are the best option.But not many 3 year olds fit into that catagory :)

If you want to be cautious, it can't hurt to take the car seat. Assuming you and your husband are traveling, one of you can wrangle your kid while the other schleps the stroller, car seat and carry-ons through the airport.

When I fly solo? The car seat gets checked. Is it slightly less safe in case of turbulence? Yes. However, between the possible chance of turbulence and the certainty that I will be distracted by toting that amount of gear? Odds are far greater that we'll have problems if I'm dealing with a mountain of stuff and not keeping a close eye on my active, curious 3 y.o.

We all face a certain amount of risk every day, and even though it's tempting to wrap our kids up in protective bunting and fend off every possible hazard, it's just not practical.

IMHO, the only practical downside to checking a carseat is the possibility that the airline will lose your luggage - in which case, you're pretty much trapped at the airport.