Legal Isn't a Synonym for "Good Idea!"

Well, I was in the middle of working on a Botkin Sisters post when I read a new Titus 2 update that blew my mind.   The second son - Christopher - wrote a blog post about tips for flying with small children. 

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of flying - and adding our one toddler to our family makes flying sound less appealing so my mind was blown to find that Christopher and his wife traveled to see her family with their five children who range from age 6 to a small infant.

As I was skimming the post, I noticed he talked about dragging two car seats on the plane so that if there were open seats the lap babies (notice the plural) could use the car seats - but if not two of the other kids could use them.   I was completely lost, so I googled "flying and lap babies" and just about dropped my laptop in horror.

In the US and Canada, parents can choose to either purchase a seat for a child under the age of 2 OR hold that child on their lap during the flight.   

Folks, we stopped letting parents hold children under the age of 2 when riding in cars for a good reason: during car accidents, infants and toddlers restrained only by their parents' arms become flying projectiles.   The survival rate for unrestrained infants and toddlers in car accidents is horrific; the forces applied when the kiddlet comes to a stop by crashing into the ground or another object does massive and often terminal damage.

Airplane accidents are much less frequent than car accidents - but the forces involved are far greater.  Most commercially available car seats are also approved for protection for flying so presumably the Maxwells already own car seats for their youngest ones.   I can think of two reasons that a family wouldn't bring car seats for all their kids.  First is the hassle of moving four car seats onto a plane.  Bluntly, I'd splurge by spending the $20.00 to rent a baggage cart at the each of the airports.  The other option I can think is that there is a FAA approved restraint system for kids who weigh between 22 and 44 pounds called CARES that costs around $80.00 per harness - but the harness fits in an adult's pocket or a kid's backpack after using it.  If the Maxwells plan on flying frequently and having a lot of kids, two carseats plus 3 CARES should do the trick for safely restraining all their kiddos. 

Now, there's a picture of Anna Marie Maxwell wearing her youngest daughter in an Ergo baby carrier on the plane.  While babywearing is a comfortable way to manage some infants,  the baby receives no protection during an accident from the Ergo.  The baby may not fly free in an accident - but their head is likely to hit the seat in front and the bone structure of her mother's chest repeatedly leading to potentially fatal head and neck injuries.

The other reason to do "lap babies" is financial since the family has to pay for two extra seats.  The total cost of those two seats, though, isn't that much.  Using "Google Flights", I compared the cost of tickets from Kansas City, KS to Olympia, WA for 2 adults, three children and two infants in seats compared to 2 adults, three children and two lap babies.  The "lap babies" saved the family about $500 by dropping the total package price to around $1,200 dollars from around $1,700. 

Five hundred dollars is a lot of money for any family - but doubly so for a CP/QF family.  On the other hand, $500 is a tiny price to pay to protect the lives of their two youngest babies if there is an accident.