Originally Posted by
CBear
Here's a good example of why it is not a "waste of money" to buy an infant a seat.
I flew into SEA this weekend. I had my child restrained in a FAA approved car seat. In front of me was a couple with a very squirmy baby. They had their hands full the entire flight. I gave my boy some toys and a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse dvd and he was happy as a clam. Flight was smooth except for landing. Seems like we hit some turbulence on landing and we were tossed around pretty good. Bad enough that I had to hold on to the car seat to steady myself. I noticed the couple in front of me had a very hard time holding on to their squirmy baby and dad grabbed the baby just in time a hair's breadth to spare between the window and baby's head.
I don't consider peace of mind in a situation like that a "waste of money" and I STRONGLY urge you to read the FAA's recommendation on lap infants. Buy them a seat and strap them into a car seat.
http://www.faa.gov/passengers/fly_children/crs/
Please read my post as I state you should use a bjorn or baby vest and not the lap belt as I agree a lap belt does not secure a baby where these other two systems secures a baby far better than the lap belt.
Additionally, I have seen families spend money on a seat and bring a car seat only to have the baby out of the seat 90% of the time because of feeding, changing diapers and trying to put the baby to sleep. It is fact that the best why to calm a relax a baby is laying on mum's chest and you can't do that with a car seat where a bjorn and baby vest can.
If the FAA thought that there was such a high risk in in babies flying as lap babies then they would 1). require lap belts for all US flights 2) not allow to fly with a lap baby.
The key is to ensure your child is secure in the event of turbulance and these two systems provide that ensurance just as much as a car seat. I'm not worried about a side impact or a head on collision as car seat will not protect a child of the final results of these two events.
In the end it is what a parent feels comfortable with and the type of baby you have. We choose a fly with a lap child and use a bjorn as it easier for mum to feed the baby (esp during take-off for clearing the ears of the baby) and our baby is relatively calm. We also take long flights so we don't expect our baby to sit in a car seat longer than 1 hour nor do we like our baby to sleep in the car seat. So our choice is simple.
If your flight is a short 2 hour or less then I could see using a car seat. However for a light of greater than 3 hours I'm willing to bet your child will be out of the car seat more than half the time.