shiner

I know there have been a few threads related to the screening process for kids, but most appear out of date or are simply complaints about how someone's kid was treated.

We are traveling domestically next week with a 3 year old and a 6 month old. What is the current requirement for shoes on kids, specifically our 3 year old? We can take her shoes off and she'll be fine, but I'd rather not add an extra step if we don't need to.

The 6 month old will be traveling as a lap-child, and 3 year old in her own seat (obviously). My understanding is that neither kid will actually need ID/birth certificate, but the airline could, in theory, question the age of the lap-child (which at 14 pounds shouldn't be much of an issue). Does this seem like a valid interpretation of the current rules?

baglady

I would not worry about ID for a 6 month old - the only time it really becomes an issue is if you have a large 18 month old or similar.

Shoes do need to come off (both the three year old and six month old). It IS a pain and another step before and after walking through. I always ensure my daughter has velcro shoes on the days we fly - the times I've forgotten and done lace ups adds a few more seconds to an already long process.

WhoME

Your baby's booties/Robeez may have to come off too, you never can tell with screeners. Stupid with a capital dumb, but there you have it.

Michael

hfly

They almost never ask for ID, my son near 2 years old was very lare and we flew a lot and were never asked anywhere we flew. Regarding the shoe thing, its hit or miss, regardless of regulations I would say that 50 percent of the time they will just waive through young children, the other half the time they insist that the shoes are removed.

shiner

Thanks all. The 6 month old will probably be in pajamas (morning flight), but we'll be prepared for whatever insanity the TSA decides to throw at us. This does bring up another small concern... What is everyone's experience with packing baby food? You know, mashed peas, squash, carrots... delicious.

WhoME

This is what the TSA have to say about traveling with children, and this is what they say about baby food. It mostly addresses milk and formula (which are ok) but implies that baby food should be ok too, but does not state it explicitly.

Michael

EasternTraveler

Deleted... I didn't read well enough.

Lemon-Lime

Just got back on a trip from ORF-SAN with a stop in ORD on UA w/ my 6 month old and eight year old. Had no problems with IDs at all. Everyone had to take off their shoes, except the baby's Pedipeds were fine. I had no problem carrying on liquid formula, and liquid medication. I had infant & children's Tylenol, Benadryl, & Delsym and everything was fine. They just made me take them out ahead of time. The only issue we had was the baby's car seat would fit through the machine in San Diego. They just hand checked it instead.

IAH_FLYER

Interesting - we had to take my son's Pedipeds off going through security in IAH a couple of weeks ago. On the return, I just took them off and wadded them up in my pocket...one less thing to remember to grab after going through security. That's probably a big no-no, but my socks are probably thicker than those shoes!

jonesing

DW was rather irate with the lead TSO at SNA because our diaper bag (Travelpro backpack) got flagged for the large (16 oz) bottle of apple juice in the side watter bottle pocket. She was complaining because they didn't say boo about the 4-5 tiny bottles of juice *inside* the bag! But upon seeing our 18 month old son he said she could keep the juice.

Everyone's shoes came off both outbound and return. Nobody ever asked for and ID or a boarding pass for the baby. The Britax car seat with the wheelie attachment was too big for the x-ray so they hand checked and ETD swabbed it. Other than the oversized bottle of juice, the only other run-in we had was an overzealous FA who insisted she had to check the FAA-approved sticker on the car seat even though the GA checked before we boarded! I say overzealous because we had the Britax already in place and were finishing strapping the kid in when she made us undo it all.

Katy

I've flown 12 round-trips with my 22-month-old son, and TSA has never bothered me for ID for him, but when I haven't bought him his own seat, I make sure to have a copy of his birth certificate to prove he's under two. Southwest, in particular, are sticklers about this.

tednugent(no relation)

I've traveled with my (now) 11 y/o daughter & my 8 y/o son 3-4x annually for the last 8 years or so and have never needed to produce ID for either.

Documentation to satisfy airline age requirements is another thing, of course, but I never had to do that either.

I did go out and get them their own passports just because we may want to travel abroad at some point and I have these with me when we fly, but I've never been asked for anything more than my own photo ID.

faerieloch

fwiw, we travel with passports for everyone, always, because one never quite knows where one might end up, or what rerouting might be possible....

that said, as long as both parents are travelling, we haven't been asked for id for the young ones.

in snowy locals, we wear boots to the airport, then switch to flip-flops... easy on, easy off for xray machines, and for curling up to sleep in a seat....

have a great flight!

GBeckman

I'm flying tomorrow with my 9 month old and was wondering if anyone knows what the policy is for carrying babies through security. We have flown twice before (and once before without daddy there to help) but I was thinking that my life would be a little easier getting through security if I could have him in his Baby Bjorn to walk through. Before, I pretty much kept him in his infant seat (and of course carried him to go through the WTMD) but I really think he will be much happier now that he is older being "carried" by mom the whole time than being stuck in his seat and pulled in and out. Is a sling/carrier allowed through the WTMD or will they make me remove it?

Katy

They will make you remove the carrier; you have to carry the baby through in your arms. I have flown quite frequently by myself with my now 22-month-old, and I agree that it would have been a lot easier to go through security if he'd been in a sling or similar.