Carseat dilemma - long flight with 14 mo baby
Jul 2, 2016, 1:15 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 2
Carseat dilemma - long flight with 14 mo baby
Hi, as a newbie (as parent and flying with baby), Id like to ask for some help.
We plan to fly with our (will be in dec) 14 mo from zurich to jakarta, on singapore airline. Having read a lot about safety, we are buying a seat for her. However, the rest doesnt seem to be so simple...
1. Singapore airline only allows forward facing carseat. We plan to buy a convertible carseat, with the hope that we can use it rear facing if we sit in either business or premium economy bulkhead, as space isnt an issue. Our assumption is that if there is space and no other passanger is affected, then why should they care?
- Does anyone have any experience with this?
- If we are forced to use it forward facing, is that safe for a 14 mo? We checked other airlines as well (eg cathay) and they have the same rule.
2. Our baby hates carseat, screams for every minute she is in one (we dont have a car). We will definitely force her to sit anyway during takeoff and landing. However, what about the rest of flight when seatbelt sign is on? We are scared about what to do if she just refuses the carseat (and she is a stubborn one). Does anyone have any experience with this?
3. We initially planned to sit in business, but discovered that the seats are arranged 1 2 1. Thus, unless we put carseat in the alone seat (which will probably make her scream more), my husband and I wont be able to sit together. She is a handful and its much easier to handle with two :-). As it isnt safe for her to sleep outside carseat, the lie flat seat is then anyway pointless. Another option is to sit in premium economy, hopefully bulkhead.
Which option would you choose?
4. If we buy a seat for our baby, can we also have a bassinet in addition?
Thanks very much in advance for your help!
We plan to fly with our (will be in dec) 14 mo from zurich to jakarta, on singapore airline. Having read a lot about safety, we are buying a seat for her. However, the rest doesnt seem to be so simple...
1. Singapore airline only allows forward facing carseat. We plan to buy a convertible carseat, with the hope that we can use it rear facing if we sit in either business or premium economy bulkhead, as space isnt an issue. Our assumption is that if there is space and no other passanger is affected, then why should they care?
- Does anyone have any experience with this?
- If we are forced to use it forward facing, is that safe for a 14 mo? We checked other airlines as well (eg cathay) and they have the same rule.
2. Our baby hates carseat, screams for every minute she is in one (we dont have a car). We will definitely force her to sit anyway during takeoff and landing. However, what about the rest of flight when seatbelt sign is on? We are scared about what to do if she just refuses the carseat (and she is a stubborn one). Does anyone have any experience with this?
3. We initially planned to sit in business, but discovered that the seats are arranged 1 2 1. Thus, unless we put carseat in the alone seat (which will probably make her scream more), my husband and I wont be able to sit together. She is a handful and its much easier to handle with two :-). As it isnt safe for her to sleep outside carseat, the lie flat seat is then anyway pointless. Another option is to sit in premium economy, hopefully bulkhead.
Which option would you choose?
4. If we buy a seat for our baby, can we also have a bassinet in addition?
Thanks very much in advance for your help!
Jul 2, 2016, 5:31 pm
#2
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 4,735
Hi, as a newbie (as parent and flying with baby), Id like to ask for some help.
We plan to fly with our (will be in dec) 14 mo from zurich to jakarta, on singapore airline. Having read a lot about safety, we are buying a seat for her. However, the rest doesnt seem to be so simple...
1. Singapore airline only allows forward facing carseat. We plan to buy a convertible carseat, with the hope that we can use it rear facing if we sit in either business or premium economy bulkhead, as space isnt an issue. Our assumption is that if there is space and no other passanger is affected, then why should they care?
- Does anyone have any experience with this?
- If we are forced to use it forward facing, is that safe for a 14 mo? We checked other airlines as well (eg cathay) and they have the same rule.
2. Our baby hates carseat, screams for every minute she is in one (we dont have a car). We will definitely force her to sit anyway during takeoff and landing. However, what about the rest of flight when seatbelt sign is on? We are scared about what to do if she just refuses the carseat (and she is a stubborn one). Does anyone have any experience with this?
3. We initially planned to sit in business, but discovered that the seats are arranged 1 2 1. Thus, unless we put carseat in the alone seat (which will probably make her scream more), my husband and I wont be able to sit together. She is a handful and its much easier to handle with two :-). As it isnt safe for her to sleep outside carseat, the lie flat seat is then anyway pointless. Another option is to sit in premium economy, hopefully bulkhead.
Which option would you choose?
4. If we buy a seat for our baby, can we also have a bassinet in addition?
Thanks very much in advance for your help!
We plan to fly with our (will be in dec) 14 mo from zurich to jakarta, on singapore airline. Having read a lot about safety, we are buying a seat for her. However, the rest doesnt seem to be so simple...
1. Singapore airline only allows forward facing carseat. We plan to buy a convertible carseat, with the hope that we can use it rear facing if we sit in either business or premium economy bulkhead, as space isnt an issue. Our assumption is that if there is space and no other passanger is affected, then why should they care?
- Does anyone have any experience with this?
- If we are forced to use it forward facing, is that safe for a 14 mo? We checked other airlines as well (eg cathay) and they have the same rule.
2. Our baby hates carseat, screams for every minute she is in one (we dont have a car). We will definitely force her to sit anyway during takeoff and landing. However, what about the rest of flight when seatbelt sign is on? We are scared about what to do if she just refuses the carseat (and she is a stubborn one). Does anyone have any experience with this?
3. We initially planned to sit in business, but discovered that the seats are arranged 1 2 1. Thus, unless we put carseat in the alone seat (which will probably make her scream more), my husband and I wont be able to sit together. She is a handful and its much easier to handle with two :-). As it isnt safe for her to sleep outside carseat, the lie flat seat is then anyway pointless. Another option is to sit in premium economy, hopefully bulkhead.
Which option would you choose?
4. If we buy a seat for our baby, can we also have a bassinet in addition?
Thanks very much in advance for your help!
A forward facing carseat is far better than no carseat.
Many kids resist the unfamiliar. If you don't have a car and she doesn't routinely sit in a carseat, she may just be fighting the unfamiliar. I would work out a plan to make it familiar before December. Maybe borrow or rent a car and start taking regular drives so that it becomes familiar before an extremely long trip by air. But when it comes right down to it, it should parents deciding where the child sits, not the child. My kid was also extremely stubborn, but the carseat was a battle he never won and he did learn to stop fussing about it.
Jul 2, 2016, 6:32 pm
#3
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 2,042
My grandson used the CARES harness at 14 months and 22 months for Transatlantic rather than a car seat just because the harness is so much easier to carry. The argument for a car seat is that kids who are used to them accept having to sit still better and go to sleep easier, but that wouldn't apply to your baby. As far as the 1 2 1 seating, just get aisles across. That way you can still talk, but you can take turns sitting next to the baby - believe me, each of you will appreciate getting a break from that.
Jul 4, 2016, 8:35 am
#5
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: SAN
Programs: AS 100K, DL MM, AA PLT
Posts: 2,934
Agree with above. Given that your child is not used to a car seat, I would dispense with it entirely as it sounds like you have no plans to keep them in it regardless (so the safety argument is out the window). SQ business class seats are very wide, so I would just get two seats and take the infant as a lap child. Unless you both are very large people, there will be plenty of room for the baby to sit/sleep beside you in your seat.
Jul 4, 2016, 12:39 pm
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 2
Thx very much for your input, We would like to keep her in the carseat, but we are just scared that she would keep crying the whole flight (12hrs). Therefore, id like to hear about similar experiences. Going as a lap child is unfortunately isnt an option for us, for safety reasons.
Jul 4, 2016, 1:10 pm
#7
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: SAN
Programs: AS 100K, DL MM, AA PLT
Posts: 2,934
To be clear, if you take the child out of the carseat, it is providing no safety. So you need to either decide to strap her in and deal with the consequences, or not.
(FWIW, we flew with our kids in carseats in premium cabins when they were that age, but they were very accustomed to their seats and were more comfortable in them then out of them.)
(FWIW, we flew with our kids in carseats in premium cabins when they were that age, but they were very accustomed to their seats and were more comfortable in them then out of them.)
Jul 4, 2016, 1:31 pm
#8
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: YUL
Posts: 1,001
You can easily train her to accept the car seat between now and December. Buy the car seat now, put it in your living room and do not mention it for a week.
After the first week put a new book and a toy on the car seat, offer to read her a book if she sits in the car seat, if she sits nicely you read the book to her, if she gets out of the car seat you put the book back on the seat and tell her you will finish it when she wants to sit in the seat. Eventually she will accept the seat as a place that she enjoys because she gets extra attention from you in it.
Maybe let her have one of her daily snacks in her car seat too.
She will be much safer in her own seat, and you will have a much happier flight if you do not have a squirmy 14 month old on your lap because you did not train her to like her seat.
After the first week put a new book and a toy on the car seat, offer to read her a book if she sits in the car seat, if she sits nicely you read the book to her, if she gets out of the car seat you put the book back on the seat and tell her you will finish it when she wants to sit in the seat. Eventually she will accept the seat as a place that she enjoys because she gets extra attention from you in it.
Maybe let her have one of her daily snacks in her car seat too.
She will be much safer in her own seat, and you will have a much happier flight if you do not have a squirmy 14 month old on your lap because you did not train her to like her seat.
Jul 8, 2016, 10:32 am
#9
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: gggrrrovvveee (ORD)
Programs: UA Pt, Marriott Ti, Hertz PC
Posts: 6,091
One downside with rear-facing carseats is that legroom for the child can be limited. It does depend on how big your child is and how the carseat is configured, but at 14 months, my kids were find being forward facing in a plane. You have to remember that carseats for infants are rear-facing because they lack neck strength and can be more hurt in the event of a forward collision, which you push you to the front of the car. This is not going to happen on a plane. Rather, you'd see more up-down turbulence and it won't make a difference (imo) whether the child is forward or rear facing.
So go forward facing and don't give it another thought. In my opinion.
So go forward facing and don't give it another thought. In my opinion.
Jul 8, 2016, 10:52 am
#10
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 2,042
I don't see much point in buying the baby a seat if you aren't going to use a car seat or the CARES harness. If you are hoping she would nap in her seat, whenever the seat belt sign is on she would have to be buckled up, just like you do. Google the CARES harness. It is just an FAA approved, easy to use child seat harness that fit on the airline seat, takes up virtually no space or weight to carry, and let's you avoid hauling a car seat through the airport.