I’ve been flying a lot back and forth across the country recently and that involves flying over mountain ranges where turbulence is prevalent and there’s always some big storm to fly over that makes the plane ride feel more like a roller coaster ride. The pilot inevitably announces that drink service must be stopped and the flight attendants should take their seats until the air settles down and it’s safe to move about the cabin again. But wait! Across the aisle is a child under the age of 2 who isn’t required to be restrained, being held in a parent’s arms. Something is wrong here.
The airplane coffee pot is required to be restrained during take-off, landing, and turbulence, but children under 2 are not. The American Academy of Pediatrics has a policy recommending that children of all ages be restrained on an aircraft. Safe Kids USA recommends buckling kids up on aircraft. Even the FAA recommends it. It’s just good common sense.
Let’s face it: car seats are a PITB to lug through the airport. I’ve done it, I know what it’s like. I did it when traveling by myself with a baby and I did it when traveling with my dh and 2 kids. No matter what, it’s schlepping something with bags tossed on it, plus dragging another car seat or booster, plus dragging my laptop (What?! Me travel without my computer? Never!), plus dragging 2 complaining kids along. No wonder I’d rather just stay home, lol.
Enter the CARES (Child Aviation Restraint System) harness by Kids Fly Safe. This FAA-certified harness is designed for use on airplanes only, for children weighing between 22-44 lbs. who ride forward-facing in a vehicle. That means it’s not for babies or little toddlers. The harness is a very simple design: there’s an installation strap, made of seat belt material, that wraps around the plane seat and gets tightened underneath the tray table. Since it’s snug to the seat, it won’t interfere with the tray table of the passenger sitting behind leading to any grumbling from that direction. The harness itself lays down over the child’s chest and buckles with a chest clip. The plane’s seat belt passes through 2 loops at the bottom of the harness which keeps the harness secured at the bottom.
The harness is very simple to install. I watched the installation video on the web site many months ago, so I had the gist of how it installed, and I read through the instructions the night before our trip. It took me probably less than 2-3 minutes to get it installed–I wasn’t timing myself, rather I was trying to get out of the way of the oncoming passengers and not get knocked out by passing luggage 😉 . The only thing I forgot to do was secure the long tail end of the installation strap: it’s made to go around first class seats too; alas, we were flying coach, so the strap was long enough for the little girl sitting behind my dd to grab and play with for a bit.
The CARES harness was designed by a grandmother who watched her own very pregnant dd getting off an airplane (pre-9/11) with a car seat, small child, and carryons in tow. Necessity is the mother of invention, as they say, and she thought there must be something better! Today, CARES is also certified for use in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Singapore.
I thought the CARES harness was very simple to use and my 6.5 yr old dd liked it. She’s harnessed in one of our vehicles, so she was up for trying the harness out on the plane. I did loosen the harness so she could access her tray table and draw pictures. The harness comes in its own small pouch and weighs about a pound–very lightweight when compared to a car seat.
The lightest convertible car seat on the market is the Cosco Scenera and it weighs about 9 lbs. Another seat on the market for forward-facing kids that bills itself as a travel seat is the Safety 1st Go Hybrid and it’s also around 9 lbs., but can’t be used on airplanes. It really wasn’t any trouble at all “lugging” the CARES harness through the airport: I had dd strap the pouch to her rolling carryon and away we went. It could also fit in a purse if you’re so inclined to carry one.
There are a couple of drawbacks to the CARES harness that I simply have to address seeing as how we’re a car seat blog. The harness does pull the lap belt up on the belly. But let’s remember what we’re protecting against in a plane: turbulence. We’re more about keeping the child contained in the plane seat than abdominal injuries. Yes, there are many incidents every year where planes run off the end of the runway or some other mishap where the crash forces may be similar to a vehicle crash, but still, the main problem in a plane is turbulence. Also, what are you going to use to transport your child when you get to your destination? We used CARES this trip because we went to Washington, DC, and used public transportation and walked everywhere. We didn’t need car seats.
During my layovers in all of the airports I visited over the past 2 weeks, I saw a lot of car seats in luggage holds and it was depressing to me. Please don’t check your car seats; they can get damaged. I didn’t see any baggage handlers intentionally mishandling car seats, but luggage does shift around during flight (remember turbulence?) and those really nice expensive seats that you’re checking can be really expensive hunks of broken plastic and broken EPS foam at your destination. If you’re visiting a relative and they have an appropriate car seat waiting or you’re using public transportation like we did, then CARES is perfect for you!
For more info on flying with kids – see our related blog posts:
Recommended Carseats for Airplane Travel
Flying with a Car Seat? Know Your Rights!
Flying with Kids & Carseats – the checked carseat controversy
Airplanes, Carseats, and Kids—What You Need to Know Pt. 1
Airplanes, Carseats, and Kids—What You Need to Know Pt. 2
Hi Heather! Thanks for this. I do have CARES and I’ve used in the past with my twins. I do have a question: you tried it with your 6.5 yo daughter for demonstration purposes only, right? I guess she would be over the weight and height limits for the device. I am asking because I am trying to determine if my kiddos would still be okay wearing it. They’re both over 40 pounds and over 40 inches – and my boy is over 44 pounds. Would they be okay with the plane seat belt only? Thanks!
Hi Rachel. For the model I had, my daughter was within the limits. She was right around 40 lbs. at that age for that trip, as I recall. The CARES did pull the seat belt up on her belly a bit, but I find when kids are around 40 lbs., they start to fit in the plane’s seat belt. The seat belt on a plane is generally situated forward from the bight (crack), unlike in a vehicle, so it will fit them better younger.
But you can see how big the plane’s seat is in relation to my daughter in the picture. It wasn’t a particularly comfortable ride for her. If you’ll need a carseat at your destination, their carseats will be more comfortable for them on the plane.
would this be okay for my son? he is 33 inches and 26 pounds. (of note, i took my car seat the last time i traveled, a few months back, and he was much smaller but very cramped and uncomfortable.)
@mona, that depends. How old is your child? He fits within the weight and height range for sure. The nice thing about a carseat on a plane is that it’s familiar and you have that carseat for use in a vehicle at your destination. If there’s already a carseat at your destination, then CARES may be a good option. If you’re planning on renting a carseat at your destination, I *highly* recommend against that for many reasons.
Hi Is the care harness safe for my 21 month old? She is 24 pounds but isnt forward facing in a carseat yet. Your article says it is for kids that are at least 22 pounds but not babies and toddlers…just not sure if I should try it for my 4 hour flight or not. After age two she will br flying in a carseat..but I reallly dont want to lug a carseat on plane now since I will be flying alone with her. Also, I know the Cosco Scenera is only 9 pounds but I prefer to have a safer carseat for use at Grandmas house since it will get alot of use. What is the best compromise? What is the safest plan? Thanks.
Great review, Heather! I agree with Kecia, a CARES harness plus a SafeGuard Go would make a light-weight and versatile travel combination.
For reasons you site at the end of this review, I do not like the product in general. I prefer to Go Go Kidz my seats through the airport and install the seats on the plane – I would never check my seats as luggage and I urge many to follow my suit. However, I did recently recommend this for friends who are traveling to Disney and will not be using a vehicle at their destination. In that way, I see a very niche application for this, but sadly, in reality it may result in more seats being checked as luggage.
Great review Heather! For older kids and/or shorter flights I think the CARES harness is a great option. And if paired with a SafeGuard Go (taken as carry-on so it can’t get lost or damaged) it can be an awesome travel combination.
Thanks Heather to you and your 6.5YO for testing this out and sharing your impressions of it as a parent and CPST. The “Anyone use CARES?” question pops up a lot on the email forum of our Parents of Multiples Club so I’ll probably be posting a link to this blog entry on a regular basis 🙂