Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
27
Child Seats: They're a Must
According to
Consumer Reports Travel Letter,
the National Transportation Safety
Board says that, sinc e 1991, the deaths of and injur y of some childr en could
have been prevented had the children been sitting in restraint systems during
their flights. Even in the ev ent of moderat e turbulence, children sitting on a
parent's lap can be thrust f orward and injur ed. When y ou c onsider that a
commercial aircraft hits a sig nificant amount of turbulenc e at least onc e a d ay
on average, you'd do w ell to think about in vesting a f ew hundred dollars f or
a safety seat.
The FAA recommends that childr en under 20 pounds ride in a r ear-facing
child-restraint system, and sa ys children that w eigh 20 t o 40 pounds should
sit in a f orward-facing child-restraint system. Children over 40 pounds should
sit in a r egular seat and w ear a seat belt.
All child seats manufac tured af ter 1985 ar e c ertified f or airline use , but
make sure your chair will fit in an airline seat—it must be less than 16 inches
wide. You ma y not use boost er seats or seatless v ests or harness sy stems.
Safety seats must be placed in window seats—except in exit rows, where they
are prohibited, so as not t o block the passage of other tra velers in the case
of an emer gency.
2
• T ry to
accompany childr en to the
lavatory.
They can be easily bumped
and possibly injured as they make their
way do wn tight aisles. I t's especially
dangerous for children to wander while
flight attendants ar e blocking passage
with their ser vice car ts. O n cr owded
flights, the flight cr ew may need as
much as an hour to ser ve dinner . I t's
wise to encourage y our kids to use the
restroom as you see the attendants pr e-
paring to serve.
• Be sure to
bring clean, self-containing
compact to ys.
Leav e electr onic games
at home. They can inter fere with the
aircraft navigational system, and their
noisiness, ho wever lulling to childr en's
ears, will sur ely not win the fav or of
your adult neighbors. Magnetic checker
sets, on the other hand, ar e a per fect
distraction, and small coloring topics
and crayons also wor k well, as do car d
games like Go Fish.
• S ome airlines
serve childr en's meals
first.
When y ou boar d, ask a flight
attendant if this is possible, especially if
your children are very young or seated
toward the back of the plane. After all,
if your kids hav e a happy flight experi-
ence, everyone else in the cabin is more
likely to as well.
• You'll cer tainly be grateful to y ourself
for packing
tidy snacks
like rolled dried
fruit, which ar e much less sticky and
wet, and mor e compact and packable,
than actual fr uit. Healthy granola bars
are also a good alternativ e to cr umbly
cookies. Gingersnaps, crisp and not as
crumbly as softer cookies, will also help
curb mild cases of motion sickness. And
don't forget to stash a fe w r esealable
plastic bags in your purse. They'll prove
invaluable for storing ev erything fr om
half-eaten crackers and fr uit to checker
pieces and matchbox cars.
