Flying with 18 month old - advice please!

[Eloise73]

Hi

We are flying (well we hope if the sales ever start!) to Florida next Easter for 2.5 weeks. Its me, my husband, our 11 year old daughter and our baby who will be 18 months old. She is currently almost 9 months old and she's a big baby - 98th percentile height and weight - so heaven knows how big she will be in 9 months hehe

We keep going back and forth on whether to buy her a seat...we feel it would be safer but then friends who have gone with young kids say they never sit still, always want to walk around and spend most of the time on your lap anyway.

We don't mind paying the extra £600/£700 but truly if she doesn't use the seat i'd rather save that money for shopping and maybe a fireworks cruise.

Would love to hear your experiences especially those who bought and wished they hadn't!

Thank you x

[theriler]

Not quite 18 months but our son was a few days before his 2nd birthday when we flew and we decided to buy a seat for him. It was a no brainer for a 2 year old that was quite big and active. If he was 18 months old, I think it would have been a 50/50 decision but I think I would have lent towards not getting one. It really depends on your child though, can you imagine having them on your lap for that length of time? Also, where are you flying from and are you going direct? That would be a big factor too.

Also, check the exact cost before deciding, I know it cost us a lot less than £600 for his seat as you still get a discounted rate. Also check with the airline whether the child can simply sit in the seat themselves or if they need a car seat/special aircraft seatbalt for infants. We flew BA and nobody really knew what the rules were even after numerous phone calls.

[Lisa_Lollipop]

Following with interest as we will be taking our 22 month old little boy next September. I must admit I am leaning towards getting him his own seat as even at 8 months he is very wriggly! I'm not sure how manageable 8 hours with him on our lap will be (particularly for the daytime outbound flight!)

My understanding is that even if they have their own seat but are under 2 they still have to be on your lap for take off/landing/turbulence but outside of that it would be nice to be able to sit him in his own seat so he has a bit of room!

[Emma2288]

I'm having the same predicament! We've booked to go next May when our daughter will be 15 months. Shes only 5 months now so I have no idea how big or what she will be like in 10 months' time. I know her seat will be discounted but I would still rather save the money if she won't use the seat that much.
Do 15 month olds usually sit and keep themselves entertained by a tv screen? haha sounds like a stupid question but I genuinely have no idea!

[Woohoobb]

Hi all!

I’ve taken my daughter to Florida 4 times and she’s only just 21 months so i’m a pro at this.

To be honest with you all the last trip was harder as she’s a lanky leggy girl and wanted her independence. However we had horrendous turbulence most of the way and she had to be lap seated the whole time. I’d have been raging if I’d paid full whack for a seat that she didn’t use.
Yes it is convienient to have a seat but only if conditions are perfect.

You can still request the bassinet seats (I got them every time on Virgin) and the extra room is terrific as they can stand in front of you.

I’m looking forward to her turning two and can officially have her own seat. I understand why they have rules but she happily sat in the spare seats no bother with a normal belt on.

So in short I’d not spend the money and try for the bassinet. If you are travelling out of season then you’ll likely end up with a free seat anyway. I had the whole bassinet row to myself on our last flight! It was great!

[MJ6987]

Oh god yes, buy a seat. It will be no fun for anyone otherwise - you, her and fellow passengers!

[babyh200]

If you fly with BA you can book an extra legroom seat free of charge and they will provide a baby seat in place of the bassinet for a toddler. The best way to describe it is 'a baby bouncer' put where the bassinet is normally situated.
Our son was 17 months last year and He slept the whole way home. BA really don't get enough credit for these, lots of people just assume once your little one is too big for the bassinet there is no other option.
No good for those who only fly with Virgin though

[Eloise73]

Thank you all -yes, probably will be flying BA so will not buy her a seat and will request the baby seat/bouncer for her. She does not like to sit still at the best of times and we would really appreciate the extra room at the front for her to stand in etc.

We originally booked with BA to fly to Tampa and they let us pre-select our seats when we booked as we had a baby so am hopeful they will let us do that again for free.

Thank you all for your advice!

[GrumpyDopey&Me]

I wouldn’t get a seat because under 2 they would still need to be attached to your seat belt if turbulence so I would get extra leg room seats.

[Floridarich]

We’ve just got back from taking out 18 month with us. We booked to have her sitting on our laps on way there and back,but flight wasn’t full on way out so they moved us to a 3 seats. To be honest it is uncomfortable having her
Sit on me for the return journey but the fact is it is only 9 hours. Also on way out when we had the “extra seat”
The fact is she used it for all of about an hour maximum. If you manage to sit an 18
Month down on a plane seat for more than an hour I will give you a prize as at
That age they want to be exploring not restricted
To a seat... as such I would have felt a bitagrieved if I had paid for the extra one, as she spent a lot of time
Either crawling and climbing over you, or wanting to walk around the plane.

If I was to do it again I would likely just have her sit of my lap as an extra 400/500 pound for what is essentially an hour or two when they will actually sit in it is simply not worth it.

Also from my experience they are more likely to sleep on you as the size of the seat is simply not conducive to sleeping.

Finally regardless of where they sit ie on your lap or in own seat they will have a seat belt on, and we found when she sat on us she was a lot less wriggling around but when put in own seat with seatbelt on was difficult as she just wanted to then stand up.

Oh yes , it also takes a bit of juggling trying to eat your dinner with a baby sitting on you, some major juggling required...

Good luck.

If it was me I would save the extra few hundred quid and spend it on character dining or something that will enhance your holiday experience

Ps
Don’t worry about what other (childless) passengers say or sigh under their breath. The child has just as much a right to be on the plane as anybody else...



That said