Travel with a One Year Old

I say yes, if she will sleep in her car seat. It is a great set of extra hands and a time for you to rest too.

I would get a seat for her so that when she is tired she has her own place to sleep instead of you holding her. Also she may suprise you and want to sit there and look at books or play. My two year loved sitting and looking outside when we flew. Good luck!!

YES, I have flown 3 times with our daughter. The 1st time we didn't get a seat, but were lucky enough to have one open to us on our return flight, and boy was I glad!!!! The flight there was a little trying. Imagine you just get her to sleep, and then, nature calls. Unevitably you will wake her up. The last 2 times we bought her a seat at 1-1/2 and 2 and it was splendid. I will say don't get the front row. We thought with the extra room, that would be great, but she wanted to wander.
If you have a portable dvd player, bring it and a few dvds. 27 hours is a long time for a little one to be confined.

G.,

YES - buy her a seat!! It will be so worth it even if she only uses it half the time - that would be 14 hours. We've flown with my Daughter multiple times on long trips, the extra room is priceless for her to nap or sit and watch a travel DVD player and it will give you more space so you won't be confined for that long of a period of time. You will not regret spending the extra money!

I traveled with a 6 one old by myself, 8 month old together and we just returned from a trip with our now 20 month old daughter. All three times we purchased the seat. The first two trips the airlines sold 1/2 price tickets (Midwest express and Frontier, I think, United does not). This last time was on Southwest and just went with the online special because it was cheaper than their "under two" fare.

While she was in the infant seat, travel was pretty easy. She couldn't walk yet and slept part of the way. Daddy did walk her up and down the isle a few times and that worked. Now, however, with the bit car seat and being able to walk, well she fell asleep the last 1/2 hour or our returning flight. I would, however, buy the seat again. I can't imagine trying to coral her in my lap...especially on a full flight.

I would think on a flight overseas, it would be worth it to have that seat. She will need to sleep for quite a while and might just fall asleep on her own in the car seat. Of course if she hates the thing and fights every time you strap her in it, that's another story.

As a side note, I don't think the airlines carry milk. So if she's on cow milk already, you need to take it with you, or call the airline.

Hope that helps!
M. B

We traveled to California with our son when he was about a year old, and we did not buy a seat for him. Many times, the flight attendants will move you or someone around you so that you have an extra seat (or two) if the flight is not too crowded. We were moved to the back row of the plane, and had four seats to ourselves. I wouldn't waste the money on a seat that she probably won't even use.
Have a safe trip,
J.

I STRONGLY agree with Becca. We flew with our first daughter when she was about 18 mos and we bought her a seat. She sat calmly the whole 2 hour flight and even took a little nap. With our second daughter, we flew when she was 14 mos and had just started walking and we didn't buy her a seat. She was squirming and wanting to get down and walk almost the entire 2 hr flight. I really think she would have been fine if we'd had her carseat-- she knows the drill, as Becca said.

I can only imagine that with an international flight it would be even more helpful to have the seat (not to mention she'd be much safer strapped in her seat if you experienced strong turbulence). Many airlines offer a discount for passengers under two. If you can at all afford it, I highly recommend buying a seat for your sanity and your daughter's safety. Your flight will be MUCH more pleasant. Good luck!

I would say absolutely it would be worth it and here is why. At that age, they like to squirm. Most kids have been trained how to sit in a car seat. If your child is NOT in a car seat for a long flight (even a 3 hr flight CAN be miserable with a squirmy kid) you can almost guarantee a restless kid that is cranky and needing to move more. There is something about having that car seat. They are use to it, they can fall asleep in it. You can still take them out every so often but once strapped in they seem to know the drill. I have traveled 3 times with a child that small. The 1st was the test case where we played pass the baby, walk the baby, constantly entertain the baby. Mind you my kids all as babies had long attention spans for their age, they self soothed, played quietly, etc. It was just that new to walking phase and being forced to sit on a lap as opposed to a place where they were belted in and had a routine. You can test your child out to see how it would work for a shorter amount of time with eating. Most kids are trained to sit in a high chair strapped in. If you place them on your lap or a chair that gives them no leg rest/foot rest and no seat belt you will have a squirmer that wants to get down to play when they would be less likely to be that way strapped in the place of routine. However, at 8 months your child will not be doing the same things as when she turns one. A couple of months is pretty huge. Good luck and I hope the flight goes smoothly for you. How exciting to take a trip like that!!!

B. :)

I have traveled with my kids all over the U.S. when they were that little. I never did spring for the extra seat, but always thought it would be nice. I think it would be best to do it if you can figure out the money situation. It is likely that she will be in your arms a lot of the time, but if you need to change her diaper or let her stretch out, it would be helpful. Also if she is sleeping you will have somewhere to put her so that you and your husband can take a kid break.

That long on a plane is tough, but it will be made more tough by being squished. If I were going to do it and could at all afford the extra seat I would. Also, be sure you ask the airline if there are any discounts for the extra seat. Since it is not required, they sometimes will work a deal out for you. Good luck and happy traveling!

Hello-
You should definitely purchase a seat. If you can afford to that is. My family (including an 18month old) just flew a short distance of 1hour and it was a long hour the way home. He happened to come down with a cold and just wanted to get down the whole time. This made things extremely difficult. We tried to purchase a seat for him at the last minute, because I researched it on the internet. All the points brought up were valid and now having done it first hand I would definitely buy a ticket for him next time. Hope you have a successful trip. Make sure you bring books and possibly a portable dvd player.

For the safety of your child, it is recommended that you place her in a airplane-approved carseat in her own separate seat when flying. Though rare, there have been incidents when a chld has been injured due to turbulence. The airlines charge a 50% reduced fare for a seat purchased for an infant. And especially for such a long flight, I would recommmend purchasing an extra seat for her and bringing along an approved carseat. You should also speak to her pediatrician as well. I'm sure it would be agreed for her to have her own seat. Plus, her doctor can give you tips for traveling with your little one. Have a safe flight!

Yes buy the seat. When we flew 4 hours it was great not to hold her the whole time. She slept most of the way. I couldn't image holding her for the whole time and not being able to move. Granted mine was almost 2 when we flew. Remember to bring snacks and toys for her. We bought ours a specail toy and book for the plane. She picked them out a few days before the fight and only got them on the flight this way they were new and interesting. We also brought her favroites. One thing to keep in mind you only have two hand so when you are packing remeber that because it can be difficult with all her stuff and your stuff.

Definitely purchase an extra seat!! When we adopted our daughter from China, we traveled with 30 other families. The babies were between 9 and 17 months old. Most purchased an extra seat for the trip home, but some did not. We did, and boy were we glad! Our daughter slept most of the way, and if we had had to hold in our lap, it would have made a long and tiring trip that much more difficult. It also gave us a little more room to spread out. Those who hadn't purchased an extra seat all wished they had.

I would suggest that long of trip you purchase the extra seat. She is going to get tired & you are going to want to put her down. You won't want to hold her for 27 hours straight. I think she will use it more than you think. If it was a couple hour flight (like my husband & I are going on with our 8 month old) I would say don't swing for the extra seat! :)

I can answer that question with one word - YES. We fly every 6 months with our son and let me tell you, even on a 4 or 5 hour flight you need space to stretch out, change a diaper, sit them down to play with toys, etc. You can't believe how hard it is to hold your child for that long. Spend the money. You'll be glad you did.

Although we never traveled internationally, we did travel quite a bit with our infant twins. For us it was definitely worth the expense of the seats...much easier to put them in their car seats than to have them screaming on our laps. They would usually just fall asleep. Also, on domestic flights, there is a discount on infant seats.

I went to India with my son when he was 2 1/2 months old. I went by myself, so I only had the one seat. As much as I would have liked having another seat, I don't think it would have been worth the money for me.

How long is the longest leg of your flight? If it's a 16 hour flight (like one of mine was), I might consider getting the extra seat. However, if you're going on 3 or 4 smaller flights, you might not want to spend the extra money, especially if the majority of the flights will be during naptime or overnight. If you're travelling with your husband, I'd probably save the money since you'll have an extra set of hands. If you get a seat on the front row and it's you and your husband, you should have enough room to make a "bed" on the floor for her to sleep.

International flights aren't cheap (especially the ones that are going to take 27 hours) and the 10% ticket price for my son was quite a hefty fee for a 15 pound baby that didn't require any food or service from the flight attendants. If money isn't an option, go for it, but otherwise I'd try to make do with just you and your husband's seat.

The extra room is always nice to have. We didn't purchase an extra seat and it was crampt sitting next to another person. We only went to CA, I think I would definately get another seat for international! Good Luck!

YYYYYYYYEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSS,it will be worth it buying her a seat!! I have flown both ways and my children did beautifully both ways, however if you're flying for 27hours you are going to want a break and she will sleep better in her seat. Please don't do that to yourself, get her a seat if you can.

Have fun on your trip!

I have travelled with my son to india a couple of times ..i did not get a seat ,and i am happy i didnt waste my money on that ...i ordered a basinett( a front row seat with the basinett attached to the walls of the plane right in front of your seat ) free of cost ...when he wanted to sleep he sleapt there ,other than that he was not willing to sit in his seat at any time ( even though i had a free seat right next to me )Either way i am sure you would be chasing behind her all the time !! all the best ...dont worry what ever decision you make will work out .

Last I checked, the fly free option wasn't available on the internationaly flights. Check that first. But check on that...it may have been the way I was looking at it. I had the brilliant idea to travel over seas w/ our first child and checked on it. When it said I had to buy a seat, I decided to wait until she could remember going.

I am torn on the issue. It is so nice to put them in the seat beside you and let them nap and let you do something else. But many times I have been moved when we opted not to purchase a seat on our short flights that we take regularly. But the money...yikes. And you can't call if it will be a full flight or not. I have flown over seas and had packed flights almost all of the time. Lately it is a rare that you have open seats on some flights.

At any rate...That is my 2 cents.

We have traveled internationally with my son twice now (once at 4 months, then at 13 months). Depending on the time of year you travel, it is usually possible for them to block the seat next to you as a "last resort seat" (i.e., they will only give it out if absolutely necessary). It is also a good idea to ask for a seat in the bulkhead. That way there is no one in front of you (so no one's seat for the baby to kick), and the trays are in the armrest (great for banging and playing with toys on without disturbing the peace). Whether to pay for the seat really depends on your child: if she is mobile and acive, you're not going to be sitting a lot anyway. If she is calm and can sit still for a while, she may do better in her own space. My son started walking while we were on our last trip, so all he wanted to do on the return flight was walk around. Best of luck and have a good trip.
-Letha