By Pakar PBN 
Before my daughter’s first birthday, she traveled with me and my husband with three family weddings and a burial. And at each flight by plane to these events, she was on one of our towers. We were young (ISH) and not really rinse with money, so we did not even plan to buy a seat for her. After all, isn’t that one of the advantages of the flight with a child under the age of two?
But 17 years old and many flights by plane later (and after a few weeks of major plane travel incidents such as Delta airlines crash in Toronto), I wonder if I should have done things differently. Children under the age of two are authorized to travel as a LAP child by the Federal Aviation Administration, but the agency itself says: “The safest place for your child under the age of two on an American plane is [an] Approved children’s restraint system (CRS) or device, not on your knees. A 2019 study carried out by the National Institutes of Health revealed that LAP -free children are subject to flight injuries.
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Is it sure to fly with a baby or a toddler on your lap?
“The way I look at it is quite simple,” explains Anthony Brickhouse, an associate professor at the College of Aviation of the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. “Parents must attach their children to a car seat by leading to the airport if they are below a certain age or a certain weight, but yet they can walk on an airplane with this same child and keep this child in their towers throughout the flight. If the flight is without incident, it is not a problem. But if you have unexpected turbulence or if you have an accident like what we have seen in Toronto, if this child is not attached, it will be a problem. “”
“Physics tells us that a moving object wants to stay in motion until something acts there,” explains Brickhouse. “A seat belt will keep you in place. When a passenger is not attached and something happens, this passenger will fly until something stops this movement. »»
The National Transportation Safety Board recommends that the FAA has changed its policy on LAP children for years, but so far, no change has been made. “When the NTSB makes a recommendation, it examines safety and saving lives. When the FAA looks at a recommendation, they look at these things, and they also look at the financial ramifications, ”adds Brickhouse.
What do the parents of children say in the towers?
“I am downright in the baby team headquarters with a plane trips,” explains Christine Sarkis, editor -in -chief and co -founder of Familyvacationist and Tourscoop and mother of two. “Yes, it’s an additional expense, but the same goes for a baby. Turbulence is not a joke, and the last thing I wanted as a new parent was to finish in a situation where my baby was injured because I was trying to save money. »»
“It is also practical: putting the car seat in the baby’s plane seat meant that they had a familiar place to sleep and spend time during the flight,” she continues. “And getting out of the plane with a based baby meant that the holidays moved away from the right foot.”
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But Dr. Ben Hoffman, the president of 2024 of the American Academy of Pediatrics, understands that the choice may not be so clear for some parents. “Either parents can do the safest thing, or they can do what they can afford. As a practicing pediatrician, I speak to families of Gazillion who like to be able to obtain a seat for their six -month -old child, but they cannot afford to do so. This forces parents to make difficult choices, but that’s what parenting is. »»
Hoffman points out that even if the Toronto crash has attracted everyone’s attention, incidents like this are extremely rare. Unexpected and severe turbulence is the greatest threat to LAP children. “In these circumstances, the force is so great that no parent, even Superman, could have a child. This is the real risk for LAP children. »»
Children’s restraint systems could be an additional cost
If you decide to buy a separate seat for your child under the age of two, you will also need a children’s restraint system approved by the FAA. Many car seats meet this requirement, and you probably bring it from your trip to be used in your destination. Simply check the owner’s manual or the sticker on the side of the seat to ensure that it is certified for use on an aircraft.
Hoffman says there are advantages to using a car seat even after a child’s second anniversary. “A belt belt comes into contact with the body on a very small surface, just above the basin, hips and the upper part of the legs. If there is something that happens, all the strength is directed where the belt touches the human body. A car seat with a five -point harness has a much wider surface, it therefore propagates force more effectively and will decrease the risk of reservoir injury. »»
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The AMSAFE Aviation Aviation Re -Request System system is also certified by the FAA for children up to 40 inches high and weighing between 22 and 44 pounds. But parents must note that it must be fixed around the circumference of the plane seat, which has an impact on the use of the tray table for the person behind the child. Dr. Hoffman saw passengers refusing to be embarrassed like that. “It is a perfectly beautiful option, but sometimes the practicality is complicated,” he says.
Dr. Hoffman did not buy seats for his own children when they had less than two accessibility factors. “It was just a matter of economy,” he said. “I knew the risk and we did our best with what we had.”
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“It is important for each parent to assess the circumstances and to know what he thinks of the risk,” he continues. “The important thing is to know what the options are and to make the best enlightened decision for them and their child. There is always this tension between what is the surest and what is realistic, and a large part of this comes down to the economy. So, you do your best with what you have, and it is important not to feel guilty parents or to make them ashamed.
The good news is that theft remains a sure way to travel. “Statistically speaking, aviation is the safest mode of transport,” notes Brickhouse. “It was and it remains, even in the light of tragedies and accidents that we have recently.”
“A person is so much more likely to be injured in the car on the airport path than on the plane,” said Hoffman. “But very few people are terrified when they get into the car, and many people are terrified when they fly.”