Airlines: Please Stop Allowing the “Lap Child”
As parents, our number one concern is child safety. And so I ask, have you ever taken advantage of an airline’s “lap child” policy? My next questions: Would you ever sit your child on your lap riding on a roller coaster? How about cruising at 75 mph down the highway?
A “lap child” is where children under age two are allowed to fly for “free” (here in the United States) if they sit on an adult’s lap the entire flight. Parents sometimes book a lap child hoping that the plane isn’t sold out so they can use an empty seat in their row.
During my years as a flight attendant, I would cringe every time a family boarded with a lap child – because I believe there should be no such thing as a lap child. Why?
Physics plus a worst-case scenario can equal a devastating outcome.
Some parents assume that if the airline allows lap children, it must be okay. After all, the airlines are the experts, why would they put any of their passengers in danger? These parents probably don’t realize something that I learned in my first flight attendant training class (I’ve worked for several airlines). If a baby is being held on the parent’s lap and an airplane crashes, the force of impact can be so strong that a parent’s arms will be comparable to spaghetti while the child’s weight, as it is propelled through the air, will multiply several times. In other words, your little 20 pound baby can turn into an 80-100 pound flying object that can not only get killed but also kill another passenger upon impact. In fact, I’ve seen children fall out of their parents arms during abrupt landings – and those were during a typical flight sequence.
This next topic isn’t discussed often, because it should be a non-issue. Never fasten your lap child into your seat belt. If the plane comes to a sudden halt or crash, your body will automatically be thrown forward and forced down, on top of your baby, possibly crushing him. I’ve witnessed several moms try to “sneak” this tactic even after I told them it was not allowed and extremely unsafe. Each mother asked something along the lines of, “But what’s going to keep my baby safe if something bad happens?”
My response was always accompanied by a slight shrug and a look of compassion, “I suggest you purchase a seat for your child the next time you fly.”
Crashes aside, what is even more common is something air carriers endure daily – turbulence. Numerous times I, an adult, had to be held down by passengers in the middle of the plane’s aisle upon hitting a bout of clear air turbulence. I witnessed a man, not wearing his seat belt, who hit his head on the overhead bin when the plane hit a patch of unexpected bumps. The turbulence from that storm was so bad on that flight, I had bruises on my shoulders from my jump-seat harness. Thankfully, there were not any lap children on board that evening.
I find it disgusting that the airlines and FAA allow children to sit on their parents instead of being secured in their own seat. Forget the statistics that say flying is safer than traveling by car. The point is, turbulence happens every day around the world, airplane crashes do occur, and lap children have died in survivable airplane crashes due to the reasons I mentioned above. The only way to guarantee your baby is as safe as they can be, especially during take-off, landing, and turbulence, is for the child to be fastened into their own child restraint system.
In the meantime, I beg parents to purchase a seat for their child for safety sake. And I plead with the airlines and FAA to withdraw their policies of allowing lap children. Not all parents may understand the dangers of a lap child – but you do.
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Physics is the first thing they taught us in carseat tech class. It makes child seats and seatbelts make a heckuva a lot more sense.
Your point about turbulence is excellent. When we discussed it in class, our instructor said that a carseat may or may not help a child in the event of a crash, but that it will be essential in keeping children safe during turbulence.
Thanks for sharing your insights.
Until airlines bring the prices down for their seats or discount a seat for child it is very expensive for a family of four (myself with twins) to travel anywhere on a plane thus why many parents choose the lap or we stay home. I’d be interested in the percentage of children that have been injured because of turbulence. Do you know that? I’d guess my children are more likely to get hurt falling at home than on my lap on a plane as often as we can afford to fly.
Airlines do have discounted seats for children- they just have to know you are flying with a child. I’ve never been able to get the discount online but always get it when I use a travel agent.
Buying a seat for your child is one of my travel tips, as well. Not only is it safer but it is also more comfortable- for everyone. I completely agree.
Hear, hear. I have a friend who’s a pilot, and he pores over accident reports like other people read the back of cereal boxes. Lap babies are hurt and killed at a much, MUCH higher rate than anyone else in bad situations.
Thanks for commenting, Linda, Jody and Jamie.
Wanderer, I completely understand your concern about cost. Flying can be very expensive and with a family of six (four kids) we have to be particularly budget conscience when traveling, too. That’s why when we fly we purchase our plane tickets months in advance.
As for statistics, here is a recent update on turbulence by the FAA: http://www.faa.gov/passengers/fly_safe/turbulence/
Toddlers are naturally accident prone, the difference is that your living room isn’t flying 500 miles per hour with the possibility of hitting deep “pot holes” (that’s what turbulence is comparable to).
A woman was recently paralyzed from the neck down when the plane hit turbulence.
If luggage, coffee pots and tissues boxes are required to be secured, I think children should be, too. Besides, after age two children are required to have a paid ticket. Families will have to either plan better or cut costs elsewhere, like fly the no-frills airlines, shorten the length of their vacation or stay in less expensive hotels.
Please keep in mind that my passion stems from first-hand experience and seeing the danger such situations cause.
Hey,
this is a great piece and in general, I agree with all your points. Definitely there’s a risk/reward calculation going on and all parents should acknowledge that and at least accept the risk they’re taking.
But, as someone who moved to the US with nothing but my backpack (seriously) and had a baby 18 months later, I can say from my heart that there’s no way I would have been able to travel to visit family in those first years if there wasn’t such as thing as a lap child option. In researching for the Traveling With Kids books, I heard this again and again from moms in similar personal situations.
Just a perspective for you from a totally different population than you might not normally think of when writing about family travel.
That’s why it’s up to the FAA or airlines to remove the lap child option. People will try to save money wherever they can, and airlines often do charge full fare for a child’s seat.
I’m guilty of squeezing in a trip before my daughter turned 2 to take advantage of this. It was a full flight – and let me tell you – I would have paid any amount of money to get her off my lap mid-flight!
First of all, when you bring a baby on a flight, you usually DO get an empty seat in your row, ’cause everyone is looking to get as far away from you as possible.
I flew twice with my son as a “lap child” and honestly didn’t think much of it. I see all the points you make, though. Ultimately I think you’d end up paying for that ticket as a kind of insurance instead of for actual use, because at least in my experience, my son would have never sat in his infant seat. Both times (at 5 weeks and again at 5 months) he nursed on and off for the entire 5hr flight. It was the only thing that seemed to help with the air pressure and to relax him.
Yes! Yes! Yes! One of the most popular, and most controversial, articles I have posted on Travel Mamas is an article titled, “Why You Should Never Fly with a Child on Your Lap” by Bill McGee for USA Today. I have received a lot of praise for posting and promoting this article and I have received a lot of negative feedback from parents who are angry to hear the truth about the dangers of flying with a child on your lap. Thank you for providing a flight attendant’s perspective on this dangerous situation. You just may save some lives with this post.
Beth, great to find you here. Love your travelin mamas and will love this, too.
Best,Carolyn
Hi, Beth!
Love your new site and great post. I would imagine many make this decision for economical reasons. Not that it makes it okay. I flew this week, and interestingly enough, had similar thoughts when seeing the image on the safety card of the mother covering the baby with her body. I wondered how many would feel compelled to “strap” them in with them or “tie” them down, which you also mentioned in this article. When I thought about it…I realized (as you indicated) it could cause all sorts of physical traumas.
Good post!
…and besides the safety issue…how about the concerns and compassion of the fellow passengers? Back in the early ’70s before deregulation you would see so few children on any flights. Why? It cost so much more then to fly in relative to the economy and average income of the population. Nowadays, flights are so cheap, and everyone wants to take along the entire family.
I once had a very comfortable seat on an Ozark flight (extinct). The plane was about to take off when a last minute boarding placed a woman with a toddler (lap child) right next to me. Not only did I have to put up with the kid kicking me for almost two hours, but the sleeve of my suit was sticky from the kid’s fingers constantly grabbing me. When I confronted the stewdardess she treated me like I was the nasty one. I learned my lesson there. I would no longer fly that airline (goes to prove that bad bussiness will shut down your bussiness), and I will pay more to avoid that kid-next-to-me scenario. I always book well in advance, and choose a seat with no neighbors. I also will never fly the discount carriers. I would rather shell out a $100 dollars more for a comfortable seat on a respectable carrier than pinch and save to fly on some discount airline which caters to families.
As for anyone who would rather “lap” a child rather than paying for another seat, SHAME ON YOU! No risk is worth taking when you put your childs life on the line. I understand there are times when you have to take a child on a trip, but frankly, if you can’t afford the airfare….TAKE A BUS!
As a Flight Attendant myself, I couldn’t agree with you more.
I know that no matter how cheap travel is these days, when you’re flying with a family those cheap costs still add up. But just as you budget for food and lodging, you need to budget for a seat for every child — even the baby.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen some really large 2 year olds — I’m sure of parents who are just trying to squeak in one more flight before acknowledging that junior is too large to pass off as a 2 yr old for one more year.
In my opinion, this is strictly an economics issue for the airlines, and they have successfully lobbied the FAA to keep the rule in place hoping that parents will continue to fly. But at least they should be honest about it — we’ll compromise the safety of your child to make a buck!
You won’t find any Flight Attendants disagreeing with your position!
[...] The Vacation Gals entreat the airlines and the FAA not to allow lap children. The fares are cheap these days, but the costs add up. Still, think about these issues before keeping your infant on your lap for your next flight. [...]
Turbulence related injuries are NOT documented – although they DO happen. Ask ANY flight attendant. Or ask Flight Attendant Jan Brown-Lohr who witnessed a mother’s loving arms NOT be enough to hold a 22 month old (on a LAST free flight)in a crash landing where the seat belted mother survived. Little Evan never reached his 2nd birthday…
I admit in my book (and the free chapter posted on my site dedicated to this topic http://jetwithkids.com/book_freeChapter.html) that I also held my son before I researched this and discovered the risk I had unknowingly taken.
Would you risk your child’s life going speeds of 200 mph (runways) or during unexpected turbulence just to save money? Is the trip really worth it?
If something happens, only the parents will suffer. The airlines are covered legally- just read what the FAA, all airlines, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the NTSB, etc. have stated (and what the safety card in your seat pocket says).
The FAA even has said something like,
“If you want to hold your child for a lifetime, do NOT hold them on your lap in flight!”
One more thing (I get very passionate about this topic)…
Don’t wait for the airlines to change this rule. It is a political decision and will remain so. Instead, educate parents to really think about their actions and how the consequences will affect THEM – NOT the airlines. The airlines would rather have a last minute business fare traveler sitting in that seat than a discounted child’s fare.
Two weeks ago I was contacted by an attorney working on a case where the lap child was injured.
Think about it…
I don’t have much to add here besides: Bravo!
Fantastic piece, well argued, and the comments are bearing that out. Now if we could only get pieces like this places in newspapers like the L.A. Times, NYT, etc maybe people would stop putting their babies at such unnecessary risk.
My husband and I did the lap seats with twins and it was a NIGHTMARE!! NEVER AGAIN. For my 1 year old we bought a seat and brought her car seat and she slept the whole flight both ways–it was worth every penny!!! Plus of course it is safer too (which I did not even think when I did the lap seats.)
What do you know about wearing a baby in flight? Do slings or front-carriers (like a Baby Bjorn) make a difference either for or against safety?
Hi Elizabeth,
Thank you for the question, it’s a good one:
Q: What do you know about wearing a baby in flight? Do slings or front-carriers (like a Baby Bjorn) make a difference either for or against safety?
A: Slings/front-carriers are not recommended for the same reason you shouldn’t fasten your baby into your own seat belt – in an accident your body can be forced down on top of your baby – hurting him/her and you.
Great article, i will be traveling soon and haven’t consider the idea of buying a ticket for my 16 month old son, I would imagine paying an extra hundred dollars is worth it. I wouldn’t take the chance to put my baby in danger. Although tickets can be really expensive and sometimes the prices are ridiculous.
Thanks for your advise!
[...] The Vacation Gals entreat the airlines and the FAA not to allow lap children. The fares are cheap these days, but the costs add up. Still, think about these issues before keeping your infant on your lap for your next flight. [...]
[...] I don't need to say anymore. Your money grubbing smugness says it all. I bet that you would be the first on to sue when something did happen. The Raiders also happen to be a high school football team in Ohio. Airlines: Please Stop Allowing the "Lap Child" | The Vacation Gals [...]