Would you buy a plane ticket for your 15 month old

We are heading to Florida for Thanksgiving.

DS will be 15 months old at that time. He is an active boy and is very curious about everything, so getting him to sit still is a mission.

Do I buy him a ticket and know that his carseat will keep him on lock down for the flight or pray that he will sit in our laps or that the seat in between us stays empty???

Re: Would you buy a plane ticket for your 15 month old

I bought a ticket for my son. I didn't want to deal with being squished and uncomfortable

Re: Would you buy a plane ticket for your 15 month old

Buy him a seat. We did when DS was about 17 months and booked the flight around nap time. It was perfect! Being in the car seat makes everything much easier. It's a pain to carry the car seat but well worth it.

Also, I believe children should be in a seat on the plane for safety reasons. It's just not safe to have them on your lap were something to go wrong. We just flew last month with our then 23 month old and he had his own seat and was in his car seat. We had a particularly hard landing and the plane decelerated on the runway pretty suddenly causing us and everything to lurch forward. I had to put my arms (both of them) out in front of me to keep myself from hitting the seat for a few seconds. My DS even let out a little scream. Can't imagine how I would have held us both back had I been holding him.

Re: Would you buy a plane ticket for your 15 month old

We just went to Florida a month ago and we bought a seat for DS(he was 17 months) I am SOOO glad we did, he fell asleep even before the wheels got off the runway, slept for more than half the ride and the last 45 minutes he wanted to walkaround and say hi to everyone and climb, I would have never been able to do that the whole plane ride. DS is a very energetic boy too and he would have never slept on my lap.

Re: Would you buy a plane ticket for your 15 month old

i would say to buy him a seat. i have tried both ways and holding them-especially at 15 months just doesnt work too well!! at least you know he has a good chance of sleeping if he is strapped in the carseat.

Re: Would you buy a plane ticket for your 15 month old

I guess I'm the odd ball on this one. I say don't buy a seat. I just took my DD on a 4 hour plane ride. She was 15 months old. She doesn't like being in the car seat to begin with, so having her in one on a plane and us sitting next to her would have been a screaming match. Normally I would say let her scream, but when you are on a plane, it's a different story. Instead, I had her sit in my lap, bought lots of things to entertain her, and let her stand and walk as much as I could. She was great and I even had a passenger compliment me on her behavior. I guess it depends on your child. Good luck!

Re: Would you buy a plane ticket for your 15 month old

DD#1 was not the type of kid who would sit still so we always bought her a ticket. She was much better when she was strapped in her car seat.

DD#2 was/is a much more relaxed kid and prob would have been ok sitting on our laps or standing on the floor in between us

If you don't think he'll sit then I would buy him a seat, that way you can strap him in and not worry about it.

Re: Would you buy a plane ticket for your 15 month old

No we never did until she turned 2 and we flew probably 10x or more with her in the last 2 years. Kept her busy with snacks, new toys, books, laptop/dvd player, she slept most flights, etc. We saved a lot of $$ this way, but I have to say we flew last month and she was 2 so we got her a seat and it was awesome having the three seats in a row to spread out.

Re: Would you buy a plane ticket for your 15 month old

It depends on the airline.

If you are flying Spirit - do it. Otherwise, I would hold out.

The seats are so freaking close together on Spirit there is no room to move so it's very uncomfortable to have a toddler lap child.

Re: Would you buy a plane ticket for your 15 month old

we took the first flight out and the last flight coming in (southwest) to florida. ds slept in my arms both ways - he was 2 weeks shy of his 2nd birthday. we didn't buy him a ticket and it wasn't a problem at all

Re: Would you buy a plane ticket for your 15 month old

I didnt! I didnt pay until I had to! I figured they were going to end up on my lap anyway...lol

Re: Would you buy a plane ticket for your 15 month old

I would not for a 2 hour flight to Florida. I flew to Maine with DS when he was 15m old. He was fine on my lap.

Re: Would you buy a plane ticket for your 15 month old

No - I flew to Ireland with my 18 month old on my lap. He was fine just bring some new toys and books.

Re: Would you buy a plane ticket for your 15 month old

I don't there will be empty seats if you are traveling around Thanksgiving. The two times we flew DD#1 was 15 months and DD#2 was 12 months. Both times I got them seats and put them in their car seats. Especially if you have an active toddler you don't want to be on a full flight with someone next to you and have him not want to sit. You will also be more comfortable if your DC has their own seat.

Re: Would you buy a plane ticket for your 15 month old

nope..both my kids never sit...I would save the money b/c it won't be much longer till you have to buy a ticket.

Re: Would you buy a plane ticket for your 15 month old

Absolutely.