Do they have to have their own seat? Do they need to be in a car seat? Is an umbrella stroller allowed as carry-on luggage?

yes, they have to have their own seat/ticket, and be ina car seat. YOu can gate check a stoller. THey will stow it at the front of the plane with the wheelchairs and such. An umbrella stroller will usually fit in the overhead comartment.

They do have to be in their own seat and the umbrella stroller can be brought on the plane. I'm not 100% sure about the car seat thing though. I would definitely take the carseat though. For Lauren that was a big help. She knew she wasn't allowed out of the car seat so there was no battle about getting up and running down the aisle:)

If you do have a carseat, it MUST be in the window seat, no exceptions. This is because it blocks the path and can be dangerous in the event of an emergency.

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2 y.o's have to be in their own seat. You do not have to have them in their car seat (it is definitely safer but not all car seats fit in the airplane seats - so check your car seat booklet). The stroller can be checked in at the gate - which means you take it all the way and before entering the aircraft they take it and then give it to you after you get out of the aircraft. The umbrella stroller would probably fit in the overhead bin too so you could carry it on if you really want to.


Monica

Last time flew with 2 y.o. ds I checked the carseat on the return flight. He preferred to sit in the seat and it made it easier in that he couldn't kick the seat in front of him and his tray table could come all the way down for him to color on, etc.

I have flown with two two year olds (twins!).

I gate checked my double wide umbrella stroller, took both car seats on the plane.
Bring lots of snacks, water bottles, and stickers. Our flight was only 1 3/4 an hour but stickers kept them entertained for a while, plus they didn't fall on the floor and roll under the seats in front or back of us. Have you ever tried to get down and pick something up? Near impossible...

Have a fun and safe trip!

You need to pay for their seat and quite honestly, it's easier to have a carseat in that seat so that they feel secure and know that it's travel and not a playground (the sleeping people on international flights appreciate this more, too, i noticed!)

I cannot stress enough the importance of being prepared...take at least one change of clothing for every member of the travelling party, including the adults, down to underwear ;) Trust me on this one, mama.

We were allowed to take the umbrella stroller, but never as carry on, it needs to be checked at the gate and you get it when you depart the plane.

what airline are you flying? Try your best to get bulkhead seating. Then your child can't kick the seat in front ;) On southwest, families with young children get to preboard, and we've always gotten the first row. It's nice to have the extra space.

Avoid bulkhead seating at all costs! One trip we ended up in bulkhead seating we had to stow ALL our belongings - diaper/toy bag INCLUDED up in the overhead compartments because there is no seat in front to stash a bag under - during the take-off/landing and also at ALL times the seat belt light remained on. It's not fun being on a 4 hour turblent plane ride and NOT be allowed to get your kids stuff down for them to play with or even to change a wet dipe. Flight attendents wouldn't let us open the bins because they said it would be dangerous to open as stuff would have shifted. :(

My advice is to try and sit way at the back of the place.It's noisier there anyway so kids noise there isn't so much of a problem, plus it's near the flight attendants (who have watched kids for me while I've gone into the bathroom or gone to change one - I've flown solo with 3 children more than once - including twin babies and my then 4 year old dd last summer).

I've gate-checked the stroller everytime I"ve flown with the kids. I agree - it's better to have a carseat for a 2 year old. It actually helped with us because the tray was then at the right height with the carseat. So I guess it depends on the carseat style on the tray thing. Not all carseats are approved though and you can't take booster seats on planes (because of no shoulder belts). You are also more likely to have empty seats in the very back rows.

Originally posted by Mama2miracles
Avoid bulkhead seating at all costs! One trip we ended up in bulkhead seating we had to stow ALL our belongings - diaper/toy bag INCLUDED up in the overhead compartments because there is no seat in front to stash a bag under - during the take-off/landing and also at ALL times the seat belt light remained on.

How funny, that is totally opposite of what we have experienced. Well, yes, you can't have your bags down during takeoff/landing. But we always take down what we need as soon as the seatbelt sign initially goes off, and we have never been asked to put it back up when it goes on. Yes, you can't get up to get anything additional when the seatbelt sign is on, but we try to plan ahead ;) Right away when we get on, we get out some things guaranteed to entertain, and a few snacks. We do the same at landing. You can stow stuff in the pocket on the wall.

Anyway, I love hte extra space. Especially with a little lap baby like Anders--he gets to play on the floor in front of us. Very nice for a little crawler or early walker, who just can't handle sitting still that long.

Oh, and I HATE being at hte back of the plane. I figure, noise travels forward, so at least if we're at the front, we don't bother as many people ;) (our kids were gems on our Christmas flight, though). Also, the few times we've had a bad flight (when Erik had an ear infection, he screamed and threw up during the landing--both going out and coming home--we didn't knwo he had an ear infection, poor guy), the hardest part is landing, then waiting to get off the airplane. It seems to take forever. At the front of the plane, you get off immediately.

So obviously, your mileage may vary! I hope you have a great flight!