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What Experts Say:

All children 40 lbs and under should be in child safety seats on airplanes.

~The National Safe Kids Campaign

CARES Blogger of the Month

The Bragging Mommy

The Bragging Mommy

I was sent the CARES child airplane seat belt to review and let me tell you what a life saver it is! First off I mean that literally, your kids are much safer with this seat belt than just a lap belt alone. But secondly carrying this belt verses a large car seat is so much more convenient. We traveled with bug last thanksgiving and I wish I would have had this then. But since I didn’t, I learned how hard it can be to keep a toddler in their seat using just a lap belt. It was a struggle the whole entire flight. And we were both exhausted by the end of it. Well then I received the CARES seat belt and couldn’t wait to try it out on our next flight. The second time using CARES was a completely different experience. Once I put it on bug he knew he wasn’t going to be getting up. Just like in the car, he was stuck. I was so happy to have some peace on the flight, and it wasn’t just because of the quiet. I also had peace of mind knowing bug was much safer wearing this CARES harness seat belt. And it is really easy to use it. It just slides down around the seat, you tighten it and then the lap belt loops through the bottom. It is also easy to adjust to fit your child just right. It only takes one minute! I completely recommend this to anyone who is flying with toddlers. It is a must have!

~Heidi

CARES Featured Bloggers

Big City Moms

For kids 1 year and older – We recommend the CARES kids fly safe harness. You can buy this on amazon as well as the CARES website. It attaches to the seat with an easy installation…I still can’t figure out why the airlines don’t just have these on hand as a courtesy.

~Leslie

HeatherPoole.com

School is out and millions of families are traveling. If you have a child and you haven’t heard of CARES, perhaps now would be a good time to investigate. It stands for child aviation restraint system. What this means is if your little one is between 22-44 pounds you can ditch the cumbersome car seat. We’ve been using CARES for two years now and it’s STILL the best invention for kids on the airplane.

~Heather

Operation Organize

2 years ago I stumbled upon one of the best resources for traveling parents! We were getting ready to fly to Italy and I was darned if I was hauling my safe, but bulky Britax car seat along for the rid. I researched the web until I came across CARES. I can't tell you how thankful I was to find the FAA approved harness for young children. My airplane worries were lifted and we've been using the system on all of our flights - to Paris, Florence, California, Wyoming, and Wisconsin. I pack the small safety harness into my purse of backpack. The company is so organized they even provided a travel pouch to keep it in and a video to show you how to use it. You can't go wrong with this product. It will make your trips hassle-free and save you added weight and space.

~Jill

Frugal Travel Blog

My recommendation for a child under 40 pounds that has to have an airline approved safety restraint is the Cares Kids Fly Safe Harness. This turns a regular airline seat into a five point safety harness. It takes up very minimal space in a carry on bag and is much better than just the lap belt alone.

~Rogers Family

Baby Djungeln.se

Now the CARES has been introduced in Sweden.

~Jeanette

Budget Travel Blog

The CARES harness, designed for kids weighing 22 to 44 pounds and approved by the FAA, serves an obvious purpose. When attached to an airline seat, it holds a child in place with car seat-like over-the-shoulders straps, an arrangement that's much safer and more secure than the standard airline lap belt.

If the CARES is like a car seat, why not just bring an actually car seat onto the plane? Well, doing that is a real pain. You've got to lug the car seat through the airport. And, as anyone who has tried to use a car seat on a plane can tell you, airline seats are not designed to accommodate car seats. By some amount of shoving, strapping, and sweating, you can awkwardly get a car seat fastened into an airline seat. But the fit will be less than ideal, and chances are you'll have a toddler whose feet are pressed up against the seat in front of you. And, as anyone who has been around children a bit can tell you, toddlers have been known to kick, if not angrily than simply to stretch their legs.

~Brad

Cool Baby Kid

CARES won the Mom's Choice Gold Award and the Good Housekeeping 2008 Good Buy Awards. CARES is approved by the FAA for all phases of airline travel-Taxi, take-off, and landing and recommended for child 22-44 lbs. who are in their own seat. The company's motto is "Flying Safe With Kids Made Easy". Another important feature of this seat is that it can keep your child safe during turbulence. Many parents have also reported that it was so easy to install and travel with that they will never travel with a car seat again and that their child was comfortable for the entire flight. We also had the opportunity to use the CARES system on two flight and our daughter loved being in "their big girl/boy seat" and it made us feel secure knowing she was absolutely safe to travel. Be sure to add it to your travel list for your next long vacation.

~Alicia

Parent Tested Parent Approved Media

For families that fly without car seats and simply use the lap belt provided, the CARES can offer a peace of mind that lap belts cannot, especially for young toddlers or children who can never seem to get their lap belts tight enough to secure them. As an added bonus, I have found that active toddlers are much easier to contain when they are strapped in securely using their CARES harness and are unable to twist out of their seats. Our daughter doesn’t mind the CARES safety harness at all, which may be partially because she has never tasted the full freedom of movement that a single lap belt would offer. But I think the other portion of it is that she is very used to the idea that when we sit in a seat and travel we always have a harness securing us in for safety, and at this point she doesn’t question it.

~Leanne

Tatter Scoops

I found this product online after a brief research for a safety ‘tool’ to fly with my then 8 months old son, however I did not purchase it until Little A was 14 months old. Since I was flying internationally alone with the little boy, bringing a heavy car seat was too much of a hassle. Thanks God for this brilliant invention, I asked my family in Indonesia to buy a car seat for us so all I had to do was grab the bag of CARES on board every flights. Flying back to the US, my in-laws too had gotten us a car seat, thus taking the weight off of lugging one around across more than 2 major international airports from Asia – USA. Since I bought CARES, we had used it on board Korean Air (they hesitated at first but after I showed them the FAA documents, I printed from CARES website they backed down), ANA (All Nippon Airways), Garuda Indonesia, Batavia Air, Emirates, Jet Blue, Delta, and Northwest. Flying domestically in USA, all carriers will follow FAA rules so the use of CARES won’t be any problem. Here’s what the FAA website stated about Child Safety on Airplanes.

~Maureen

Fun With Mama

We decided to fly to Singapore/Malaysia/Thailand in December. After having heard about a Continental Airlines flight that had bad turbulence in the air and how there were a few injuries I immediately started wondering about whether we could bring Deen's car seat on board.

I wondered how we would manage carrying a car seat while caring for two kids under 3. I then found the CARES Child Aviation Restraint System and was immediately sold on this product. You are basically giving your child a 5 point harness instead of them using those flimsy little lap belts on the airline seats. Kids are so tiny that honestly I don't feel like those lap belts will hold them down in case of an emergency or bad turbulence.

The CARES system gave me one thing less to worry about on the flight. When we hit turbulence I could easily grab my husbands hand(I'm a big baby) instead of having to worry whether my son would be safe and secure.

~Nadia

The Shopping Mama

As I mentioned in other posts, we traveled with A LOT of stuff (understatement of the year) over the holidays. One of the best decisions we made was to check both our car seats at the gate so we didn’t have to lug them through the airports and security and so on and so on. (In my recent experience, checking car seats and strollers is still free even when an airline charges for luggage.) But, Preschool Boy is a small little thing and the FAA, American Academy of Pediatrics and NTSB suggest additional restraint to secure little ones in their own seats. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you it was much much easier to carry the 1 pound CARES restraint system rather than a car seat!

I can’t believe I flew with my son in his own plane seat without one of these. It obviously adds an important layer of safety to the trip, but also helped to keep him nice and secure next to me. The alternative of carrying a large car seat to keep him secure seems so silly when you can throw the CARES in the stroller basket or diaper bag.

See Shopping Mama's full post for her comprehensive review of CARES.

~Kate

Babble.com

What a relief to check the car seat when your toddler reaches twenty-two pounds! Slip the CARES safety restraint into your carry-on and that's all you need until your little one can use the regular airplane seat belt. CARES is the only harness child restraint device that is FAA approved and is adjustable until your child reaches forty-four pounds. Giving you extra security and extra space in your bag makes CARES every parent's best friend.

~April Peveteaux

The Mommy Files

Flying makes me nervous, but I find myself even more nervous with my children in the air. I’m not more nervous because they are wiggly or noisy, but because I want them to be safe on the flight. I just recently learned about a company called CARES. CARES stands for Child Aviation Restraint System and is the only harness type child aviation safety restraint ever certified for airplane travel by the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration).

Not long ago, Continental Airlines’ flight 128, hit severe turbulence, causing injuries to at least 26 people. According to the FAA, in-flight turbulence is the leading cause of injuries in nonfatal accidents. CARES is a great way to help protect your children when flying on an airplane. Many people will be traveling this holiday season and I strongly suggest you check out the site and even purchase the device for your children or grandchildren.

~Shannon

Evergreen Moms

I am part of a team of Pacific Northwest mom bloggers with a shopping site called Evergreen Moms. Our focus is eco-friendly/green products, unique products for kids and moms, and businesses based in the Northwest. I'm writing to let you know that we featured CARES today at the link above.

~Lori Harris

Travel Savvy Mom

Well, despite my initial reservations—and a few foibles with set-up on our outgoing flight—I’m here to tell you the CARES harness works and works well. Even when you put it on the seat backwards as I initially did (and you may do if you have to carry a toddler, carry-on bag and 9 separate but equally loved toy cars on to the plane).

Small and light, the harness is a single piece so you don’t have to worry about losing pieces among animal crackers and Matchbox cars in your carry-on. Chet was happy to wear it and it did keep him in his seat. It’s a great alternative to a big, bulky carseat.

~Kayt Sukel

Travel Mamas

CARES keeps kids safe, while helping traveling parents stay sane. Not only is it more manageable to navigate the airport without lugging around a heavy toddler seat, but also a CARES restraint is much easier to install and uninstall in an airplane than a car seat is. I have personally waited on board an airplane until all of the other passengers had disembarked for a maintenance crew member to assist me with uninstalling a toddler car seat. Those days of inconvenience and frustration are over now that I have purchased two CARES for my children.

Kids Fly Safe is offering a free CARES (Child Aviation Restraint System) to one lucky Travel Mama! Retail value is $74.95. Read on to find out how to win and why you should always book a separate seat for your child when flying.

~Colleen Lanin

Mommy Words

If your child is still in a car seat and it is FAA approved with a back then bring it if you can and you will need a car seat at your destination. If you do not have the ability to bring a car or booster seat on the plane or you do not want to lug a car seat through the airport you should definitely look into the CARES (Child Aviation Restraint System) meant for children between 22 and 40 pounds. It is the only FAA approved restraint system and from the looks of it – this product rocks and weighs only 1 pound!

~Brittany Vanderlinden

Travels with Baby

Today, I’m kicking off the first in my “Gear Up for Holiday Travel” giveaways with something I know many of you would love to get your hands on, and something I personally know could help simplify upcoming flights for many of you, too: the CARES flight safety harness. I can tell you it’s definitely going to simplify our family’s travels next month as we set out on our first international flight with three children!

~Shelly Rivoli

Vacation Gals

The kids, car seats and airplane combo is an ongoing topic of conversion when it comes to families and air travel. Last week I wrote a post about the dangers of airplane lap children. There is no doubt a child restraint system (CRS)is the safest option for babies and children when traveling by air. As the mother of two children close in age, I understand the hassle of lugging a car seat through airports. The last time my family (husband, two children and two teenage step-sons) flew together we looked like the circus passing through town with two car seats, a stroller and load of carry-on bags. When I heard there was an FAA approved airplane child harness called CARES my first thought was,it’s about time!

CARES stands for Child Aviation Restraint System and you bet I
wanted to check it out for myself. Kindly, CARES sent me one so I
could understand the contraption first-hand. My initial comment is,
brilliant!

~TwinCitiesGal

SFTravel.com

If you have younger kids in the carseat phase you've experienced the fun of dragging bulky, heavy car seats through busy airports. It keeps your kids safe on the plane, but is not a fun experience. There are lots of carts, bags, and wheels available - but the net is that a car seat is not something you will enjoy bringing on a plane. We found a product that solves the problem a few years back and it truly changed our traveling lives. restraint is basically a five point harness for flying that straps to the airplane seat. It loops around the back of the seat behind the other passenger's tray table and is very easy to install / take off ; it's like a seat belt from older cars. The FAA has totally approved this product, and the FAA approval is even emblazened on the label.

~SF Underground Travel

Families Living Abroad

I am a 'Families Living Abroad Examiner' posting information about living overseas (especially about France, Spain, Costa Rica and Panama)on Examiner.com. I have listed your great product on my site and will be recommending it to all my expat friends around the world who regularly fly with their young children.

~Lucy Culpepper

Punta Cana Mom

Rather than take a car seat onboard our flight to Punta Cana, we took the CARES flight harness system for our two-year old. This FAA-approved flight harness is easy to use, light-weight (just one pound), takes up little room in your carry-on, and was worth every penny! It also arrived promptly following my online order.

I "practiced" with CARES with my daughter at home prior to our departure so that she would have an idea of what to expect on an airplane. Kids this age are accustomed to be securely buckled into many things (car seats, strollers, grocery store carts), and she has no idea that all the adults on the plane just use a lap belt, but I wanted her to be familiar with the buckle-in procedure for when we boarded.

To practice at home, I used one of my husband's belts as the "airplane seat belt" and I set our daughter up in a dining room chair. She only sat with it on briefly, but it gave her the idea of how it worked (she tried buckling herself, too), and it convinced me how easy it is to install this once you are on the plane. (To round out our dining room inflight simulation, I also set up her with earphones and a video on a computer.)

Once on the plane, we installed CARES and got her buckled in. She was thrilled to be on the plane with her now-familiar seat belt, and even told other boarding passengers who passed to "buckle up!" We used CARES in a total of four flights without a glitch.

~Susannah

Momtrends

Between AmSafe's knowledge and Louise's dedication, CARES garnered FAA approval. CARES is the first and only alternative to a car seat permitted on planes. The certification gives parents the right to use CARES on all US airlines for all phases of flight: taxiing, take off, turbulence and landing.

For me CARES passes all the safety tests and my own test--my 4 y.o. prefers it to the car seat--meaning she will willingly get buckled in for a safe and tantrum free landing.

~Nicole

A Madison Mom

This was the first time we had to buy Zoe a seat. She's flown quite a few times already... but not with her own purchased seat. We've either held her on our laps... or lucked out and had an empty seat in our row for her car seat. This time... she was old enough to require an actual ticket. I was a little worried about her actually staying in the seat belt (and I refused to lug the heavy car seat with us) so I bought one of the new FAA approved CARES toddler harnesses (child aviation restraint system). It wasn't cheap... but it was so worth it. The harness (combined with the portable DVD player) made the flight a dream. (highly recommended if you travel a lot!)

~Colleen

Alpha +Mom

Forget about schlepping through the airport with a carseat for your older baby or toddler

~Alpha Mom

AOL Travel Canada

Ah, the hassles of flying with kids. Lugging bulky (and heavy) car seats on board and trying to fit them into ever-narrower airline seats, then struggling with your own carry-on case. And all the while the line of boarding passengers piles up ever more impatiently behind you

~AOL Travel Canada

Busy Mamas

I just came across this incredible product, CARES (“child aviation restraint system”). It is a harness type safety device that is approved by the FAA to keep children safe while flying. The restraint attaches to the back of the airplane seat for use with children 22-44 pounds. CARES weighs 1 pound and is said to be easy to install. Where was CARES when my kids were younger?

~Busy Mamas

Children's Neurobiological Solutions

Traveling, especially air travel through airports, security and plane aisles, turns into a backbreaking experience when you have to haul around a heavy, awkward car seat for your child and safety is our top priority, so we do it. But is there a better solution?

~CNS

Daily Grommet

Well, the good news is once baby is 1 (and between 22 and 44 pounds), the car seat struggle is over. CARES (Child Aviation Restraint System) is an FAA-approved safety harness that fits on any airline seat. It weighs only 1 pound, and is all you’ll need to bring on board (well, aside from the diaper bag, the toys, the snacks, the Elmo, etc)

~Emily

Delicious Baby Journal

Here is a picture of E asleep on our flight from Madrid back home to to Seattle. He's wearing a CARES seat harness. The harness is FAA approved, easy to set up, weighs only a pound, and has made getting through the airport much easier than it was in the days when we brought a car seat

~Delicious Baby

Family, Travel, Wine & Art

We probably traveled with our first born on about 16 flights before we got the CARES straps. I had to have someone come and take the airplane seat apart in order to get the car seat released at least three times because of how you need to secure the seat

~Tom

Jet With Kids

I cannot say enough about what a difference this 1 lb. invention has made for us. No more lugging bulky car seats through the airport and down the aisle of planes. No more frantically trying to install the car seat into seats that were not designed to support them, getting my hands stuck in the process. The CARES (child aviation restraint system) harness is so easy to use; my toddler actually buckles it himself! This is a great investment – even for those who don’t fly frequently

~Anya Clowers

Little Nomads

“Buckle your seatbelt” is one of those phrases that kids and parents instinctively understand and follow whether in the car or on an airplane. But buckling a toddler in a car seat while sitting in an airplane seat is something that can be difficult to do, especially if the car seat doesn’t fit and must be gate-checked. Happily there’s a fresh option for car-seat-toting travelers. Dr. Toy, the noted child development authority, has tapped the Child Aviation Restraint System (CARES) as one of this year’s Top 10 Socially Responsible Products, part of the 2008 Dr. Toy’s 100 Best Children’s Products list.

~Sticky Fingers Travel

Mom Most Traveled

When flying with my children I am always emotionally conflicted about how to keep them safe (being a mother comes with a lot of guilt...). On the one hand, it is physically impossible for me to carry a child, carry on baggage, and a car seat through an airport. Conversely, I find myself wishing I had a safe way to restrain my child when the airplane experiences scary, jolting turbulence. Shouldn't children aged 1-4 be as safe on an airplane as they are in a car?

~CanCan

Mom's Favorite Stuff

I purchased a CARES and used it on a recent flight. The enclosed DVD was perfect to help us learn how to install CARES, and had the added benefit of giving my daughter a small peek into what a plane looks like, which helped prepare her for the experience. I was able to pack the CARES at the top of my carry-on bag, which was extremely convenient. Installing the CARES was very simple, and my daughter was buckled in almost instantaneously. The CARES attracted a lot of attention, especially from the flight attendants (who loved it!). I watched a dad with a carseat attached to his back struggle to get through the plane, and I really was glad that our experience was so much easier!

~Mom's Favorite Stuff

Mom's Minivan Blog

Most airlines don't require it, but your child is always safer when restrained properly. There is a great new product I came across recently that is MUCH easier than dragging a car seat through airports and on board the plane. It's called a CARES (“child aviation restraint system”). It is the first and only FAA approved harness type child safety device

~Mom's Minivan

Rockin' Mama

In my opinion and experience, CARES (Child Aviation Restraint System) is the only safe, convenient solution to flying with a child. This harness is the first and only Aviation Child Safety Device certified by the FAA as an alternative to a car seat. Once your child is old enough to sit in his/her own seat (around 1 and weighs at least 22 pounds), he/she can use this in place of a car seat on an airplane without compromising safety. Apart from the fact that is is ultra convenient, it provides an additional level of safety for children who can sit in their own seat but may be too small to withstand the jolts and turbulence inherent in-flight.

~Caryn

Simply Irresistible

Just recently, we had our vacation in the Philippines and traveling solo with my daughter is not an easy task, especially if you travel for over 20 hrs. I did a lot of research about traveling with kids, what to bring and most importantly the safety of my daughter. Booster seat made for use with a lap-shoulder belt cannot be used, because there is no shoulder belt for upper-body restraint, so I looked online and found this really fabulous device. Its a Child Aviation Restraint System (CARES) and is FAA approved. I think this is a must- have if you have kids traveling with you. It's a great alternative for the booster seat. It is lightweight, very easy to install and my daughter seemed so comfortable with it

~DhoyM

Square Parents

Since [CARES] is so simple, it's extremely compact and is able to fit into any purse of bag larger than a Judith Leiber, and weighs less than a pound. To install, simply slip it over the back of the seat, strap the tyke in, and then keep them entertained until take off. The entire process of getting a child into an airplane seat and ready for takeoff can be completed in literally less than two minutes. Additionally, not only does it not impose on the other passengers, they also think it's cool. By comparison, bringing a car seat on the plane is a bizarre anachronism

~Travel Out and About

Such The Spot

Possibly the most ingenious thing we’ll be bringing along on this trip though is the CARES for kids aviation safety device. It will be replacing the awkward 20 pound carseat we use for Jayce every time he flies. Instead of that hunk’o'heavy plastic we’ll scoop this little diddy up and put it to good use.

~Darcie

The Child Safety Blog

Now you can forget about hauling a heavy, bulky car seat through crowded airports and narrow airplaine aisles. There’s a better way to keep your young children safe while flying. CARES (Child Aviation Restraint System) is designed specially for airplanes and is FAA certified as having an equivalent level of safety to a car seat for all phases of flight

~Child Safety Blogger

The Tranquil Parent

On our recent flight to Las Vegas for the ABC Kids Expo, we took the opportunity to test out the Kids Fly Safe CARES (Child Aviation Restraint System). When we've flown in the past, we've brought our folding Sunshine Kids Radian 80 with us and grunted and puffed (well, I stood there while Jeremiah grunted and puffed) until we had successfully installed it in Z's airline seat. Even with a folding car seat, it's still a pain to get it down those ever-skinner airline aisles and to maneuver in your ever-narrower row. On this last trip, we gate-checked our car seat and walked down the aisles a lot lighter. Instead of joining me in watching Jeremiah grunting and puffing, Z sat in her seat while we looped the FAA-approved (yes, even for takeoff and landing) CARES restraint over the back of her seat and adjusted it to the appropriate height. We buckled her in and were ready to go... actually, almost that quickly. It took us about 2 minutes to install it

~Jennifer

Travel Mamas Blog

Hello, I wanted to let you know that I feature the CARES harness on my website, www.TravelMamas.com, a site for parents who travel with their kids. Actually, it is featured on my home page today! Here is a link to the page on which it is regularly featured: http://www.travelmamas.com/Pages/travel_resources_air_travel.html.

~Colleen Lanin

Travel Product Guide

The FAA has long maintained that children weighing 22-44 pounds should be in their own seats, and restrained by car seats approved for use in airplanes. Given the heaviness and awkwardness of car seats, however, many parents opt to buckle the kids into an adult size seatbelt on the plane. While this is better than nothing, anyone who’s taken a close look can see that the child is likely to slip right through or under that belt

~Mary Jo

The Travel Tots

I recently took my first trip with CARES and was very happy with the product. It was a cinch to install during the trip, and not having a car seat to tote around at the airport was great. I wrote a review at http://www.thetraveltots.com/node/48 if you would like to share the link on your site.

~Randy Musgrove

What Users Say

I must say that this is the best product EVER for restraining children for air travel.

~Carolyn, Pennsylvania

Read More

CARES Awards

  • Good Housekeeping 2008 Good Buy Award
  • Creative Child Magazine Top Choice Award
  • Mom's Choice Awards
  • Crystal Cabin Award
  • Mom's Best Award Winner
  • Family Review Center Editors' Choice Award
  • Dr. Toy 100 Best Children's Products
  • Dr. Toy Best Vacation Products
  • Dr. Toy 10 Best Socially-Responsible Products
  • National Parenting Center Seal of Approval
  • National Parenting Publication Awards NAPPA
  • Mr. Dad Seal of Approval
  • iParenting Media Award Winner
  • Creative Child Magazine 2010 Product of the Year
 
 
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