Safety Tips: Car Seats and Air Travel

If you need a car seat at your destination, there are several alternatives. Here are some helpful tips for ensuring that you have a safe, clean, car seat when you need it.

  • Bring your own car seat. Not only do you know that it's safe, but you also know how to install and use it. Next week, I'll have a roundup of different products designed to make traveling with a child safety seat easier.
  • Carry your seat onboard the plane if possible. This avoids having it damaged or lost in checked baggage.
  • Consider keeping a car seat in locations you visit often (like grandma's house). It's cheaper than a rental, and you'll know exactly what you have.
  • Rent from a baby gear rental company instead of the car rental agency. Their business is built on providing safe, clean rentals. Many will meet you at the airport with a car seat.

If you rent a car seat:

  • Call ahead and verify that the company will have a safe, clean seat available when you arrive.
  • Inspect the seat thoroughly for any evidence of cracking, twisting, worn harness webbing or broken buckles.
  • Once you have latched the buckles, pull hard to make sure that they do not detach.
  • Find the "birth date" label on the side or back of the seat, and don't use a seat that is older than 5 years.
  • Parents should also ask for the car seat manual to ensure that they install and use it properly.

    • Related Links: Air Travel With Babies, Toddlers and Kids
    10 News Investigations: Bad Car Seats

    Advantage Rent A Car's Frightening Car Seats

    4 comments | Posted on February 6, 2008 | Save to del.icio.us

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    Comments

    1. Jenny on February 26, 2008 at 9:46 a.m.

      thanks for submitting your post to the <a href="http://thesocalledme.net/visitor/mommy-blog-carnival">Mommy Blog Carnival</a>. it'll be included in the next edition!

    2. Darla Rocks on January 6, 2010 at 5:41 a.m.

      I made sure they give me baby seats when I made an Israel car rental with Avis. I also checked if it is securely placed unlike some other cars that have baby seats that are 100 years old.

    3. Sonja on October 7, 2011 at 2:34 a.m.

      We just visited some friends in Lyon, France. I rented carseats from Kidelio, which I found after doing a Google search. I was very, very pleased with the service (in English) I got from the company & the looked-like-new quality of the carseats. They have locations throughout France & rent all kinds of baby equipment. http://www.kidelio.com/index.php

    4. Esmi Johnson on March 30, 2015 at 12:55 a.m.

      you have shared quite nice and useful information regards to safety and travel. I would love to keep this simple points in mind whenever planning for a trip.In my views also we should more careful about the safety factor while we are traveling alone or with family no matters. http://www.slideshare.net/steinerjame...