CARES Harness for Airplane Travel with Kids (Review)

Do you care about keeping your child safe when flying? It’s dangerous and inconvenient to fly with a lap baby. Car seats protect toddlers and young children on airplanes, but they are bulky and difficult to secure in airplane seats. Thankfully, one woman was so passionate about children’s flight safety that she invented a compact child airplane travel harness approved by the FAA. Read an interview with the inventor of this product and my review of the CARES Harness for airplane travel with kids.

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The Inspiration for CARES (Child Aviation Restraint System)

Louise Stoll got the idea for CARES when greeting her daughter and grandchild at the airport. She watched her 7-month-pregnant daughter struggle to carry a heavy car seat, her toddler, and a diaper bag off the plane. That’s when this inventive grandmother thought, “There’s got to be a better way.”

Why Book a Seat for Babies and Toddlers on Airplanes

Stoll believed parents have been lulled into thinking flying with lap children is safe because the Federal Aviation Administration and airlines allow it. She told me, “It’s rather amazing that in this day and age we permit babies to hurdle through space at 600 miles per hour in their moms’ arms, which cannot, as a matter of physics, hang on to them in serious turbulence.”

Even the FAA advises parents to avoid the hazard of flying with lap children. The FAA website asks, “Did you know the safest place for your little one during turbulence or an emergency is in an approved child restraint system (CRS) or device, not on your lap?”

The site continues, “FAA strongly urges parents and guardians to secure children in an appropriate restraint based on weight and size. Keeping a child in a CRS or device during the flight is the smart and right thing to do.”

How to Keep Toddlers and Young Children Safe When Flying

Frustrated that airlines refuse to offer the same safety protection to children as they do for adults, Stoll said, “What it is going to take to correct these unacceptable situations is a lot of noise from parents — and one brave airline to initiate a child-safe policy.”

Originally, Stoll intended to sell the CARES restraints to airlines, which would provide them to child passengers. This is what airlines do with extender belts for passengers too large to use a standard safety belt.

She suggested airlines offer half-price discounts for children under the age of 2 so they can fly in a booked seat. Additionally, Stoll believed airlines should provide a CARES to all flying children aged 1 to 5 to use on flights for free. This would enable parents to afford flying safely with young children.

She said, “There is no doubt in my mind that the return on investment for the airline (which implements these changes) will be in triple and quadruple-digit dollars by the families that will swarm to it.”

A Passion for Protecting Children

Did I mention that Stoll worked for the White House? She was appointed as the Assistant Secretary for Budgets and Programs and CFO of the Department of Transportation. She had been working as an executive managing the construction of public works projects when she received a phone call from the White House. Stoll said, “None could have been more surprised than I.”

In her role in Washington D.C., Stoll helped to mandate car seats and seat belts in cars. Stoll also fought to install seat belts on school buses. She said, “There are no seat belts in buses but there should be. That’s a criminal situation in my judgment.”

Stoll explained, “Children who die in bus crashes die because they hit their heads, not because they’re crushed.  They don’t need to die.”

Her career path transitioned from businesswoman to politician to inventor. When I asked Stoll if she has always been an inventor, she said, “CARES was the only original idea I ever had in my life, but it was a good one.”

Why Use a CARES Restraint When Flying with Kids

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 child airplane travel harness is much easier to install and uninstall.

I have personally waited on board an airplane until all the other passengers disembarked for a maintenance crew member to assist me with uninstalling a toddler car seat. Those days of inconvenience and frustration ended when I purchased two CARES for my children.

The CARES child airplane safety harness is super compact and light. In fact, it only weighs one pound! Plus, it comes with its own convenient carrying case.

Rather than sweating and struggling with a cumbersome car seat, parents can easily attach the kids’ airplane harness within minutes. It’s a comfortable option for flying toddlers and preschoolers as well.

An Alternative to Lugging a Car Seat on the Plane

What to do with that car seat? You can gate-check it typically for free!

Just ask the airline for a gate check tag, attach it to your toddler seat, and leave it at the end of the jetway. It will be waiting for you when you disembark.

Or, you can rent baby and toddler travel gear for even more convenience. You’ve got enough to juggle without lugging around a heavy toddler car seat, too.

CARES Airplane Safety Harness Reviews

Don’t believe me? Take a look at just some of the CARES restraint reviews from Amazon. This product received 4.5 stars out of 5 overall!

Mariana from the United Kingdom said:

“This has been a lifesaver for us. We’ve flown with our now 2-year-old with this for the past six months and it’s been amazing. We have bought tickets for him and also have chanced it without a ticket in hopes we might get lucky and get a free seat next to us (happens often). For short or long haul flights it worked perfect. Even in countries like Thailand and China the stewardesses knew this was approved to be used on their flights.”

Another review said:

“Worth every penny. Stop dragging that car seat on the plane.”

Thomas J. said declared it a must-have for air travel with a toddler and said:

“This thing is awesome because no more carrying the car seat on the plane! If you travel on a plane with a toddler this is the way to go.”

Velika said:

“Easy to install, easy to use, comfortable, sturdy and safe! It’s perfect!”

Buy a CARES Child Airplane Travel Harness

The CARES restraint is appropriate for children who weigh between 22 to 44 pounds and are up to 40 inches tall. The CARES child airplane travel harness comes with easy-to-follow instructions and a carrying case.

Buy your CARES child airplane travel harness from Amazon now!

Learn More Tips for Traveling with Toddlers and Young Children

Thinking about booking flights with your little one? You’re definitely going to want to read our tips for flying with toddlers and babies.

If you want to keep your child content while flying, then take a look at our Airplane Kit for Toddlers and Babies with all the gear you’ll need to bring on board.

Check out our recommended best travel toys for babies and beyond, too.

Lack of sleep can ruin the best vacation. Review these travel sleep tips for kids from a child sleep expert.

Keep your child safe once you reach your destination with these tips to avoid losing a child in a public place.

Save this CARES Child Travel Harness Review

For future reference, be sure to save this information about the CARES restraint. Just pin the image above to Pinterest. We hope you’ll follow Travel Mamas on Pinterest while you’re at it!

What do you think about flying with lap children? Do you have experience using a CARES child airplane travel harness? Let us know in the comments below!

A Note from The Travel Mama: I interviewed Louise Stoll in 2009 for the purpose of this story and have since updated this story to make sure the information is still accurate and relevant. I personally paid for my children’s CARES airplane harnesses. 

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