We went to Baby 1st in Columbia, MD to purchase the CARES (Child Aviation Restraint System) harness for our trip out to Colorado. Since Abby and I were traveling without Paul, I wanted to travel as lightly as possible. Having to fumble with her HUGE Britax Marathon car seat through airport security and beyond was not a thrilling idea. CARES is an FAA-approved product which is to be used only on aircrafts as a substitute for allowing kids who are at least one year in age and weighing between 22 and 44 lbs with their own seats to fly without a car seat or booster.

Overall, CARES worked well and we are very happy that we learned about it from our friend, Elizabeth last weekend. The freedom it allowed us by far outweighed its cons. The harness took less than a minute to install and Abby was very happy to sit still to allow it to be adjusted around her. I felt confident that she was safe in this contraption. She fell asleep almost immediately after take-off. With some creative head propping, she slept for about an hour and a half. The rest of our 4 hour flight was pretty smooth, given that Abby had a blast asking "What's that?!" and pointing at everything in sight and playing with her snacks in their individual Ziploc baggies, putting in and taking out the food over and over and over again.


We had absolutely no problems from flight attendants regarding its use. Our fellow passengers complimented Abby for being such a well-behaved flier!

The cons: Because there is no center strap between her legs, Abby ended up sliding down in the leather seats several times when she tried to wiggle out. The shoulder adjustments were not very comfortable for her head to rest against, but can be fixed with some simple strap covers, which unfortunately, she wouldn't allow me to put on. I think the harness will work better for slightly bigger kids, because it ended up being just a little bit loose on Abby. A car seat would have offered her a little bit more recline and head support when she slept, but with blankets, stuffed animals, and jackets, enough head support can be created to allow for some restful snoozing.

So, we will be using CARES for many more flights. It folds up into a small, drawstring bag, which in itself was entertaining for Abby to put in and take out toys, snacks, and books.