Win a CARES Aviation Safety Harness!

October 5th, 2008 @ 9:55 | Filed under Resources | 13 comments

Written by Kayt Sukel

Have you heard of the CARES harness? Seems like every travel blog around has given it a good mention. Even Good Housekeeping has given the product a big thumbs-up. But despite the rave reviews, I was a little skeptical.

Could what looked like a seatbelt extender really keep a three-year-old with a penchant for destruction at bay for a four-hour flight? I mean, sure, a car seat is a pain in the butt to lug around the airport. But having it handy means:

  1. My son stays safely and securely in his seat during take-off and landing, and
  2. I might be able to pee mid-flight without having to balance a toddler in my lap.

Those are hard perks to give up. But despite those risks, we decided to give the CARES a try. And what better trial by fire than a flight to Tel Aviv, where safety and security is serious business?

The Pros

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.

The Cons

But I have to offer one caveat—if you have a skinny kid (and mine has a waist that would make Scarlett O’Hara swoon with envy)—you may find that it’s better to use the harness along with a booster seat. On our first flight, we used the CARES on its own, and Chet figured out about 2 hours in that since the lap belt didn’t tighten all the way down, he could simply lift the whole harness and climb out from under it. But our $14 Wal-Mart booster solved that issue lickety-split.

The Bottom Line

We’ll be using the CARES safety restraint system on our next flight. And you can, too, since we’re giving one away.

Just leave a comment here beginning with the phrase, “I like to pee without a toddler balanced on my lap” by midnight Monday, October 13th. We’ll select one lucky winner at random. U.S. only, please.

Get the CARES Aviation Safety Harness at Tots on the Go

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13 Responses to “Win a CARES Aviation Safety Harness!”

Stacie Haight Connerty on October 5th, 2008

I like to pee without a toddler balanced on my lap but it so rarely happens for me.

This really looks like a cool product!!

Patricia on October 6th, 2008

As my daughter is over 2 now, and so she has to have her own seat the next time we fly, I have been looking at these and wondering if they are worth it. Thanks for the review.

Missives From Suburbia on October 6th, 2008

I like to pee without a toddler balanced on my lap, but have grown used to it with many international trips over the past couple years. (It sure beats peeing with an infant in a sling!)

Meg on October 6th, 2008

I like to pee without a toddler balanced on my lap, but, I told my daughter yesterday, “I love you so much that I let you sit on my lap when I pee.”

(now I understand why men stand up to pee)

Monday Contest Roundup! | Lisa's Contests on October 6th, 2008

[...] Travel Savvy Mom is giving away a CARES Aviation Safety Harness! [...]

Shelly Rivoli on October 6th, 2008

I like to pee without a toddler balanced on my lap — but I have some concerns & questions about using CARES with a safety booster. Since the FAA doesn’t allow boosters to be used in flight, and I don’t see anything specifically addressing that it’s okay to use boosters in flight with CARES (let me know if something new has come out!), parents may run into trouble with U.S.-based airlines if trying to use both together in flight. Kayt, which airline were you flying? Also, kids old enough to be using a booster in motor vehicles shouldn’t need CARES on the airplane, but if it helps you get away with carrying-on and using your child’s booster rather than checking it, that could be helpful in some situations–although the selling point of CARES is to get out of taking a car seat (or booster) on board, right?

Kayt Sukel on October 6th, 2008

Thanks for all the comments!

Shelly, I don’t know the answer. We flew Lufthansa and they did not have an issue with it. Which is funny because I’ve had many problems with them in the past about using a full-blown car seat.

The weight limit for the CARES is 22-44 lbs. My son is about 29 pounds now but is really skinny. Skinny enough so that the lap belt, when tightened as far as it will go, is not tight enough to restrain him.

But thank you for raising a good point. It’s always best to talk to the airline about any child restraint system before flying.

Carolee Hazard on October 6th, 2008

Brilliant way to discern who wants to be part of the giveaway!!! Reminds me of my high school senior auction - one guy named Sam had to end *every* sentence for an entire day with “…….and I whack my pud.” Sam was in LOTS of my classes. So darn funny - even the teachers couldn’t help but laugh!

CARES Aviation Safety Harness | Mom Giveaways on October 7th, 2008

[...] 7, 2008 If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!Where: Travel Savvy MomWhat: CARES Aviation Safety HarnessHow To Enter: Leave a comment on the giveaway/contest [...]

Noreen on October 7th, 2008

my girls are quite thin also, one just got back on the official weight chart at age three. I would love a harness for flying since those lapbelts don’t look like they would work on little ones and carrying two booster seats and all our stuff is not fun!!

Missy on October 8th, 2008

I’ve been wanting one of these for a while!

nadine m on October 12th, 2008

I was looking at this when my son and i went to visit his grandma during the summer. I decided to take the train because I did not want the hassle of dealing with a carsear but this is so much better. Count me in please.

Punta Cana Mom on March 21st, 2009

Our 2-year old daughter is thin (barely on the weight chart, will be in car seat until she is 15 at this rate!) and we had no issues with CARES. She did wear a somewhat bulky GAP sweatshirt, so maybe that helped. (Guess I missed the contest deadline completely, oh well!) We also did a couple of quick practice run-throughs in a dining room chair (both for me and for her) prior to departure; substituted a pants belt for the airplane lapbelt.


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