As summer vacations approach, the National Safety Transportation Board (NTSB) is stressing the importance of child restraint seats on all airline flights.
For most parents, strapping the kids into their safety seats in the back of the car is just a habit. But when it comes to airline travel, I see many car seats come off the luggage carousel as checked baggage.
What the NTSB would rather see is those seats put to use as child restraint seats inside the aircraft. A child sitting on your lap is in much greater danger in the event of strong turbulence or a survivable crash than if they were restrained. The NTSB also notes that during survivable crashes, unrestrained children have become separated from their parents and therefore not evacuated at the same time as their parents.
Yes, it is more expensive to buy that extra seat so your child can be restrainted in the child’s seat, but it is the safest way for them to travel by air.
