Do you have a CARES Safety Harness? Or are you planning to buy one? This review will be very helpful in deciding whether to get one and take it with you on your next travel, or better to leave it behind.
This CARES Safety Harness Review was written by family travel expert Marcie Cheung and contains affiliate links, which means if you purchase something from one of my affiliate links, I may earn a small commission that goes back into maintaining this blog.
One of the top questions I get from Marcie in Mommyland readers is about flying with kids on an airplane. Should they bring a car seat? I’ve traveled on airplanes with my kids for the past four years. On some flights, I’ve used a car seat. For others, I’ve primarily worn a baby in my Tula baby carrier. And on other flights, I’ve simply had a child using the lap belt on the airplane. Lately, I’ve been getting a lot of questions about the CARES Safety Harness. So, Kids Fly Safe sent me two harnesses to review on my latest flight to Hawaii.
Oh, and as I was writing this post, I realized that my kids are eating in every single photo courtesy of my mother-in-law. And yes, my baby is gnawing on a piece of beef jerky. He worked on it up until take-off!
What is the CARES Safety Harness?
The CARES Safety Harness is the only non-car seat Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)-approved Child Aviation Restraint System for flying with small children. It weighs less than a pound and can easily fit inside a diaper bag, purse, or carry-on luggage.
The CARES Safety Harness is geared for kids sitting in their own seats who weigh between 22 and 44 pounds and are 40 inches or smaller.
Since they are FAA-approved, you don’t run the risk of a U.S. airline telling you that you can’t use them on board the airplane. This sets them apart from a car seat, which isn’t all FAA-approved for flying. And even if they are, you might still be unable to use them.
I’ve personally been told by two different airlines that we weren’t allowed to use our car seats for take-off or landing, and they had to stow them for us.
My Experience with the CARES Safety Harness
I love that I was able to try out the CARES Safety Harness on both of my kids because they are at opposite ends of the range of use.
My 17-month-old is 24 pounds and in the 90th percentile for height. On the other hand, my 4-year-old is 34 pounds and 40 inches tall (the maximum height limit for the CARES Child Aviation Restraint.)
We sat in the middle row of our airplane from Seattle to Honolulu. I sat on one end, my mother-in-law sat on the other, and the kids were in the middle. Had we been in a window row, I would have buckled the kids in the window seats, just like with a car seat.
I had read the instructions for this Child Aviation Restraint System prior to boarding the airplane. They were pretty straightforward.
We boarded when they announced families with small children could board the plane. I’m glad I did because it took me a couple of tries to tighten the red belt at the right height. It wraps around behind the tray table on the back of the airplane seat, so I wanted it to be done before the other passengers sat down.
After I installed one, the other one was a breeze.
17-Month-Old
My son is very used to sitting in his car seat. He’s in the car a lot as we drop my oldest off at preschool, swim classes, play dates, etc. So, when I buckled him in, I think it felt very familiar to him. His car seat has a 5-point harness, so he’s used to having the chest strap and being buckled in.
I loved being able to clip him in first and knowing that he was contained so I could assist with my 4-year-old and stow our carry-on bags. It freed up my hands. And he stayed buckled like that for about half of the time on both flights.
However, I found that as my baby became restless during the flight, he’d scoot himself out through the lap belt. That meant I kept propping him back up and tightening his lap belt. That part frustrated me.
Note: I went on the Kids Fly Safe website after my trip and learned I could have used a rolled-up towel/shirt under his knees to keep him from slipping. Or put a rubberized mat on the seat. The FAA wouldn’t let them put a crotch strap in.
4-Year-Old
My 4-year-old stayed buckled in the CARES Safety Harness the entire way to Honolulu, minus a couple of potty breaks. It fit him really well! We had a couple of messy incidents, and we easily wiped down the harness. It’s so much easier than cleaning a car seat mid-flight!
The only thing I wish I had packed was my 1st Class Kid Travel Pillow so my preschooler wouldn’t kick the seat in front of him. To be fair, he wasn’t exactly kicking but resting his feet on the seat in front. Either way, I would like him to rest it on the travel pillow instead.
CARES Safety Harness Review
I brought two harnesses in my carry-on backpack. They took up less room than my Ziploc bag of snacks for the kids and weighed less. This kind of blew my mind. Plus, they were so easy and quick to install and pack back up.
My mother-in-law was also impressed with the CARES Safety Harness. She told me I should never travel without this Child Restraint System. She was able to help my preschooler buckle and unbuckle. I know she’ll recommend them to her friends with grandkids.
A father in the row before me did a double-take when he saw my boys in the CARES Safety Harness. He asked me how I got those “special seats” on the airplane! I told him I brought a CARES Safety Harness on board.
He was so bummed that his 4-year-old and 6-year-old were too big for it, and he didn’t know about them before.
Do you know how you can get a special airplane seat belt extender when you have a lap baby? I wish they also had these harnesses available for families traveling with small children. It would be an immense help to families flying with a baby, toddler or preschooler.
Final Thoughts
After a few bad experiences with hauling car seats onboard airplanes, I vowed never to do it again. While I thought my kids were OK with just the lap belt, I did feel like they were more secure with the CARES Safety Harness during turbulence.
I will definitely travel with one in my carry-on bag for my youngest son for the next few years.
Kids Fly Safe sent me 2 CARES Safety Harnesses for review purposes. All opinions are my own.
Other Tips for Flying with Kids
My Top Tips for Flying with a Baby
Simple Preschool Busy Bag Ideas for Long Airplane Flights
What I Pack in my Carry-On Backpack When Traveling to Hawaii with Kids
How to Plan a Trip to Hawaii with Toddlers
1st Class Kid Travel Pillow Review
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This Care safety Harness sounds great. My cousin would love this. Thanks for sharing.
It was surprisingly helpful, especially traveling alone with little ones!
Thank you for sharing this product! We fly often with our young children and it makes me feel uneasy not having a harness to help them sit properly in the seat, especially during take off. We’ve also tried the car seats on the plane and it was such a gong show, especially when my youngest had a melt down and we just had a big bulky car seat in the way! Checking these out for sure.
YES! Those darn car seats can be such a pain on board airplanes! We spent a flight to Europe with a car seat taking up a seat while my son slept on me.
I have never heard of this before! What a great idea for flying with kids.
It was really handy! I had been hearing about them for the past year or so.
This is a really unique idea. I think that it might be comforting to the kids too because theyre used to the feel of a harness in the car, and might make flying a little bit less stressful.
Yes, it put my kids at ease immediately!
This is such a great idea, it is hard to lug around big car seats so its really nice to have peace of mind with this great alternative!
Yes, they really don’t make it easy to travel with kids!
Thanks for your tips, I’m not a mom yet, but if I ever have my kids, I’ll also use such a care safety harness as it seems to make kids less subject to injuries during travel probles.
I felt a bit better knowing they were secure, especially during our turbulent flight.
This sounds like the perfect thing for traveling with kids! So much better than lugging a car seat!
Yes, it’s such a pain to haul them on the flight!
This sounds like a great tool for traveling with kids! I’ll have to keep this in mind in case any of momma friends plan some travels.
Yes, it was quite handy and didn’t take up much space!
thank u for very much
I absolutely love the idea of this harness. It provides extra protection to the little ones and would put me at ease as a mom.
Nailil
Yes, I’m glad I tried them out!
Do you think this would fit in business class?
It should, I think, because they whole thing is adjustable.