Review: CARES Kids Fly Safe Airplane Safety Harness

Over the past two and a half years, we’ve had the good fortune to take several lengthy plane trips with our children. When Nadia was a tiny 6 month old, we took her on a 3 week trip to Europe. We forked over the money to buy Nadia her own seat which was one of the most brilliant ideas we’ve ever had. She slept the entire ride there and back in her comfy car seat. Of course, because ultimately we are cheap, we tried to travel from Chicago to Seattle a few months later and decided that we didn’t need a seat for our squirmy 10-month old, we could just hold her on our laps for the 4 hour flight. Stupid, stupid, stupid. We were all miserable the entire flight. Learning from our mistake, when we traveled to Las Vegas with her as a 17 month old, we did buy her a seat. We thought we had everything figured out, but didn’t realize that now that her legs were a lot longer than they were at 6 months, she could now reach the seat in front of her. We spent the 3 hour flight to Vegas trying to keep her from kicking the seat in front of her. Now that she’s two, we have no choice but to buy Nadia her own seat, but strapping her in her car seat is not an option. What we need is a device to keep her strapped in and safe, but also one that keeps her ever-moving little feet far away from the innocent passengers in front of her. This summer, we had the opportunity to give the CARES harness-style safety device a try. It’s an FAA approved device that attaches to the airplane seat and connects through the seat belt and offers a safe and secure way for children who are from 22 to 44 lbs. to travel.

Our first use of the CARES harness was on a trip from Chicago to Pittsburgh, PA. A short hour and twenty minute flight. My husband was with us for this part of the trip which made things a whole lot easier now that I’m lugging two kids around. He was able to assemble the seat belt while I held on to the two kids. Luckily, the PR representative for CARES gave us the good advice to try the seat belt out on a chair before we headed to the airport. We did, and while it’s not difficult to figure out how to use the belt, my husband did appreciate that he’d already had given the assembly process a dry run at home. He was able to pretty quickly get the harness set up and Nadia buckled into it. She seemed pretty comfortable and didn’t complain at all about having to wear it. When the plane landed, the harness was just as quickly removed and stowed inside its handy carrying pouch. We didn’t hold anyone up as we exited the plane. Round 1 down, and all was well.

Our next flight was the next day from Pittsburgh to Houston, TX. Again, with two adults, we had no trouble getting the harness on, and Nadia secured. We settled in for flight and hoped for the best. Our prayers were answered when Nadia slept most of the three hour trip, even with the harness on. So far, so good.

The third leg of our trip was from Houston to Amarillo, TX which was another short hour and twenty minute flight. This time, however, I was on my own. I had high hopes about being able to get the harness attached and Nadia buckled in, but considering the fact that I had a 5 month old hanging from me in the front carrier combined with the fact that letting go of Nadia on a plane is a recipe for disaster, there was just no way that I could handle it on my own. I buckled Nadia into the seat with the regular seat belt and crossed my fingers. Again, Nadia proved to be the same awesome traveler she had been two years ago. She quietly watched a couple of videos and enjoyed a little snack.

What does this say for the necessity of the CARES harness? I’m somewhat torn. If I’m basing the necessity simply on needing to have a way to keep Nadia firmly in her seat, it appears as though the regular belt would be sufficient on a short flight, but for longer flights, I'm certain that she'd need more than just a little lap belt to keep her planted on her bottom. However, we all know that airplane lap belts aren't very difficult to figure out. Nadia already knows how to unbuckle her seatbelt on a plane, is it only a matter of time before she figures out that the CARES harness works in conjunction with the lap belt? Or, since she's already so used to being strapped into car seats and strollers, will she just accept it and go about her business? Only time will tell.

Do I think that Nadia will be safer in extreme turbulence and in the event of a rough landing? Absolutely. Are these situations common enough for our casual traveling to justify the $75 price tag for the safety harness? I’m not sure. I’ve never been on a flight where I really felt like without a seat belt we would have been thrown around the plane. I’ve also never experienced a dangerously rough landing, either. Maybe I would feel differently if I had been on a scary flight before, but I haven't. Simply buckling her into the regular seat belt seems to provide enough security for my peace of mind, but I'm not much of a worrier, at least not about safety on a plane. My main concern is more about keeping her strapped in place to avoid annoying others and the CARES harness performs this function as well. Unfortunately, most of the flights we take during the year are also without her dad in tow which means that I won’t have the man-power to buckle her, at least not until her brother is older.

To sum it up, I think that we will definitely use the harness for longer trips and any time that I'm not flying by myself. While the assembly is very quick and easy, it's just not possible when you have a second kid in tow. If you are one of the travelers who plans on taking a car seat for the plane, then I think the CARES harness is definitely a better option. It weighs less than a pound and can easily fit in a carry-on bag. SO much more convenient than lugging a heavy car seat through the airport and then down the aisle of the plane. It won't take you any longer to attach the harness than it does to buckle in a car seat, and you'll have no worries about your child annoying the passenger in the seat ahead of you, well, at least not about annoying him with her feet! If you need your car seat at your destination, just check it and pick it up with your other luggage. If you are looking to provide an extra level of safety for your child, then the CARES harness is most certainly for your family, too.

Full review based on 4 stars:

Functionality **** - The harness weighs under 1 pound, fits easily into a little pouch that you can throw into your carry-on luggage, installs in no time flat, and offers peace of mind to parents. This product is very well-designed.

Price ** - I keep going round and round about the $75 price tag. It seems really high to me. I know that it's hard to put a price on the safety of your child, but ultimately, for the rare occassions that you hit very extreme turbulence or incredibly rough landings, $75 just seems like a lot of money. While my husband and I are absolutely into buying seats for our children once they hit about 15 months, we're not really the type to lug car seats onto a plane. It's too much effort and too much stress. We're happy with the safety of a lap belt for short trips. Now, were the price more in the $35 - $45 range, then I think this would be a no brainer, but $75 makes it a tougher decision. I think that ultimately the inventor would like to find a way to make the CARES harness available for rental. Whether this is at the airport or through the airlines, I'm not sure, but I would be all for this. Paying something like $5 when I'm in a situation to be able to use the belt would definitely be worth it.

Overall Rating *** - This truly is a revolutionary product. There is no other FAA approved restraining device for children on the market. You will find comfort in knowing that your child is as safe flying on a plane as they are strapped into their car seat. The only bummer is the high price tag.