Child Safety Seats Are a Must for Holiday Travel
Safe Kids Northeast Florida/Wolfson Children's Hospital Offers Air Travel Safety Tips for Families

Jacksonville, Florida, November 28, 2008 -- With the busy holiday travel season right around the corner, car seats are an important safety device, both on the ground and in the air.

"Air turbulence can be dangerous and can appear suddenly without warning," says Cynthia Dennis, RN, coordinator of Safe Kids Northeast Florida, affiliated with Wolfson Children's Hospital. "Infants and toddlers on airplanes are safest in a car seat with a harness. A child who rides in a car seat on the ground should ride in that car seat on a plane."

Not all car seats can fit on standard airplane seats, which are typically about 16 inches wide, but Safe Kids Northeast Florida and the Federal Aviation Administration strongly recommend using a car seat in an aircraft whenever possible. As in cars, babies under a year old and 20 pounds are best restrained in a rear-facing car seat, and a forward-facing car seat can protect toddlers up to 40 pounds or more. Make sure your child's car seat is labeled "certified for use in motor vehicles and aircraft."

"You need your child's car seat to travel to and from the airport anyway," says Dennis. "Car rental companies might not have reliable car seats available and checking your child's seat as baggage could result in damage. Your kids are better off in their own car seats."

Children who have outgrown car seats should sit directly on the airplane seat and, like all passengers, keep the lap belt buckled across their thighs or hips. Booster seats are not allowed on airplanes because they require shoulder belts and airplane seats have only lap belts.

The FAA advises travelers with small children to reserve a pair of seats by a window. Car seats are not allowed in aisle seats or exit rows, where they could block emergency escape routes; they must be installed at a window seat.

Parents cannot rely on there being empty seats onboard an aircraft, especially during the busy holiday travel season. Holding a child on an adult's lap is not the safest option. Whenever possible, buy a child his or her own seat to ensure an approved car seat can be used. Most airlines offer a discount for children under 2.

Adult air travelers should buckle up, too. "You're a role model," says Dennis. "Children learn safety behavior by watching parents and caregivers. Also, children who ride in car seats on the ground appear to be more comfortable and better-behaved when using one on a plane."

For more information about aircraft child passenger safety, visit the "Flying With Children" page at www.faa.gov/passengers. For information about car seats and child passenger safety in general, visit www.usa.safekids.org.

Safe Kids Buckle Up, the child passenger safety program created by Safe Kids USA and General Motors in 1996, teaches families how to keep children safer in and around vehicles. Chevrolet became the lead brand in the partnership in 2004. Nationwide, more than 19 million people have been exposed to the program through hands-on educational activities, car seat checkup events and community outreach programs and more than one million car seats have been inspected for proper installation.