Buying an Airline Ticket for a 2 Year Old

I would not be dishonest with the airlines. The airlines may ask for a birth certificate and then you have been caught in the lie. I personally think children fly better when they have their own seat. He can be in his car seat which is familiar and makes it easier to fly with a toddler in my opinion.

I wouldn't deceive and lie, no. Actually, it's stealing. I wouldn't do that, no. I also wouldn't want a 2 year old on my lap for an entire flight. If I didn't have the $600, then I just wouldn't go...to be honest.

My kids flew in their own seat (in their car seats) from day one. I would never hold a child on my lap on a plane. It's not safe. If I were you I'd not lie, and I'd get the ticket.

If I wanted to fly with a two year old, I would buy the 2 year old a ticket. Period. Have you flown with your son before? Holding him on your lap the entire time (even if he was actually under 2) isn't fun... nor is it very safe.

The rule isn't "Children over 30 lbs require a ticket" it's children over 24 months. Do what you want, but it's a slippery slope. They can (and will with a child who appears close to the age limit) ask to see a birth certificate or shot records at the airport when they issue the lap child boarding pass. Are you going to forge that, too?

Finally, it's not like you' re talking about a child who is 26 months old and you're trying to fudge his age by a couple of months... he's a year too old. At almost 3, I assume he speaks. Are you expecting HIM to lie when they ask him how old he is?

Pay for the ticket. Bring his carseat. Buckle him in. Have a safe and happy trip.

HTH
T.

How long is the flight? .......... I just went on a trip early December and thsoe seats are sooooooooooooooooooooo small! I couldn't imagine having a child sitting on my lap for a flight. There is just no room. Plus, what if you are in a group of 3 seats, you only purchased 2, whoever gets that 3rd seat would probably be pretty uncomfortable. So, saying all that, no I wouldn't lie, I'd just pay the money. I know it sucks, but flying is expensive.

I had to show a birth certificate for my son at check in so they could verify he was under 2. I doubt you would get away with this. Your son is almost 3 and even though he may be small, there is a big difference between an almost 2 year old and almost 3 year old (verbal etc). At almost 3, the agent could ask his age and he will probably tell him. You lying is bad enough but you don't want to tell your child to lie.

You need to buy the ticket for him.

Buy the ticket. Otherwise, you're kinda stealing, aren't you?

I wouldn't mess with the TSA. Even if you 'got by with it' on the first flight what if they catch you during the layover and you have to buy a ticket and there are no open seats on the next plane and you have to sit and wait for the next flight. BTW your luggage will go on without you.

I had to show a birth certificate (as ID) for my daughter when we flew together. How long is your flight? Our flight was about 3 hours long, and I was very happy that I paid for a separate seat for her. We were both more comfortable that way!

Sorry woman, I would (and have) just bought the ticket! I am not a liar, just can't do it...my stomach would be in knots knowing I was breaking the rules and that would SO not be how I would want to spend a trip!

~I know you said you really want him on your lap and he can still be on your lap even if you follow the rules and buy the ticket like you are supposed to, but with that being said, are you really sure you want him on your lap for the whole flight? It's has been my experience that it is much better for all involved to bring lil' toys (coloring books, ipad) and allow him to have his own seat and his own space!

Well that's kinda bordering theft IMO...

They're gonna check his birthdate at the airport, you bear the burden to "prove" he is under 2, so if you're willing to risk falsifying govt documents, have at it.... you are seriously considering stealing though, you do realize that? Shaking my head, where have we gone wrong as a society?

You have to provide a copy of the birth certificate under 2 yrs old, or they make you buy a ticket now.

TRUST ME on this. I got to the airport with my 2 month old and they asked me for the birth certificate. I did not have it but thankfully she said we can obviously tell she is under 2 yrs old so we will let it go, but for future they must have it.

Buy the ticket!!! Lap babies can die. It's so sad. It JUST happened this week. All the adults on the plane were OK, but the lap baby died. Here is the link to the article. There is NO way to hold a child or keep him safe on a plane in the event of any kind of crash or turbulence.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/story/2012/12/23/nort...

This is your child's life and surely it's worth $600.
Make sure he's in a carseat on the plane, strapped in properly.

Everyone is right they will ask for a birth certificate and I can assure you that 600 dollar ticket will double at the gate.

I've had to show my kids birth certificates at check in to verify they were under 2 on Southwest and American. Maybe it differs between airports but I would ask the airline what you need to bring in terms of ID for your son to see if they check the age.

If he was barely past 2 and someone was dying so you HAD to go and you really couldn't afford to pay, then maybe ok. But he's way past 2 and not sure this is an emergency. We always have bought seats even when our kids were infants. Partly for our comfort but also to be more considerate of fellow passengers. So seems like you gotta pay.

Need to show birth certificate. Safety should be a concern. He is safer in a seat (carseat) than on your lap.

They do check the birth certificate at the gate...and flights now are routinely over booked. We flew in October and every flight (four of them) had to bump people off.

What if you go to check in and their isn't another seat on the plane? Who is going to stay home with your son?? Cause they will make you buy a ticket and it won't be $600 at the time of the flight.

Buy the ticket and take his car seat and strap him in...it bites the budget but it is the right thing to do...and they will check!!!

I don't know if they actually check the birth certificate because I never allowed my daughter to be a lap child.

We always bought a seat for our daughter from infancy on up. She has been a regular flyer since about 4 months old and she is now 18.

Everyone is more comfortable, not to mention SAFER, when everyone has his/her own seat.

Just remember, if you do choose to lie, which I do NOT recommend, and they ask, then expect that child's ticket to at least double or not triple if you have to buy it on the spot and IF there are seats available.

Seems to me that the easist thing for you to do is be truthful and buy the ticket because the consequences can ruin your family plans and budget.

After 9/11 whenever I have flown with my kids as toddlers I've had to show their birth certificate.

No I wouldn't lie about my child's age. I also wouldn't want to hold my child on my lap throughout a flight either. The child doesn't want to "stay put" on mommy's lap the whole time either. No one is comfortable and everyone is tired at the end of the flight.

As others say if you are caught and you will be you will defintely spend more money on that seat and possibly be bumped for another two or three fights just because of you not wanting to buy another seat. You have heard that many airlines are putting children in the back of the plane so that the other passengers are not bothered by crying and whinning kids who want to run up and down the aisle?

Save yourself the headache and buy the ticket. My children flew when they were young and had their own seats.

The other S.

You buy the ticket because it's the rule, but i guess you can keep him on your lap during the flight if you want to (maybe not on takeoff and landing). That's your choice, but you might enjoy having the extra seat anyway. Even though it is pricey, everyone pays for a seat after 2.

Buy your little projectile a ticket!! Is the price of the ticket so high because you were not honest from the get-go so it appears as a later booking?? Curious how you answered their question on the birthdate.

I need to live with myself everyday and that includes not cheating or stealing (and keeping my daughter safe).

I would cough up the money. We just did a trip with our 2 1/2 year old and she did great in her own seat.

you have to have a goverment issued id for the lap child like a passport or birth certificate.So I would say no

I would buy the ticket. Lap seats are only for children under two, not children who are already two. I think you will all be a lot more comfortable if he has his own seat and more space to move around.

Seriously? This is a serious offense for both you and the airline. Buy the danged ticket.

Plus, no matter their size, a 2 1/2 year old will probably be wiggly and won't want to be in your lap the entire trip. We started needing an extra seat when mine were 18 months old or so.

I don't generally lie and I'm not into fraud..... so once my child turned 2 I bought plane tickets for her. But I'm a rule follower, so I would buy your son a plane ticket, per the rules.

Chances are you'll need to provide some id, so buy the ticket.

You buy the ticket because you never know when they are going to want to look at that birth certificate. I always bring two forms of ID for my child when we travel because we have been asked for it by TSA going thru the line and by the desk clerks checking in for ID.

I flew down to Mexico with my 11 month old on my lap. It was miserable. The poor gentleman that sat next to me! I felt awful for him. When we had a changeover in Texas the flight attendant put me in a row that had 3 seats, 2 of them empty and I let my son crawl around on them and it was bliss.
If you have the money to buy the extra ticket then I would recommend that just because it's so much easier.
I have no idea if they ask for a birth certificate when doing domestic flights, I know they do for international.
L.

I bought a ticket for my 2 year old when he was really 2. I can't imagine getting there and having to spend $600 last minute. Buy the ticket.

I would by the ticket. You can hold him during the flight if you want, but I would also want the extra room and be able to put him down in need be. Also, when I traveled with my then 3 1/2 year old, the security asked her how old she was.

There was a Mamapedia blog about this on the home page.
http://www.mamapedia.com/voices/unrestrained

When I flew with my son (he was 2 years, 8 months at the time), I bought and brought along his car seat. It isn't required by the airlines, but I felt like it would be safer, and that he would be better behaved if he was in his seat and felt comfortable. It worked out great for us. Then we had his car seat when we landed, too, and didn't have to worry about how we were going to transport him by car.

My DD had her own seat and I was grateful for it. They may ask for ID (depending on the travel - DD has her own passport and that's what we presented when we got our boarding passes) and then you'd be stuck buying a ticket right then at the last-minute price. If you can at all. You may or may not be able to use a car seat. We were not, but some airlines do. If you can, I would put him in his own seat with an airline rated car seat.

He's not just a little too old. He's a year too old. Buy the seat.

How long is the flight? That is what would make the decision for me. Under 2 hours I would try to go for it too (lap baby). Over 2 hours and I think I would buy the seat and bring a car seat to keep him from wiggling around. When my son was 2.5 we flew to Disney and I got him his own seat (ticket was WAY LESS than $600) and then I set the expectation with my son that being in a plane is just like being in a car - we don't get out of our seats. He understood that and we did not have any problems with him wanting to run up and down the isles or anything. That was Feb of 2011 and at no point in either airport was I ever asked for his birth certificate.