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Travel with toddler (carseat?)
JebusUD
Adventure!Candy IslandRegistered User regular
Adventure!Candy IslandRegistered User regular
We are traveling for the first time with my 2 year old. We are flying to DC for a few days.
Should we bring a carseat for the kid? I've read he doesn't need one for the flight, but then how are we going to get around? Surely he should have one in a taxi or uber?
Is the DC subway worth a damn? Perhaps it wouldn't be required if we can use that.
Any insight into this problem is helpful.
Should we bring a carseat for the kid? I've read he doesn't need one for the flight, but then how are we going to get around? Surely he should have one in a taxi or uber?
Is the DC subway worth a damn? Perhaps it wouldn't be required if we can use that.
Any insight into this problem is helpful.
and I wonder about my neighbors even though I don't have them
but they're listening to every word I say
but they're listening to every word I say
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We don’t have a flat rate to ride - it’s based on the station you’re starting in and where you’re ending and is way more complicated than it needs to be.
You can skip the calculations and buy a day pass for you and your partner. In any case, a two-year-old travels free with one of you. Fares otherwise are ~$4/person/trip during peak times and $3/person/trip outside of that.
If you’re planning on renting a car or driving a lot otherwise, then I’d bring the car seat. If you're mostly going to be waking or taking the Metro, you can probably skip it.
Any specific plans? If you’re getting here soon, the cherry blossoms are amazing right now.
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]
Our arrival will be in early may. We will be staying for 3 days. Looking to go to some monuments and Smithsonian museums, but if you have any other recommendations I'm open to them.
If we do bring a car seat im worried about... what do you do with it if you go to a museum once you get there?
We probably aren't renting a car but trying to stick to taxi or public transit.
but they're listening to every word I say
Seriously, bring the seat. You should never get in a car with a child that small and not have the carseat. "What do I do with the seat" is like, that's parenting dude. Inconvenient is the name of the game. Haul it around, ask the gift shop to hang on to it, get a combo seat/stroller for the trip...
Just the way it goes.
Well, I was just going to toss him in the trunk but now ive changed my mind. :P
Spool, my friend, if you're here to tell me parenting is hard and sometimes you have to do annoying stuff you don't want to do then believe you me, I've already internalized that advice about 2 years ago when we had the kid. I'm not looking for an excuse to jump into a car without it. I know I have to deal with it
What I'm looking for is advice on how to best deal with it. Like,
what museums are friendly for just leaving something like that at the entrance? Do the Smithsonian museums have accommodations for that?
Are the major destinations walkable with a toddler from the metro?
Is there such a thing as ordering a cab that can arrive with a carseat?
What is a good carseat stroller combo?
He needs an upgrade anyway, so that might be the easiest solution.
So if you or anyone else has advice on that sort of thing it would be appreciated.
but they're listening to every word I say
So I've discovered that uber does have a carseat program in DC. So that could be a possibility.
but they're listening to every word I say
Regardless, having wrangled toddlers and car seats on planes several times myself, I would definitely recommend using the Uber car seat program or traveling by train instead.
Also, while the metro (what we call the subway) “sucks”, it goes everywhere you will want to go as a tourist, frequently. And people commute with their newborns on it.
ive got a handful of long baby flights under my belt now, and if you can find one, they make back-pack style bags for carseats so you can strap it to your back getting it in and out of the airport, etc
definitely worth it provided you're not already carrying stuff on your back
it sounds awkward, but no less awkward then dragging the darn thing around
My stroller (yoyo) has an adapter you can buy that will fit a baby's car seat. Like all things baby related the adapters cost $50, which seems insane for tiny pieces of plastic, but they did work well and made things much easier. The car seat also needed a base for in car use. After that you'd just snap into either the base or the stroller and be good to go.
Strong disagree about metro being terrible. I use it daily and it blows driving around DC out of the water.
If you’re sticking to mostly touristy stuff down here then the metro will get you to 95% of the places you need to get. Metro cars have spots for strollers/handicap and people always make room for them.
Pack some good walking shoes and a stroller and you will be fine
I looked up the Yoyo and it stated the adaptors are for infant car seats; I also don’t know of any toddler seats that have a base for in-car use - they’re all infant seats, too. Even small kids have usually outgrown infant seats by 18 months of age.
2 year olds are at the awkward age where they require 5 point harness car seats/rear facing car seats, so are too small for any lighter high-back boosters, but are too big for infant car seats.
What some people - including me - have done around this age is buy a cheap car seat online to arrive at their destination. Cosco does a car seat that’s $50 that would fit almost any 2 year old, and that’s usually a cheaper and safer option than renting a car seat or taking one on a plane.
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]
I’ve still done it, but it’s definitely a risk you want to consider if you wish to take.
Many airlines, but not all, will also allow you to take a car seat as a carry on item and use it actually in the plane seat.
At this point I think I’ve done every option when flying: Using a car seat on the plane itself, checking them in, and not taking one at all (and buying at the destination). The third option is my preference when it’s available.
If you do this, make sure you doublecheck the carseat (how it's in the car and after the kiddo is strapped in). Improper use of car seats, including installation, is apparently super super common.
The FAA actually firmly recommends you use an airplane-approved car seat. We... have never done so. But I guess you should theoretically yeah. US-based airlines should be accommodating to that (international ones may be much less so for future reference, depending).
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this also assumes they are actually buying a seat and not lap flying. under 2 doesn't often require a ticket