Do I need a CARES harness?

[niki]

It is a pain to carry the carseat, I'll admit, but I don't regret taking it on our trips. Lots of peace of mind.

[Brie]

You can rent the harnesses on eBay for $15. Are you going to need the convertible carseat at your destination? If so, I'd carry it on. If not, I'd rent.

We used a CARES harness for C when we went to Disney and didn't need a carseat but he would not sleep in the thing because he was FFing and less confined than in his seat.

[Mushe]

If you're hoping to have kiddo sleep, definitely bring your carseat on and skip the CARES harness. We have one and use it when we are not bringing a seat, but my kid didn't do more than a catnap in the seat with the harness.

[mrsGreeko]

We don't bring car seats on the plane ever. We did once and never again! Especially if I was traveling alone with kids. It's awful to carry through the airport, awful to carry on the flight, puts your kid way too close to the seat in front of them, and makes their tray table useless for snacks/drinks/activities.

We also don't use a CARES harness. We hold them in our laps until they are 2 and after 2, they get buckled into the airplane seat. I bring a little pillow and blanket and they can curl up in the seat with their head on my lap if they want to sleep. It's never been an issue in the least.