Buy It And Try It: Child Aviation Restraint System

 The last time Shawn and his wife Michelle flew with Morgan, the Boston Red Sox had just won the World Series, and Morgan was just 11-months old. Mom and dad had strapped her into a Sit-n-Stroll, a combination car-seat, stroller, and FAA approved child restraint.

That was almost three years ago. Today, Morgan is going on four, and too big for the Sit-n-Stroll.

Slated for two flights to get to the East coast, Mom and Dad want to travel lightly, so they're giving the Child Aviation Restraint System, or CARES, a try.

It's a child restraint harness, invented by an entrepreneur, and it's made and tested by the same company who makes most of the seat belts found on planes. Most importantly, it was approved by the FAA last September.

CARES comes in a small, easy to carry bag with instructions and a DVD.

To install, you slip the large red loop over the seat-back between the tray-table and the seat. Then close the tray and pull the loop tight. The red loop should be about one inch over the shoulders. Then slip the seat belt through the black harness loops, buckle it, and tighten.

"I can't pull the seatbelt tight enough," said Michelle, who found out It can be tricky the first time.

But a little perseverance pays off.

"The buckles and stuff seem just a good a quality as on a car seat," said Michelle, "I feel much better with her in this versus just a lap belt."

It's adjustable, comfortable, and allows for enough movement to let Morgan play, read or look out the window.

One small problem they saw was for certain tray and seat-back designs, it was tough to close the table with the red loop pulled tight. But not impossible.

CARES installed in just a couple minutes, and it's as easy to use as it claims to be.

But getting the kids in it--well, that's another story.

Booster seats are not allowed on domestic flights.