There are a few different schools of thought when it comes to traveling with a car seat. Some parents bring one because they’ll need it once they reach their destination. Others also plan to use it on the airplane.

We’ve always fallen into the first camp.

When we traveled with a traditional car seat, we checked it rather than bringing it onto the plane. We certainly understand why families choose to use one onboard, but for us, the convenience of not hauling another bulky item through the airport and onto the plane won out.

When he was a lap child

Before our son turned two, we always flew with him as a true lap child rather than purchasing a separate seat for him and bringing his car seat onboard.

Was that always comfortable? Absolutely not.

There were flights when I was completely nap-trapped, and others when he wanted nothing to do with sitting still. But especially when diaper changes and breastfeeding were still part of the equation, we liked being able to move him around without taking him in and out of a car seat.

For us, having one less bulky piece of gear to manage onboard was worth the trade-off.

The downside: there's nowhere to contain them

This became much more noticeable once our son was mobile.

As a baby, he was generally a pretty good little traveler. Sometimes he slept, sometimes we entertained him, and sometimes he was perfectly content just taking everything in. Once he could move around and had opinions about where he wanted to move, keeping him contained became a much bigger part of flying.

And during takeoff and landing, when everyone needs to be seated and secured, you have to be prepared to hold onto a little traveler who may have other ideas.

There were also those moments when one of us wanted to sleep, get comfortable or simply go to the bathroom - but there was a sleeping child sprawled across us. Without a car seat, there was no easy place to transfer him. You either woke him up or accepted that you were probably staying put for a while.

Those were definitely the moments when having him settled into his own seat sounded pretty appealing.

One unexpected perk: upgrades

This was never part of our decision to skip the car seat onboard, but traveling as two ticketed passengers instead of three did have one unexpected advantage: upgrades were easier to come by.

We were upgraded on a good number of flights while our son was still a lap child, including international flights to and from Belgium and our flight home from Cancun.

Again, definitely not a reason to make the decision one way or another - but when an upgrade cleared for two instead of having to clear for three, it was a pretty nice little perk.

And don't waste all that space in the car seat bag

One of our favorite practical tricks was using the empty space around the car seat for lightweight kid gear.

We used to tuck diapers, extra clothes and other soft items into the seat and secure everything before zipping up the travel bag. When suitcase space was getting tight, that little bit of extra room came in handy.

We avoided anything heavy or anything that could potentially damage the seat. And because checked gear can take a beating, we always wanted the car seat itself protected as much as possible.

Airline policies around car seats and additional items packed in the bag can vary, so check your airline’s current baggage rules before doing the same.

One important consideration

Checking a car seat does mean giving up control over how it's handled once it disappears down the baggage belt. That's one of the biggest reasons some parents prefer to bring theirs onboard instead.

If you do check it, protect it as well as you can and inspect it when you get it back - especially if the bag or seat appears to have taken a hard hit or sustained any damage.