car seat on a train?

[MunchiesMom]

This may be a stupid question but is it safe for my 2YO to ride a train? My dad wants to take him (us) on a two hour train ride for the experience of it and I'm worried about safety. Like would he need a car seat? In the car we ERF.

TIA!

[leighi123]

There are no seatbelts, so you couldnt install it.  But if you need it for the destination, it needs to go with you.   If you want it for a comfortable place to sit you might be able to bungee it in or something, but from a safety standpoint I dont think its nessisary, and you cant install it anyway so it wouldnt do anything. 

[klk197]

We've taken Amtrak a bunch of times with my now 2.5 yr old.  He LOVES it.  My parents meet us at our destination and have a car seat, so that makes it extremely easy for us and I'd recommend that if at all possible.  A great pleasure of the ride is that you and your tot can get up and walk around since the movement is smooth, even at when approaching stations, so I've never found restraints to be necessary.  When he was younger, I would nurse him to sleep and then just lay him on the seat.  Now he spends the majority of the time sitting on the arm rest and staring out the window and narrating the scenery.

From both an ease and safety perspective, bring as little stuff as is reasonable.  Waiting on the platforms is the "scariest" part for me (I tend to visualize worst case scenarios), so having a hand free to tightly hold curious DS is a must.  An Ergo or similar is ideal for the platform, but DS will outgrow it soon.  Strollers can be more trouble than they are worth (stairs, escalators, the doors and aisles of the train, etc), but could be necessary depending on the situation.    

[sapphire_chan]

Trains are soooo nice. Warn your dad not to plan to sit the entire trip. On a short trip like that, odds are your ds will walk the whole way.

klk197 2.5 year olds just sit and watch scenery? Oh, that sounds sooo relaxing. I've done a couple cross-country trips with dd and by the end of that second day I was utterly drained. (mind you, it was still less stress than taking a 3 hour flight..)

[MunchiesMom]

Thanks!!! So your saying its perfectly safe? I question the safety since he wouldn't have a car sear ams the ride is just for fun.

[sapphire_chan]

What's going to happen that a carseat would help? A train isn't going to come to a sudden stop the way cars do--even if it hit a semi full of bricks (worst case scenario)

The biggest risk with a toddler on a train is going to be just tripping and falling, but that's a risk on a sidewalk, and since he has to be with an adult the whole time, there'll be someone right there.

Tell your dad to be extra careful going up and down the train's staircases (if there are any) and you're good to go.

[sapphire_chan]

Oh hang on, you'll be going too? Then no problem at all. You know all about supervising him in places like a restaurant or a grocery store and such and trains have less potential for injury.