Babies under 2 are not generally given a seat and must sit on your lap. You may be lucky enough to have a spare seat next to you but during takeoff and landing your baby will need to restrained.

Most airlines will offer you a lap belt that you attach to your own belt. However, you may need to ask the cabin crew for one.

Chances are that your baby will hate the belt and squirm and wriggle but it's important that they remain restrained as the plane will reach speeds in excess of 100kph on the runway. When you land your plane may need to make a sudden stop or it may be slippery. It doesn't need to be an emergency landing to be bumpy - on a recent flight our plane swerved as it landed and some items fell out of the overhead compartments.

Think of it this way - you wouldn't travel on a freeway with an unrestrained child so don't do it on a plane!