Comments on: Ban babies on board?

By: H

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 14:49:54 +0000

The only surprise here is that no one has done anything about those stupid screaming children on planes yet. If I wanted to get crammed in to a sardine can with a screaming child, I’d buy myself a sardine can and have a baby.

There’s a reason I don’t want children—-my own OR around me!

By: suz

suz — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 21:13:22 +0000

Put yourself in a childs shoes – Kids are beyond tired and totally out of sorts. No child is going to be on his best behavior during a stressful travel situation – that is too much to ask.

When we went to Hawaii with 2 toddlers, the reaction for most passengars to my kids was great – even when my son stood up on the chair and tossed crackers on the guy behind us. I felt horrible, but I know I am not a bad parent and my kids are not bad kids. Punishing a child for reacting to stress, isn’t going to help.

By: swp

swp — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 12:33:06 +0000

As a mother of (soon to be ) 3 children. I am all for a “special” flight for children or at least a special section. I am the type of parent that if we are eating out and my children start acting up or crying, etc. I bring them outside until they calm down. If they don’t, guess what…..we get our food to go. I feel that people go out to eat because it’s something they enjoy. I don’t want to ruin that experience because my kids are acting up.
Now on the other hand, there are some adults who absolutely can not stand kids. Too bad for them. Currently there are no special seating assignments for people with children. So if a child starts crying, etc. then the flight crew should help make the flight a bit smoother. Isn’t that their job??? Yes it is.

By: Brian

Brian — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 20:33:49 +0000

Here’s an idea – buy a pair of noice cancelling headphones, which are relatively cheap and widely available.

Oh, but that would mean you wouldn’t get to pout and snarl about children. While acting like a child yourself.

By: naoma

naoma — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 14:22:47 +0000

Once on a flight a child kept KICKING the back of my seat. I told the flight attendant, I told the Mother. Finally, I leaned over the back of my seat and spoke DIRECTLY to the CHILD. “STOP kicking my seat NOW.” Gave a very “evil look.” Child stopped.
It is not the kids, it is the parents.

By: Ta Pang

Ta Pang — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 08:27:21 +0000

I cannot but agree with ALL of the suggestions in this article. After 1 particularly long and tiring business day trip, i boarded a late night flight hoping for some much needed shut eye (i flew out at the break of dawn). 3 kids sitting in the row in front of me took turn (and pleasure) screaming and crying through out the flight. The parents did nothing to stop them. At the end of that flight, i’ve decided never ever to have kids of my own.

By: Meredith

Meredith — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 04:45:19 +0000

My favorite comment on this very long thread:

“I want the perqs that I have paid for [in business/first] and those are peace, quiet and comfort!”

Please show me where in the ticket contract it guarantees peace and quiet? You are guaranteed a meal. You are guaranteed wider seats with more legroom. Absolutely nowhere does it say you are guaranteed QUIET. You may expect quiet, or hope for quiet, but anyone who thinks they are ENTITLED to quiet just because they paid more for their seats is mistaken.

If you want quiet on your travels, book Amtrak and sit in the quiet car. That is the ONLY place I have heard of guaranteed quiet in public transportation.

By: Bill

Bill — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 19:28:05 +0000

Bad parenting is the problem generally. Normal kids are not
the problem most people complain about, it is the especially bad
ones..and the parents are to blame. Most kids that throw a tantrum
on the plane do so because throwing tantrums works for them
generally. Bad parenting seems to be all too common these days. I
even have some close friends who are particularly bad parents and
my wife would agree. Kids usually behave pretty well for me. I
think that travelling is pretty boring and restrictive for them at
a certain age.

By: Dan

Dan — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 19:14:21 +0000

I’m a twenty-year frequent flier and a new parent. The
blame-the-kid and indignation expressed is sad. Look, the truth is
that nobody wants an asshole sitting next to them on the plane. But
guess what? A misbehaving, scared, or overstressed child does not
fall into that category (parents can.) When a child creates a
problem, a parent needs to try to make it better (doing so means
having come prepared with distractions, toys, swaddled, etc.)
Courtesy demands that the parent also apologize to those in the
seats surrounding her. If all that is done in good faith, and you -
as the”offended” passenger – can’t deal, the guess what: you’re the
asshole. Flying sometimes sucks for a million different reasons,
some of which are controllable, many of which are not. I’m
astonished at how many self-described “frequent fliers” on this
thread seem to lack the most important and comfort-promoting
quality that descriptor requires: patience. -dan

By: naoma

naoma — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 15:05:16 +0000

It is not so much the children. It is the parents. Once on a 21-hour flight I had to go up to a Mother and tell her to “Control your children.” They were running up and down the aisles and no one stopped them. Yes, she took care of them after my comment. Many parents think their “little darlings” are too important to be told to “be quiet.” Yes, I had a child, now grown up and she behaved perfectly in all circumstances. In fact, people in restaurants would come over and comment on our beautifully behaved child. It can be done. Parents are boss, not the kids.

By: HSP

HSP — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 22:40:40 +0000

There should be adults-only flights and/or sections of planes. Most especially, no one under 21 years of age should be permitted to sit in first class.

By: Tiffany

Tiffany — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 19:14:43 +0000

Here’s a scenario for you: Recently I was on a flight sitting in the aisle seat. In the middle seat was a man who fell asleep and would awaken jerking, screaming and flailing – at one point accidentally hitting me. This was an OBVIOUS nuisance to me – much more than screaming babies and it scared the living **** out of me! So from now on – lets ban people with (whatever his sleeping condition was called). In fact, you never know WHO might wake up on a plane with a nightmare or saw huge logs in your ear (how annoying is that???) so… NO SLEEPING ON PLANES!

Oh wait a minute. Ya know, one thing that drives me nuts is bad smells. Now that we have babies off the plane, why should we allow people who have to wear DEPENDS??? I don’t want to have to smell their urine/feces! Lets ban them from planes too – just in case they might not have control over their elimination. Why should I have to sit there and smell this? That and smokers and people who don’t wear deodorant: BANNED.

Fat people should also be banned. Why should I have to be squished like a sandwich between two fat people because they can’t control their weight?? Maybe we should require a 12 week weight loss program of all people 185 lbs and over before being able to get onto a flight!

Tall people too. I was on a flight where a man asked me not to lean my seat back because he was soooo tall, he had no room for his legs. Why should I have to keep my seat upright for this man? Its not MY fault he is tall! It ruined my entire flight to have to sit upright.

People who get motion sickness. Why should I have to sit next to someone and listen to them puke? They should be parachuted out of the plane IMMEDIATELY.

People who cough and sneeze. They must be parachuted out too. Why should I have to get a cold because THEY were sick?

Ugly people. Why should I have to look at them and be disgusted because of their BAD genetics?

Or… to be FAIR, we could always section off a portion of the plane dedicated to the ugly, the smelly, the fat, the tall and those with sleep apnea, etc.

Hmm…. maybe it would just be better if all INTOLERANT people were banned from airplanes. Then the rest of us can fly in peace. GET OVER IT. Its a plane flight – It doesn’t last forever. Its just life, they are just children (pretty sure you were one of those monsters at one point in your lovely little life….).

Can you NOT remember when a certain class of people where relegated to the back of the bus??? Do we really want to go backwards now?

Seems to me there is not enough pain and suffering in your lives if this is what you are worrying about. Go volunteer your time to a good cause (not airplane rights for a-holes) and learn to be tolerant. Be a better person because right now you kind of suck.

By: Abby McDonald

Abby McDonald — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 06:49:10 +0000

Some of us don’t have any choice but to fly with small children. My husband’s job (the military) send us everywhere. It is not practical to drive to, say, Germany. That, unfortunately, means that I and my small children will have to board a plane (sometimes without him) and manage to make the long flight there. No choice. I also have two disabled children (autism and CP) who are terrified. I do my best with them. I do calm them with new and interesting toys, give them gum and juice to help with cabin pressure, and offer games, videos, etc. However, a long flight is a long flight. I cannot promise that a small frightened child is not ever going to make a peep. My children, despite, their fears have generally traveled well. However, they aren’t perfect, no child is…they’re children!

By: living in grownupville

living in grownupville — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 06:59:05 +0000

“Thirdly, I think these people ought to go through a ‘class’ of their own, being given a doll that will act like a real baby/toddler the entire flight, and then ask them at the end of the flight how easy they found it to keep the baby/toddler/child quiet and entertained the whole way without driving the other passengers nuts? It is almost impossible, I can tell you.”

Uh…why should I have to take a “class” because YOU’RE the one who decided to have the baby? What is wrong with so many parents that they think the world revolves around them or somehow owes them special treatment because THEY decided to have children? Your children are your problem, stop trying to make them mine.

By: Lee

Lee — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 22:04:38 +0000

True story:

Before I fly on any plane trip over an hour, I make a trip through the 99 cents store for coloring books, crayons, small toys. Not for me – I don’t have a small kid – I do it for the small kids around us.

Last trip, I shared a seat with a bored 10-year-old who’s dad brought NOTHING for him (going to Disney World was suppose to keep him happy – Dad told me so). Within 30 minutes, the kid was a ball of whining.

With permission from the stewardess, we found my carry-on and I unpacked my laptop which is filled with games (I’m a teacher and I use them for tutoring). That kept the boy busy the entire way to Orlando. It used up my battery, but well worth it.

I no longer plan that parents will do the right thing. So, I plan for them.