BellaOnline Forums Relationships Married No Kids Airplane madness!

So, I opened my New York Times this morning to read this letter to the editor from a mom who was offended by a recent (very good, IMHO) article about unruly kids on planes, aptly titled: "Kids on the Plane? Maybe I'll Have that Drink." What irked me about this mom's letter was her expectation that others should be more sympathetic to parents of unruly children to the point where she suggests that we should make efforts to entertain her children, offer them snacks and even disclipine them! Here is a quote from her letter:

"And maybe even turn around and kindly explain to the kid kicking your seat why it bothers you, and suggest that she sit cross-legged for a while (and while you do, note that she can�t bend her short little legs over the edge of the chair and that her feet have nowhere to go but up against your chair)."

Go entitlement mom!

I saw a similar incident on a musician's forum I visit. A guy complained about a shrieking infant on his flight and ended up getting verbally drawn and quartered by several parents who frequent the board.

Can you imagine what would happen if you did go out on a limb and try to explain to someone's kid why they should act like a human being instead of a banshee? The kind of parent who allows their kid to act like that in public would most certainly attack you for it.

My response to Fiona Cowie would be this:

Sure, lady, we (your fellow travelers) will play with your children, feed your children, teach basic manners to your children... if you'll pay us for it. Of course you could grow a brain and get a baby sitter to start with.

Your spawn is your responsibility. Keep your child under control or at home. Those are your choices. Period.

Maybe the flight attendant who suggested Baby Benadryl was on to something. Or we could post a sign on the plane - "misbehaving children will be given haloperidol and a free puppy ..."

Seriously, this has to be JUST THE WORST. Because it's not like you have the choice of getting up and leaving. I've had a couple of run ins with people w/brats on the plane. I don't care. It's not like I ever have to see them again when the flight is over...

SO annoying. It really must be a nightmare being responsible for a child on an airplane...I'll give 'em that. But they made the choice to bring them. How many of these trips they're flying them around on are absolutely necessary, and how much are the kids getting out of it? The trip is mostly for the adults, because the parents want to go somewhere, or the extended family wants to see the baby. So if they're just doing it for themselves or adults, then it's even more ridiculous for them to expect other people (strangers!) to discipline and entertain their children.

What really strikes me is if these parents are so offended by a mere letter, how are they really going to react when someone actually DOES try and discipline their children for them out in public?? They are going to go ballistic, and be really [censored] that someone who "doesn't have children" and "doesn't know what it's like" is trying to tell them how to do their jobs!

What I find interesting is HOW MANY children are now on flights. I don't know about you, but as a child, I did not travel. My first flight was on my honeymoon at age 23. It wasn't that my parents didn't have the money to travel or whatever....they just felt that you shouldn't travel with children as you never know how they are going to behave or react. And after you are already on the plane, it's not like you can just get off when they start fussing.

So why all of the kids on planes? Oh, I know....because parents shouldn't have to make any sacrifices to have children. Yet everyone around them (planes, restaurants, church, etc.) has to put up with the screaming, babbling, shrieking, kicking...

I did take several plane trips when I was a kid because my mom's best friend and her daughter lived in PA. I'm sure that if I ever misbehaved my mom would have smacked me. But I spent the whole trip looking out the window or reading.

I don't understand the kids who can't sit still. Maybe because I was an only child? My nephew is 2 and sits "reading" quietly in the car for long trips, you'd never know he was there. (His favorite "book" is the Baby Einstein product guide.)

The difference may be that we were bookworms or it may be that we had something many of today's children lack: parenting. We were taught that some places were meant for quiet, sit -still activities (like travel, dining out, etc.). Many children seem to have never been taught this... or much of anything related to out-of-home behavior.

Not much of in-the-home behavior, either.

This made me laugh! You are probably right, I mean, what are the odds?
But a good friend of mine had a verbal fight with some people who were permitting their children to run all over the place in a town restaurant, and a week later, they turned up at her hotel with a reservation to stay for a week.....