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I think Aussies are used to long haul flights - I regularly fly 10 hours to Japan - and last year attended conferences in Prague and Quebec - LONG flights!
So, four hours is a breeze in comparison...
I've found some airlines are very considerate and take action very quickly if kids get out of hand - yesterday for example - I was completing a report on my lap top - it would have been distracting to drown out the noise with music so, I really appreciated being moved to a quieter part of the cabin...
Thanks for your feedback BTW...
I really believe that airlines, restaurants, theatres, resorts etc will have to closely address these issues in the near future - I know of a couple of people that have complained about their night at the Opera being ruined by crying and fidgety kids - I think most businesses are afraid of being sued for discrimination but I believe if parents are forewarned (in clear terms)that certain productions etc are unsuitable for kids under 10 or 12 then they can legally be denied admission whether they have tickets or not...
I think the number of kids in inappropriate places has increased over the last 10 years and increasingly, people (including parents that have left their kids with sitters) will complain rather than just "putting up with it"...
IMO some places are unsuitable for kids under a certain age...
Did parents take very young kids to Madame Butterfly 15-20 years ago? I don't think so...

my mom was just telling me yesterday that when they flew from philly to san juan( about a 4 hr. flight)that they couldnt' sit together on the plane. well both of them encountered unruly children. the kid behind my mom kept kicking her sit and the other kid sitting near my dad was just being obnoxious period. anyway, there was another passenger who was going on the same cruise as my parents and was saying the same thing. my mom reassured her that the cruise wouldn't be like this and that they really have strict policies for kids. too bad they don't have that on airlines. they didn't fly first class but i think that no matter where you're sitting you're still entitled to a decent flight. of course if you're sitting in first class and paying even more money i think that you're really entitled to a stress free flight. just my opinion!

i don't know what the solution is except maybe having strict rules regarding children't behavior on planes.i think the airlines should have something at least posted saying that parents have to keep their kids under control as to not bother other passengers and that flight attendents should be free to say something to these parents.

indigo

Wow, it's really weird hearing babies being referred to as 'it' and 'thing'.

Haldol lollipops for everyone

I propose special sound-proofed children's sections, or tranquiliser guns under every seat.

A month ago when I was flying from DC to Denver via a few "short" 2 hour flights :), I was sitting in the back seats (row 24 I think) and I could hear (and see) two screaming, crying children about 12-13 rows ahead. How could I see them? The babies were being oopsied (my best term for playing with the baby by moving him up and down in the air playfully). The crying I could hear over the din of the engines and my pressure-affected ears from that far a distance. I could not imagine being one or two rows away from them. Eventually, the crying did cease, but I would have been driven out of my mind had I been closer.

Seconded! We could use the tranquiliser guns for the drunk and rowdy passengers too.

As for the comment about the opera, I really don't think that taking a baby to the opera is a good idea, why on earth didn't the parents get a baby sitter. Or one go and not the other if that was not an option - that is what my parents did. Very small children on the whole can't cope with the formalities of the concert hall and sitting still for long periods to listen to the music.

Sorry but I have been a concert goer myself since childhood and have had concert attendance ruined by much less than a screaming baby. Sound can carry a long way in a concert hall! You get small children. who can manage to sit and enjoy the music during a concert, but most can't. And an opera is much longer usually than any concert.

As for children on planes I sympathise with parents who may have no option but to take a child with them - if you're emigrating or going on holiday and taking the children what are you supposed to do? And I've been subjected to dreadful behaviour. One little boy insisted that he was going to stand in the aisle no matter what even if the plane was landing or taken off - and he had to be forced into his seat to put on the seatbelt and he SCREAMED. It was dreadful. But what are parents supposed to do.

Yes I think children should pay fares. It doesn't cost nothing for the airline to have them on board and there's extra luggage costs to factor in.

I don't think any of us think of actual babies we know as "its" or "things" in real life (well, maybe a few of us), but in a forum situation it seems silly to have to type "him/her" each time you're referring to the baby. Often you can't even tell what gender they are, and really, it doesn't matter all that much in the context of a forum that's for people without kids. We usually refer to toddlers as him or her once it becomes more obvious. Parents are so touchy, they get [censored] at you if you get the gender wrong anyway, so why bother trying when it matters so little here? I wrote a lot of these posts using the word "it", and I actually really like babies, I just happen to not have one.

This is exactly what I was going to say! Thanks Frieda!