Children on airplanes

[whirlygirl]

So I am traveling to Europe in a few weeks, which I am totally excited about, other than the fact that there may be children on my (long) flight, and they may even be sitting near me. [shock]

At work the other day, we were discussing someone who's now in Orlando at a conference, and I was saying how I hate going to Orlando because there are always hyped-up, badly behaved kids on those flights. So of course one of the coworkers launches into this story about how she was just at Disney with her kids and the plane was delayed on the way back yadda yadda, so her kids were awful on the plane. And she was fed up with the people who kept turning around and looking at her, to the point where she was going to tell those people that if they turned to look one more time, she was going to just hand the kids over to them. (which conjured up all sorts of images in my head!)

Anyway, I was appalled by this, especially the fact that she would go on about this to someone she works with, but I didn't add fuel to the fire, I just changed the subject. Had it been some random person, however, they would have gotten a huge earful from me. [post59]

[Wen]

I don't usually mind kids, because I know it's a hassle to make them behave. But... on a plane, I can't understand how parents can't stop the kids from kicking the seat in front of them (and that's where I'll obviously be seated). And I want some earplugs because there's obviously going to be some babies on board who'll scream their lungs out.

[jeth]

My first long-haul flight as an adult featured a pair of horrible children who were seated across the aisle. As we taxi'd down the runway for 45 minutes they were not buckled in their seat, but were standing up on the cushions facing the back of economy class and screaming their damn fool heads off. Dad's face was buried too far in a glass of gin and tonic to care, and when the air hostess politely asked him to restrain his children for their safety he started whining about how long we'd been taxi'ing for.

I wanted to reach across the aisle and smack him upside the head for being a stupid nitwit who couldn't be bothered to take two seconds to unpack the coloring books so his spawn could sit down, shut up, and leave the rest of us alone. Sadly I couldn't reach him because, you know, I was actually strapped into my seat like a responsible passenger in a very large moving vehicle.

I believe Helen said it best when she remarked that unrestrained children (particularly lap babies) end up being sky pizza when things get a little rocky in the air.

[whirlygirl]

I believe Helen said it best when she remarked that unrestrained children (particularly lap babies) end up being sky pizza when things get a little rocky in the air.

Yes. I am a really nervous flier and freak out at turbulence, but some of the kids I've encountered have made me actually wish for some.

[Boomer #8]

I'm a frequent flyer, and one thing that I've learned is that If there are kids on board, there will always be one of them (or all) screaming during landing or take off..which it's quite understandable, and some kids are well manered, however..I've been on flights where they never shut up. It's a nightmare, and that is why I recomend you to bring a discman or mp3 player, or something like that just in case. You may not need it, and you may even encounter not annoying children, but other annoying passenger. I've had my share of those as well.

[entropy]

^^I agree with you! Bring mp3 player. Can't really listen to it during take off and landing when a lots of little ones scream (due to pressure). i have to have my mp3 player because i can't stand listening to the ADULTS beside me.

[Churumbela]

I don't usually mind kids, because I know it's a hassle to make them behave.

No, it really isn't a hassle to make them behave. You just have to raise them with a proper respect for others.

[Rinky vs.4.0]

I don't have any problem with kids on planes as long as they behave themselves, which means:

- no 'outdoor' voices
- no kicking backs of seats (seriously, how any parent thinks this is acceptable is beyond me)
- obeying the flight crew's instructions (see Jess' post - again, this is the parent's responsibility)
- no throwing stuff or general stupidity

Pretty much what I expect of adult passengers, really.

I first flew at age five. I loved flying and in those days, we were rewarded for not being shrieking brats with trips into the cockpit to meet the pilots and stuff. When our ears hurt we sucked on sweets and did the nose-blowing thing to help clear them. We always took a book and a quiet toy like a drawing book to help occupy us on the plane too. With the plethora of entertainments on modern aircraft - entertainment centres and all - it really shouldn't be an issue of the child not being occupied.

I tend to suspect that those kids who act like apes on planes act that way pretty much everywhere because their parents let them.
.
I'm lucky in that I've flown a lot long-haul and never been subject to a particularly loathsome child on a plane. I wouldn't hesitate to say something if I did, though.

[Rinky vs.4.0]

I believe Helen said it best when she remarked that unrestrained children (particularly lap babies) end up being sky pizza when things get a little rocky in the air.

They do! They end up flying across the cabin and making a very satisfying thunk against the bulkheads. There's actually an audio tape in existence of a particularly bad landing where you can hear the dull 'thunk thunk thunk' sound of all the unrestrained children meeting their ends like fleshy crash-test dummies as the plane hits the tarmac.

[Master Shaman]

No, it really isn't a hassle to make them behave. You just have to raise them with a proper respect for others.

And this is the main problem. The fact that kids have tantrums and start shit in supermarkets, airplanes or anywhere else is because the parents simply don't bother to educate them in a way in which they can function in the adult world, regardless of their age. The even worse part is where these kids eventually grow up and never recover from the lack of education, and the once little boy who was taught that it's ok to have a shit fit at Wal-Mart finds it ok to smack his wife, for instance.

[Churumbela]

You speak the truth, Dan. Parents like that are the reason I had to take a break from teaching. What passes for parenting these days makes me absolutely ill. People are so hesitant to do anything resembling disciplining a child (for fear of hurting precious "self esteem") that children run around with complete and absolute spoiled rotten freedom. I hope there's a backlash, and I hope it's soon. This trend is not good for the world.

[Rinky vs.4.0]

^I think many teachers feel the same way, hence why in my country, the average length of time a teacher lasts in the profession is now something like seven years.

The way some of my private students speak to their parents in front of me embarrasses the crap out of me. It really does. These are generally nice enough kids, too, not tearaways, but god, the total lack of respect is appalling at times. The don't speak to me like that, note. I get the feeling a lot of them are placated at home instead of having boundaries enforced - hence the horrible, belligerent whining a lot of them seem to do in the presence of the parentals. These aren't teens, either; they're primary age kids.

[Churumbela]

I feel fairly sure that I want to go back eventually, because I really do like children, but their parents sure do irritate me ;)
I think people are so worried that they aren't well bonded with their kids, because they're too busy working or doing whatever it is they do, that they try to make up for it in material ways, and by giving in to whatever their children demand. Which of course leads to children who are completely spoiled and bratty. And who grow up to be infantile adults with no impulse control.

[Cam]

You know, I've learned to live with children on planes because it does me no good to get pissy about it anymore. Though I won't hesitate to go off on some brat kicking my seat if their parents refuse to do anything about it. Usually a few looks back at the kids and/or parent does the trick without any words. Black men are scary in close spaces, I guess ;)

But on my flight this past weekend I saw the stupidest thing - mom with toddler flying standby, then gets upset when the only seats available are separate and the woman next to mom's assigned seat refuses to move so they can sit together.

I know it's kind of unreasonable, but at the same time - WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU FLY STANDBY WITH A SMALL CHILD? Unless it's unavoidable due to flight cancellations, etc. but I'm almost certain that wasn't a problem on this day for a number of reasons. So why should someone like, say, me be expected to move from the aisle or window seat that I reserved in advance just so I could be more comfortable so that your last-minute stupid ass can sit together with your fuckdroppings? That's not my problem.

Granted, I would've moved because that's how I am. But I was offended by mom's reaction that indicated she believed she should take priority over everyone else just because she was dragging along her little brat. Who was ill-behaved and spent a lot of time running up and down the aisle for half the flight.

[Wen]

No, it really isn't a hassle to make them behave. You just have to raise them with a proper respect for others.
Your own children, yes, but other kids? I have to admit though that the situation I had in mind while typing that was at a party, where all the kids ganged up and hell broke lose. Even the most obedient of children just turned into a little terror.

[serohwru]

Bad kids arent only bad on planes.

[SMMY]

Bad kids arent only bad on planes.

I smell spam

[Churumbela]

Your own children, yes, but other kids? I have to admit though that the situation I had in mind while typing that was at a party, where all the kids ganged up and hell broke lose. Even the most obedient of children just turned into a little terror.

I was referring to people's own children. If you raise your children to have respect for others while in public places, it does not tend to be as much of a problem. Yes, the most well-behaved children, when in a mob at something over-stimulating (such as a party) can turn into terrors, but that isn't really the same thing. One or two children, out in public with a parent, should not display behavior like that. If they do, it is simply a matter of poor upbringing.

I don't particularly have a hard time making other's children behave, however. I'm a teacher.

[mymble]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3218225083863857496&q=funny+commercials&hl=en

[Zizazat]

Enough is enough! I have had it with these motherfucking children on this motherfucking plane!

[jeth]

^ If only blowing up a flotation device and blocking the children off in economy class while the adults hung out in first class really worked. :p