For those arguing “well, no one wants to be the parent of a screaming child in an airplane!”.. no duh! But just “not wanting” something does not remove guilt and is not a proper excuse. I “didn’t want” to fail my college Chemistry 101 exam, but I did anyway -because I didn’t study hard enough-! I accept this now. It’s time you did too.

The way your child acts is more often than not a reflection of your parentining skills. I was also raised by “loving facist” parents… I grew up with my head in the clouds, but pitching a tantrum in public was simply unthinkable.

Entitled whiners. The world does not revolve around you. I blame a culture that gives trophies to all the little leaguers instead of making people work for a reward. Jeebus – grow a skin.

*ssholes annoy the crap outta me too – it’s part of life and no one said it was “fair.”

Douglas, could not agree more. I’m so tired of parents who kiss the butts of their children and then expect me to do the same. They become terrorists. I’m not allowed to defend myself against the hellions without being accused of being a child abuser.

I swear to all things unholy and revered, the next time I get accosted by a toddling Petri-dish in a onesy with an indifferent, arrogant parent, my soda will accidentally on purpose explode all over the beast.

When I was six years old (maybe even earlier?) I went on a transatlantic flight from New York to Pakistan, (with a stop in Manchester, I think). I can assure you, it was not fun to have my ears pop. I did not enjoy any of the food (all I ate was carrot strips and some bread, which my little brother compared to plastic). I couldn’t hear anything on the television screen, even after plugging in the headphones. It was Sesame Street, and I couldn’t hear what they were saying! I was NOT happy. Even worse, it kept repeating THE SAME episode. I was so mad. (Fortunately, it was working on the return flight, and it was amusing to see that it was in all in Urdu, which, even more fortunately, I could actually understand.)
Anyway, the point is, regardless of how excited I was to be on a plane, I wasn’t having a lot of fun. (To be honest, I’m not sure if anyone was, or is even supposed to.) My mom is a no-nonsense kind of lady, so I knew not to throw a tantrum. I knew that she would not be afraid to scold me in public. There were consequences for misbehaving, which were demonstrated when my brother ran ahead of us at the airport. So, if my mother didn’t teach me how to behave and be polite, we probably would’ve pretty much ruined everyone else’s flight experience (which was already not very pleasant due to the flight service). My mother taught me that I was responsible for everything I did. I would be responsible for apologizing if I spilled someone’s coffee, or if I woke someone else up. That’s the way it’s supposed to be.

Translation: I’m not going to address the actual point of contention but instead I’m going to insult you in hopes of derailing your argument.

Really, why should other people have to suffer for your poor parenting skills?

I like the idea of having something to occupy your children’s time, so they’re not bored to death on a plane. Or just give em drugs.

First, taking a kid that will cry during a drama is just stupid. Control your kid or get the eff out.

As for my friends. One of my friends has a great story that concerns flying over oceans, and includes half an hour of tolerance, than then the story ends with “hit him.”

My friend is right. Children who get hit for crying will still cry, but instead they will whimper, instead of bawl. Once they stop bawling, THEN you hug them, until them, you tug the bit.

I’d be a baby hitting mofaku as a father. You don’t have to hit them hard, or even hit them hard enough for it even to be called a hit, just let them know that they are doing wrong.

Long story short sometimes you HAVE to travel on a plane with a small child. The nasty looks and little snide comments we got really didn’t help. It was a horrible experience for us and the unsympathetic passengers really don’t help.

By the way he did amazing on the way back. Not a peep.

Last week-end I was in a high speed train with people going to Euro-Disney. They did not bring anything for their 2 daughters. Result? 2 1/2 hours of pure hell…

You think enough people would pay to support a “no children” anything? and that business won’t

A. lose money
B. get sued?

get real twits

Anyway, here’s my solution – Give your kid a sip of preflight nyquil, problem solved

PLEASE somebody offer it!!!!

So you can’t keep your damn legs shut, why is that my fault? I don’t want to deal with your disgusting, obnoxious spawn that would have been left in the woods tied to a tree for wolf bait in ancient times.

I see way too many children with no concept of manners. My kids have manners. They don’t always use them perfectly, but typically all it takes is a stern look from a parent and suddenly “Yes Ma’am” and Please/Thank you aren’t a foreign language. Children can certainly be taught to be considerate, and they should. It leads to more confidence on their part, and others will enjoy their presence rather than merely tolerating them.

Having raised these kids, I have also dealt with some 2 year old tantrums. I guarantee you no matter how awesome your parenting skills, when that child is tired, stressed, and in a very unfamiliar and uncomfortable place such as… an airplane, they can and will freak out at any moment. When that happens, you do your best and hope the other passengers are more understanding and sympathetic than Ms. Alkon.

So yes, parents teach your kids manners. Those who aren’t parents, try using your own manners and showing a bit of compassion to a child in a difficult situation. It’s called “adulthood” and it sometimes involves looking past your own convenience and comfort, and realizing the world isn’t actually revolving around yourself.

Part of the problem is that people are too afraid to actually discipline their children. With threats of child services being called in, no one will even slap their kid’s hand in public. That is absolutely ridiculous. Sometimes, a child needs a little bit of a slap or a spank so they know not to do something again.

People also need to give their children attention. I’ve seen plenty of parents talking on the phone while their child is having a tantrum and all that kid wants is a little attention. Parents don’t seem to have an interest in their children’s lives as much as they used to. When my parents were little, their families would sit down every night for dinner. I haven’t sat with my family since I was probably 9 years old.

I think that for the first few years after a couple has children, they shouldn’t be allowed to have any extra money. Why? Because kids whose parents are on welfare are usually well behaved. They know that they can’t have whatever they want just because they act up in a store. Or maybe people should just learn to say no to their kids.

Maybe it would be wonderful if everyone minded their own business, but I think it’s healthy to occasionally have to deal with other people – even the nutty, annoying, or weird ones. I think it was unreasonable to put the mother and child off the plane, even after having ridden on a plane for nearly 5 hours with a massive upper respiratory infection and a small child kicking my seat. Children are going to be annoying … Especially if they’re scared or their ears hurt b/c of air pressure changes. I know I -wish- I could scream and cry like that sometimes!

I kinda hope the author of that article someday has to take a small child on an air plane. I’ve met very few who didn’t fuss even a little. It’s not like she’s going to be able to say, “Oh, well. I can’t make that emergency flight to my relative’s bedside today. Maybe next week!”

Silly writer.

However I don’t ever recall airlines claiming their flights will be free of annoying children or other annoyances. If you don’t want to be annoyed you probably shouldn’t consider air travel.

Having said that, airlines always have the option of throwing passengers off the plane for any reason (aside from race, creed, etc). They have every right to this woman and her child from the plane for being disruptive. The airline does not guarantee everyone the right to fly.

That’s curious – anyone who doesn’t complain is venal and pathetic?

Maybe they just don’t get bothered as easily as you do.

The fact is, no mother wants their child to yell on an airplane. No really, we don’t! Shocking, I know. In fact, I had to fly with a child across the Atlantic, and at the conclusion of the trip I realized something: Forced airline travel with small children should be on the list of acceptable interrogation treatments given to terrorists. After 15 hours of little Bobby screaming in their ears, they’ll willingly give up the location of the Rebel Base!

Kids 2 and under are going to do what they are going to do. Anyone who says otherwise has no experience parenting.

AS for the brats that infest our lives, I never hesitate to confront the parents, or complain to the manager (or whoever is supposedly in charge). Hand out vouchers to some miserable loser of a parent? No way! Give vouchers to the rest of us for the abuse we suffered.