Kids on commercial flights

timwinters

timwinters

Ejection Handle Pulled
Joined
Feb 23, 2008
Messages
13,733
Location
Conway, MO
Display Name
Display name:
LTD
the headline:

"There's a growing movement to force kids to sit in a separate section on airplanes"

Tim's reaction:

Oh, HELL YEAH! This shoulda been in place 20 years ago when I was flying almost every week!

Better yet, put them on a separate freakin' plane!

Business Insider https://apple.news/AQIL6aKEsTHOldD4LVcAmSg
 
Last edited:
Cap'n Jack said:
Seems to be the adults making the news for poor behavior on planes lately...
http://www.chicagotribune.com/busin...ir-passengers-robert-reed-20170918-story.html
http://www.news.com.au/travel/trave...s/news-story/0d934698985d59bff0752267e047dbbf
Click to expand...
The misbehaving adults are the ones that make the news but most of my miserable flights have been caused by kids that either kick my seat or scream and cry. The exception is the couple of flights where I sat next to a foul smelling whale. They should ban them as well.
 
Oh heck yeah, I'm not the main stream media, just someone who travels semi frequently, and the biggest annoyance without even thinking for me has been poorly trained children. There's always one not a row or so from you screaming, dropping a deuce, kicking a seat or something. Just because people feel the need to bring their crotch fruit with them doesn't mean others want to have to....have the experience.
 
James331 said:
Oh heck yeah, I'm not the main stream media, just someone who travels semi frequently, and the biggest annoyance without even thinking for me has been poorly trained children. There's always one not a row or so from you screaming, dropping a deuce, kicking a seat or something. Just because people feel the need to bring their crotch fruit with them doesn't mean others want to have to....have the experience.
Click to expand...
SkyDog58 said:
The misbehaving adults are the ones that make the news but most of my miserable flights have been caused by kids that either kick my seat or scream and cry. The exception is the couple of flights where I sat next to a foul smelling whale. They should ban them as well.
Click to expand...
I've been lucky the 20(!) or so commercial flights I had to take last year. The worst I had to endure was the woman who got the middle seat from LA to Sydney who felt she deserved more space because of that. I will grant that middle seats should be reserved for interrogations but I think the Geneva convention prevents their use.
 
I flew over a dozen times on commercial flights in the past year, adults are significantly worse imo. They complain about having to follow well known established rules and then make stuff up so they can complain some more.
 
When they scream and the parent looks at you say "She (or he) certainly has healthy lungs!"
 
Kids on commercial flights are missing all the emotional development hours of laying in the back of an un-air conditioned station wagon, poking a sibling, and complaining when a sibling keeps looking at you.
 
Last edited:
I say leave 'em at home. Ever hear of Duct Tape Babysitter? :D
 
SoCal RV Flyer said:
I say leave 'em at home. Ever hear of Duct Tape Babysitter? :D
Click to expand...

upload_2018-2-17_12-4-7.jpeg upload_2018-2-17_12-4-26.jpeg
ht_duct_tape_dm_130222_wmain.jpg
 
I spend a lot of time on the road, kids are the least of my worries. Whales, inconsiderate jerks and millenials carrying on WhatsApp conversations with the speakerphone on max are more of an annoyance than any kid has ever been.
These days my kids self-load, plug in their headphones and disappear until the FA comes around for the service. If I could, I would send them as UAs without the entire circus.
 
Stewartb said:
What a bunch of kill joys. Kids are the best. Even other people’s kids. Take a moment to help them develop, and hope they don’t turn out like you with your bad attitudes a selfish behaviors!
Click to expand...

Other people's kids ARE the best. You can give them back when you get tired of them.
 
timwinters said:
the headline:

"There's a growing movement to force kids to sit in a separate section on airplanes"

Tim's reaction:

Oh, HELL YEAH! This shoulda been in place 20 years ago when I was flying almost every week!

Better yet, put them on a separate freakin' plane!

Business Insider https://apple.news/AQIL6aKEsTHOldD4LVcAmSg
Click to expand...

Put the emotional support mammals, reptiles and birds in the same section. They can all amuse each other.
 
frfly172 said:
The kids only do ,what the parents let them get away with.
Click to expand...

Which is why you won't find my grandkids kicking seatbacks, etc. There's no way my kids would let them get away with that. They were raised right, and are raising their kids right.
 
Raising kids right is hard. But if you do the hard work up front, it pays off in the end. If you slack off and are negligent early on, you have to pay for it later. Either way it isn’t easy, and (unless you have a freak of nature) they don’t train themselves.
 
SoCal RV Flyer said:
I say leave 'em at home. Ever hear of Duct Tape Babysitter? :D
Click to expand...
We refrained from flying from when our eldest was born, and didn't fly commercial until our youngest was 9. Flying with young children looks like a bad deal all around.

I was on a flight where I was seated next to a couple with a baby. The baby was surprisingly quiet. Things did get interesting when baby's meal time came up, because the mom was breastfeeding. It's kind of hard to not see what the person in the seat next to you is doing, but I did my best to give them what little privacy the situation offered
 
I watched a mom and dad at the Anchorage airport with their little girl, about 4 years old. There were two mounted bears, one on each side of the walk way and she was scared to walk near them. Mom and dad had their hands full of bags, car seat, baby carriage, baby bag and many other things for one child. It was funny to watch the little girl, she was terrified, and dad was trying to push her, and she wanted to be picked up.....etc....

Finally dad walked to the gate, put everything down, came back and took everything from mom so she could pick up the little girl and walk past the two bears. I was thinking this is going to be a long and tiring trip for the parents.
 
I was telling a friend about this over the weekend and he asked "have you ever seen Kargo Kids?"

Nope...

Very funny if you haven't seen it.

 
Last edited:
murphey said:
Why ban/blame the children when it's the parents fault for not teaching the kids to behave?
Click to expand...
In theory, I agree completely...but in reality it's not the parents who are being disruptive. To paraphrase Yogi "in theory, there's is no difference between theory and reality, in reality there is."

And...BTW...there is no "ban/blame" in simply having a separate section of the airplane for kids...well...unless they go to the cargo kids model! :)

I view this quite similarly to going out to dinner at an expensive restaurant only to be seated next to (or near) a table with a kid under 3 or 4. First I ask for a different table while being seated, if one isn't available I'll sit down, size up the situation, and at the first scream or outburst I walk out.

Texas Roadhouse? Applebee's? Sure, take your screaming rug rats to dinner there. But I won't drop well into the three figures for dinner at an expensive/exclusive and listen to it.

Talk about establishments that should have no kids zones...
 
Last edited:
Ghery said:
Which is why you won't find my grandkids kicking seatbacks, etc. There's no way my kids would let them get away with that. They were raised right, and are raising their kids right.
Click to expand...
Or my 3 year old.. He is a pretty well behaved kid.. He knows Daddy has a line, and if he crosses it, there are immediate consequences.
 
Traveling with kids sucks. Just no two ways about it. We have it about as easy as one can have it since we fly ourselves places, and getting there still isn't half the fun, and it never has been with kids.

People without kids love to say that kids should be banned from commercial flights. The whole point of commercial is that a lot of people get to buy plane tickets to go somewhere. Don't like that? Take GA. I hear there are websites where people talk about private airplanes and ownership thereof, although I'm not sure where you'd find one...
 
Here's amd idea whose time may have come. Build all airliners with day care centers far aft. Were they built that way and staffed with attendants who like and can reasonably control kids the flight would be more pleasant for all.

No, I don't know where that wild hare idea came from. :D
 
timwinters said:
In theory, I agree completely...but in reality it's not the parents who are being disruptive. To paraphrase Yogi "in theory, there's is no difference between theory and reality, in reality there is."

And...BTW...there is no "ban/blame" in simply having a separate section of the airplane for kids...well...unless they go to the cargo kids model! :)

I view this quite similarly to going out to dinner at an expensive restaurant only to be seated next to (or near) a table with a kid under 3 or 4. First I ask for a different table while being seated, if one isn't available I'll sit down, size up the situation, and at the first scream or outburst I walk out.

Texas Roadhouse? Applebee's? Sure, take your screaming rug rats to dinner there. But I won't drop well into the three figures for dinner at an expensive/exclusive and listen to it.

Talk about establishments that should have no kids zones...
Click to expand...

There was about a two year period where we didn't go out to eat at all. My youngest was a very easy newborn, but a pretty tough toddler, and we just couldn't take her anywhere. I'd go out and get carryout once a week, but that was it. Every six months or so we'd try going out to someplace quick and simple, a couple of times we barely got halfway to where we were going and had to turn around, she got all squirmy and fussy. One time we actually got to order but they both started getting fussy so my wife took them out to the car and I asked the waiter to get our food boxed up to go. About age four, we could go out again.

You can try to control them as much as you want, but if they're in that mindset where they're not going to sit still all you can do is keep them at home. It's not fun for you and not fair to the people around you.

That was with two parents, I don't want to think what that's like by yourself. While I do realize there are many single parents who do an excellent job of parenting, why anyone would choose to be a single parent escapes me. That's one of those thing you do because it was forced on you by circumstance, not something you volunteer for.
 
Norman said:
Here's amd idea whose time may have come. Build all airliners with day care centers far aft. Were they built that way and staffed with attendants who like and can reasonably control kids the flight would be more pleasant for all.

No, I don't know where that wild hare idea came from. :D
Click to expand...

Isn't that why Airbus created two separate levels on the A-380? :D
 
FormerHangie said:
There was about a two year period where we didn't go out to eat at all.
Click to expand...
You know...I don't have a problem with screamin' kids at "family" type places. I actually like kids (as long as they're going home with someone else) and it's a "family" type place after all. I consider most of the chains to be family.

But.

When I go to a really nice place (you know, like waffle house ;) ), where I feel compelled to get out of the jeans and into nicer clothes, and I'm eating dinner at 8 or 9 in the evening either before or after a show/concert/play/whatever. i.e. I'm going to an ADULT place on an ADULT date...that's where I draw the line!!! To me there's a huge difference between the two, but it may just be me.
 
Last edited:
timwinters said:
You know...I don't have a problem with screamin' kids at "family" type places. I actually like kids (as long as they're going home with someone else) and it's a "family" type place after all. I consider most of the chains to be family.

But.

When I go to a really nice place (you know, like waffle house ;) ), where I feel compelled to get out of the jeans and into nicer clothes, and I'm eating dinner at 8 or 9 in the evening either before or after a show/concert/play/whatever. i.e. I'm going to an ADULT place on an ADULT date...that's where I draw the line!!! To me there's a huge difference between the two, but it may just be me.
Click to expand...

It's not just you - I feel the same way.
 
timwinters said:
You know...I don't have a problem with screamin' kids at "family" type places. I actually like kids (as long as they're going home with someone else) and it's a "family" type place after all. I consider most of the chains to be family.

But.

When I go to a really nice place (you know, like waffle house ;) ), where I feel compelled to get out of the jeans and into nicer clothes, and I'm eating dinner at 8 or 9 in the evening either before or after a show/concert/play/whatever. i.e. I'm going to an ADULT place on an ADULT date...that's where I draw the line!!! To me there's a huge difference between the two, but it may just be me.
Click to expand...

That I do agree with. There are some places where it's not appropriate to take your kids.

Like @FormerHangie said, there's a period where it's a real pain. What that period is depends on the specific kids. In the past year and a half we've gotten to where we can take the kids out to a restaurant to eat. It's still not ideal (usually request some levels of reminders for them to keep quiet), but we can do it.

Travel itself has been a real pain. We've done a few trips that have been enjoyable, but most of them have just been a lot of work. We're getting there - there's a light at the end of the tunnel. We're just not fully there yet.

I don't begrudge parents who travel with their kids, though. We told my mom "We're not going to NYC. We hate it and traveling with the kids sucks. You need to come here if you want to see them." A lot of people won't tell their parents that, or their parents might not be able to travel, etc. etc. Some families want to take their little ones to Disney or some other overpriced kid place with too much sugar. If that's what they want to do, more power to them. They have to deal with their kids the whole week wherever they're going (not to mention taking them through security, airport, etc... what a nightmare), it's just a couple hours for me.

One thing I find is that having my own kids, I can tune out the crying of any other kids no matter how loud or bad it is. Just doesn't bother me. That's something that wasn't the case before having kids. First off, my daughters (well, one specifically) can scream louder than any baby I've met. Second, not my kid, not my problem. In some ways it's kind of nice to hear a kid crying that I don't have to respond to.
 
FormerHangie said:
There was about a two year period where we didn't go out to eat at all. My youngest was a very easy newborn, but a pretty tough toddler, and we just couldn't take her anywhere. I'd go out and get carryout once a week, but that was it. Every six months or so we'd try going out to someplace quick and simple, a couple of times we barely got halfway to where we were going and had to turn around, she got all squirmy and fussy. One time we actually got to order but they both started getting fussy so my wife took them out to the car and I asked the waiter to get our food boxed up to go. About age four, we could go out again.

You can try to control them as much as you want, but if they're in that mindset where they're not going to sit still all you can do is keep them at home. It's not fun for you and not fair to the people around you.

That was with two parents, I don't want to think what that's like by yourself. While I do realize there are many single parents who do an excellent job of parenting, why anyone would choose to be a single parent escapes me. That's one of those thing you do because it was forced on you by circumstance, not something you volunteer for.
Click to expand...


I am a single parent to a pretty strong willed 3 year old. Had an opportunity to fly with him to take him to see his mom a couple weeks ago. When he's with me i'd say 8/10 times he listens to me the first time i tell him to do something. We hardly get to being told twice. That being said, his mom and I sat down to discuss the future of our custody arrangement, seeing as he'll start school next year. When mom was around, the listening went out the window. I think it depends on the parent, and how firmly they draw the line and enforce it.
 
sferguson524 said:
how firmly they draw the line and enforce it.
Click to expand...

Maybe that's it. Deep down, I don't want my son to meekly comply with things he disagrees with. There's refinement to do and he is going to make some mistakes - hopefully none of them fatal - but in the end, I'd rather have him be independent.
 
bflynn said:
Maybe that's it. Deep down, I don't want my son to meekly comply with things he disagrees with. There's refinement to do and he is going to make some mistakes - hopefully none of them fatal - but in the end, I'd rather have him be independent.
Click to expand...

Likewise. I don't want my kids to be followers who blindly obey what they're told all the time.

But knowing their parents, they won't be.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top