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That's four words But I do agree with your sentiment. I think however, that parents do the best they can to keep their kids quiet on a plane in most cases. After all, flying is a very stressful situation for even adults nowadays, and certainly more stressful for children. They are stuck in a loud, tiny tin can for hours at a time, a completely unfamiliar environment, surrounded by ill tempered strangers, unable to move around, with few ways to be entertained, and sometimes the flight is frightening as well. I'd pass on that crappy experience myself
I have never been on a plane, dont plan to ever. Id rather drive to get where ever life takes me. I know my 6yr old would likely be the one kid screaming. I cant say i wouldnt be freaking out too. Its a little unnerving to be high in the air and not in control I imagine. Forget coloring books when all you see is clouds.
Considering you have no experience flying, your post is moot.
How about sedating the screaming child with Benadryl? It works! We wouldn't tolerate an adult flipping out on a flight. I've seen kids running up and down the aisles. Just ridiculous. Drive if you can't keep your offspring under control.
I disagree. That kid was nonstop talking. What the mother should have done was to take the best to the back of the plane and sternly tell the kid thst she wasn't going to put up with it. The mother was a total failure.
She should have worked on "inside voices" at home. That said, if the child was talking in a normal "inside voice" and it annoyed you, too bad. Wear ear plugs. People have the right to talk on a plane, and people includes children.
It's a tricky issue as some parents really seem to lack the awareness of how their kids drive other people insane.
On the other hand, I flew to Dubai once and there was a lone mother with 5 kids under 7 years old. I didn't ask if they were all hers but she was a nervous wreck. Myself and an older lady did our best to comfort and entertain the younger ones. I quite enjoyed it.
Sometimes it's important to reach out and lend a hand rather than pitch a fit. We flew a lot when I was a kid and have no doubt that I would have driven people nuts with my inability to sit still.
Also, cabin air pressure can be quite painful on the ears of young kids.
The fact that she chose to be a baby factory was her responsibility. I won't entertain kids on planes, too many freak parents who would try to say I was doing something bad to their child. If she couldn't manage the pack, she should have brought along a helper.
My neighbor did that a couple of times when she was taking her kids to the west coast. She brought brought along a local teen (probably 13-14 or so at the time) to help wrangle the kids. Teen got a free trip to California, neighbor got a much needed set of hands.
Young kids' ears pop rather painfully when planes descend. If that was the cause of the crying, there really isn't much that the parents could do about it.
Babies: That's when you give them a bottle so the swallowing relieves the pressure.
Older children: Chewing gum or candy.
That's four words But I do agree with your sentiment. I think however, that parents do the best they can to keep their kids quiet on a plane in most cases. After all, flying is a very stressful situation for even adults nowadays, and certainly more stressful for children. They are stuck in a loud, tiny tin can for hours at a time, a completely unfamiliar environment, surrounded by ill tempered strangers, unable to move around, with few ways to be entertained, and sometimes the flight is frightening as well. I'd pass on that crappy experience myself
I disagree. I have seen far too many self-absorbed parents drinking Bloody Mary's while their kids ran amok--screaming, fighting, kicking seats, standing on seats and dropping things into the lap of the person behind them, throwing things, running up and down aisles, and generally being terrors.
Most strangers only become "ill-tempered" when kids don't behave and the parents don't even make an effort to control them.
I become ill-tempered as soon as I see a parent who has boarded with nothing to entertain a two year old.
By the way, flying is only stressful when people make themselves feel stressed. Otherwise it's just another ride to the office.
Try flying into Orlando on a Friday night or out of it on a Sunday any time of the day in the summer. More kids than should be allowed in one small place at a time outside of the Magic Kingdom or Chuck E Cheese. Southwest is particularly bad for them. Over half of the plane can be made up of kids under 10 on some flights.
Most airlines don't even offer pre-boarding to people with kids out of Orlando anymore, because there are so many kids.
Personally I think parents are obligated to try to keep their children quiet. Many are great--they plan ahead and bring quiet things to keep the child amused. Far too many also don't plan ahead and bring nothing for the kids to play with. Far far too many expect FA's and other passengers to amuse their kids for them.
I get beyond annoyed when someone sits their kid down next to me and expects me to babysit. I'm very good putting in my headphones, picking up my book, and pressing the ignore button.
If I was flying into Orlando, I would EXPECT the plane to be full of children. I would also expect to hear whining, crying, and all the sounds that go along with having a lot of small children in a confined space.
Children need tickets too. I doubt the airlines care whether they make up half the flyers on any given flight.
The OP stated he was on a plane full of screaming kids. Now, it's one child talking through the flight?
How about sedating the screaming child with Benadryl? It works! We wouldn't tolerate an adult flipping out on a flight. I've seen kids running up and down the aisles. Just ridiculous. Drive if you can't keep your offspring under control.
Most pediatricians would be appalled by that statement. By the way, it does not always work. It actually has the opposite affect on many children, and agitates them. Common side affects are dizziness and nausea. You really think it's smart ta give a kid something likely to cause an upset stomach before they get on a plane? I hope you're the one sitting next to them, not me.
"White parents, you need to beat your kids so they can participate in the butt-whipping conversation with their non-white friends."
But I know he's really only talking about Northern white parents, because Southern white parents can go Third World on a kid's butt when they have to.
Quote:
You don't go and embarrass a kid like that in public.
Now that reminds me of a Sinbad shstick:
"The difference between white parents and black parents is that white parents are afraid of their kids embarrassing them in public, while black kids are afraid of their parents embarrassing them in public."
But again, this is really a north/south difference, because southern white parents will embarass their kids in public too, when the situation calls for it.
Of course, this works mainly with teens, but it does help for every teen to know...don't push Mom too far, because she might just snap.
Quote:
If you want the kid to ever learn anything, bring something you know it likes to keep it busy,
Lesson learned by the child: It's Mom's job to keep me constantly entertained.
It is possible for even a small child to learn to keep quiet and still, even while bored, even while uncomfortable. Kids have learned to do it for centuries...such as when there was a dangerous preditor or enemy just outside the tent.
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But I do agree with your sentiment. I think however, that parents do the best they can to keep their kids quiet on a plane in most cases. After all, flying is a very stressful situation for even adults nowadays, and certainly more stressful for children. They are stuck in a loud, tiny tin can for hours at a time, a completely unfamiliar environment, surrounded by ill tempered strangers, unable to move around, with few ways to be entertained, and sometimes the flight is frightening as well. I'd pass on that crappy experience myself 
