Tips for plane ride w/ 13-month-old baby (toys, child, grandma)
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How about not traveling with a baby unless it's an emergency?
What's a "baby" and what's an "emergency"?
We just had a baby in the extended family, the first of the millennials to have a child. It's brought back all of the stress of having a newborn to me. It's sort of like having major surgery. Yeah, you stay close to home for a while. But how long is a while? I recall when I had my second, just six weeks before a high school reunion. The doctor told me there was no medical reason not to fly out there and attend. I ended up not going, but for other reasons.
Re: emergencies-Is wanting to see your brother who has COPD and can't handle the altitude in Denver an "emergency"?
Quote:
Originally Posted by emotiioo
Sorry but I don't buy this.
Flying with an infant is painful for them due to their developing ear canals. It's painful for the parents who have to soothe a crying baby in a metal.tube for hours. It's painful for the strangers unfortunate enough to have drawn a short straw on a flight with a crying baby. So I don't see any advantage no matter who they get to visit.
As far as the financial aspect I mentioned that we have paid for many plane tickets for relatives and friends. It's certainly not been any cheaper than our own tickets were we to travel ourselves. But it has been more considerate of our children and our fellow human beings as we have taken one crying baby off a plane.
I wish other people would stop for a minute and think about the stress they are putting on their child, themselves and anyone within earshot who is trapped on a flight with a screaming child. There's a thread about someone who lets a baby cry for hours at a graduation. At least in that example there's a chance for an exit. On a plane there's nothing. It's just not a good situation for an infant. Why put your little one through this if you don't need to? It might not be a popular opinion as people feel entitled to travel with small children but I would posit that there's another way to consider the welfare of everyone and have people visit you instead.
That's a good one, laying it on the parents that they're stressing out their child, and they should stay off the plane for the sake of their kid. See above about what my board-certified pediatrician told me about flying with a six week old. See also what the Mayo Clinic has to say about it: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-l...t/faq-20058539
Regarding the ear pain, here's what Mayo says: "Changing cabin pressure during a flight causes temporary changes in middle ear pressure, which can trigger ear pain. To help equalize the pressure in your baby's ears, offer your baby a breast, bottle or pacifier to suck on during takeoff and the initial descent. It might help to try to time your baby's feedings so that he or she is hungry during these times."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crashj007
Anthropologically speaking, the cry of and infant is a crisis trigger to excite a human into activity, either to feed or protect it from harm. This creates a conflict with non-parental adults who hear the cry and who are soaked in adrenaline fueled rage and fear.
It's a wonder more babies aren't killed in public.
How interesting.
Last edited by Katarina Witt; 05-13-2018 at 09:44 AM..
Anthropologically speaking, the cry of and infant is a crisis trigger to excite a human into activity, either to feed or protect it from harm. This creates a conflict with non-parental adults who hear the cry and who are soaked in adrenaline fueled rage and fear.
It's a wonder more babies aren't killed in public.
Ok, killing babies is taking it too far. But I do agree that for a lot of people, hearing babies cry is triggering a biological response where they want to protect and care for the baby. And having to sit on your hands, going against that biological drive, is an internal conflict that I think causes so many people to have anger about babies crying in public.
This is just my personal experience. I think the part about killing babies is wrong. I think people struggling with this conflict would more likely steal the baby then kill it...in order to tend to it. That doesn't happen a lot, if ever (at least for these reasons) so we have managed to evolve to control that drive. But I think it is a big part of the discomfort a person feels when hearing a baby cry.
Flying with an infant is painful for them due to their developing ear canals. It's painful for the parents who have to soothe a crying baby in a metal.tube for hours. It's painful for the strangers unfortunate enough to have drawn a short straw on a flight with a crying baby. So I don't see any advantage no matter who they get to visit.
As far as the financial aspect I mentioned that we have paid for many plane tickets for relatives and friends. It's certainly not been any cheaper than our own tickets were we to travel ourselves. But it has been more considerate of our children and our fellow human beings as we have taken one crying baby off a plane.
I wish other people would stop for a minute and think about the stress they are putting on their child, themselves and anyone within earshot who is trapped on a flight with a screaming child. There's a thread about someone who lets a baby cry for hours at a graduation. At least in that example there's a chance for an exit. On a plane there's nothing. It's just not a good situation for an infant. Why put your little one through this if you don't need to? It might not be a popular opinion as people feel entitled to travel with small children but I would posit that there's another way to consider the welfare of everyone and have people visit you instead.
Non-sense. I flew with my babies tons and none of them had ear pain or cried through an entire flight. My son loved travel, even as an infant. He loved all the new things to see and hear and explore. That's his personality. My daughter did not like travel, at all. But we comforted her through it and over the years she has learned how to manage her stress in travel and learned to enjoy it. If I waited until she loved travel...without exposing it to her all along, she would end up being one of those people who never left her hometown.
Bring noise canceling head phones and some music, a audio book or some tv shows on your phone or tablet. Or ear plugs and an eye mask and get some sleep. It isn't just babies that can be noisy on planes. I find half drunk adults having a loud conversation much more annoying. Or a bickering couple. The sound of the engine is loud. Flying is loud. Advocate for yourself and bring things to block out the noise if it bothers you.
Non-sense. I flew with my babies tons and none of them had ear pain or cried through an entire flight. My son loved travel, even as an infant. He loved all the new things to see and hear and explore. That's his personality. My daughter did not like travel, at all. But we comforted her through it and over the years she has learned how to manage her stress in travel and learned to enjoy it. If I waited until she loved travel...without exposing it to her all along, she would end up being one of those people who never left her hometown.
Bring noise canceling head phones and some music, a audio book or some tv shows on your phone or tablet. Or ear plugs and an eye mask and get some sleep. It isn't just babies that can be noisy on planes. I find half drunk adults having a loud conversation much more annoying. Or a bickering couple. The sound of the engine is loud. Flying is loud. Advocate for yourself and bring things to block out the noise if it bothers you.
This was brought up before but bears repeating. I've been on a few "party planes". It's not quiet.
This was brought up before but bears repeating. I've been on a few "party planes". It's not quiet.
I don't think I would call any flight I had been on "quiet". The most quiet was an 8 hour over night flight on a brand new plane that held more people then I had ever seen on a plane (it was HUGE). Most people were returning from vacations and slept or watched the free TV and movies. But it as still too loud for me to sleep. Just all the regular noises of a plane were loud.
Yeah...party planes...not the best. I find a gaggle of sales men returning from a business trip the worst though. Its only been twice but they all drink too much and then tell tall tales about their lives that include quite a bit of swearing and crude talk about women.
Its about being considerate to your child and your fellow humans. Bottom line. I know people who won't use a squirt bottle of water to keep a cat off of a kitchen counter because its "cruel" but will drag their tired, teething, ear painful infant on a plane to see grandma and cousin Ed after totally throwing them off their schedule in hopes they will just conk out. Have YOU ever flown when you were sick? Or had a toothache or ear ache? Or just tired out of your mind? Was it fun? WHY on earth do it to your child? And why subject everyone else to your inconsideration?
Again I had a baby in January. There will be no trips on planes until he can sit quietly and comfortably. I don't agree with dragging an infant all over the place for the convenience of family and friends.
Food for thought, parents out there.
(and thanks for all the reps! I know I am not alone in this practice
Its about being considerate to your child and your fellow humans. Bottom line. I know people who won't use a squirt bottle of water to keep a cat off of a kitchen counter because its "cruel" but will drag their tired, teething, ear painful infant on a plane to see grandma and cousin Ed after totally throwing them off their schedule in hopes they will just conk out. Have YOU ever flown when you were sick? Or had a toothache or ear ache? Or just tired out of your mind? Was it fun? WHY on earth do it to your child? And why subject everyone else to your inconsideration?
Again I had a baby in January. There will be no trips on planes until he can sit quietly and comfortably. I don't agree with dragging an infant all over the place for the convenience of family and friends.
Food for thought, parents out there.
(and thanks for all the reps! I know I am not alone in this practice
Your reps are likely from people who don't like kids...
You are going to think I am the worst. I didn't travel to see family much. I traveled for fun. We also traveled for medical treatment for our baby. If it had been terrible, I doubt I would have done it much. It wasn't a walk in the park, but it wasn't terrible. But I wasn't afraid of my babies or unsure of my abilities.
Have I traveled while sick? Yes. I haven't made my children travel while sick, besides once when it was for medical reasons, no. Teething, ear pain...I think you are waaaaaaay over thinking it. It wasn't a nightmare or we wouldn't have done it so much when my kids were little.
Learning how to travel with your kids, and them learning how to travel isn't a bad thing at all. You might have a touch of new parent syndrome.
Your reps are likely from people who don't like kids...
You are going to think I am the worst. I didn't travel to see family much. I traveled for fun. We also traveled for medical treatment for our baby. If it had been terrible, I doubt I would have done it much. It wasn't a walk in the park, but it wasn't terrible. But I wasn't afraid of my babies or unsure of my abilities.
Have I traveled while sick? Yes. I haven't made my children travel while sick, besides once when it was for medical reasons, no. Teething, ear pain...I think you are waaaaaaay over thinking it. It wasn't a nightmare or we wouldn't have done it so much when my kids were little.
Learning how to travel with your kids, and them learning how to travel isn't a bad thing at all. You might have a touch of new parent syndrome.
Hardly. I had a daughter who passed away at 8, over a decade ago. We just had a surprise pregnancy. Indeed we had to take our daughter to specialists all over the country but she was not an infant. Most of my family is in Sweden and Denmark where I was born. Travel can certainly broaden the mind for a young child who is old enough to process what is going on around them. A baby does not need to be shuttled to and fro on an airplane unless the situation is somehow dire. Sorry.
I can't abide anyone being loud and disruptive on a plane -- with a drunk adult or chatty seat mate I can either handle it myself or get a flight attendant to do so. With an infant, the PARENTS are supposed to be the care takers. The argument can certainly be made that the infant has no reason to travel and my family has made that argument with our children for their comfort and the comfort of everyone else. It works for us. And it works for everyone who doesn't have to hear a crying baby. If you admit a screaming baby is not a pleasant sound, you get accused of hating children. This is a false equivalency. I love my kids with all my heart but listening to their screams gives me a migraine. I understand why people dislike that sound.
Again, I try to be considerate. Flying long distances can be stressful for the best traveler. A baby has no clue what is happening, why their routine is disrupted, etc. People also get very anxious on planes. Hearing a screaming, teething baby certainly does not help. I wish that others would not take this as an attack on their parenting and actually think about the motivation and return on investment of making an infant travel as opposed to the infant's loving family coming to see them. And certainly, love of travel does not end with a baby. You can go on any trips you want, can afford, have time for and childcare. By yourself or with your spouse/partner.
Hardly. I had a daughter who passed away at 8, over a decade ago. We just had a surprise pregnancy. Indeed we had to take our daughter to specialists all over the country but she was not an infant. Most of my family is in Sweden and Denmark where I was born. Travel can certainly broaden the mind for a young child who is old enough to process what is going on around them. A baby does not need to be shuttled to and fro on an airplane unless the situation is somehow dire. Sorry.
I can't abide anyone being loud and disruptive on a plane -- with a drunk adult or chatty seat mate I can either handle it myself or get a flight attendant to do so. With an infant, the PARENTS are supposed to be the care takers. The argument can certainly be made that the infant has no reason to travel and my family has made that argument with our children for their comfort and the comfort of everyone else. It works for us. And it works for everyone who doesn't have to hear a crying baby. If you admit a screaming baby is not a pleasant sound, you get accused of hating children. This is a false equivalency. I love my kids with all my heart but listening to their screams gives me a migraine. I understand why people dislike that sound.
Again, I try to be considerate. Flying long distances can be stressful for the best traveler. A baby has no clue what is happening, why their routine is disrupted, etc. People also get very anxious on planes. Hearing a screaming, teething baby certainly does not help. I wish that others would not take this as an attack on their parenting and actually think about the motivation and return on investment of making an infant travel as opposed to the infant's loving family coming to see them. And certainly, love of travel does not end with a baby. You can go on any trips you want, can afford, have time for and childcare. By yourself or with your spouse/partner.
I am sorry for your loss. Deeply sorry. We will have to agree to disagree. I don't see any problem traveling with infants or toddlers. I did get thrown in the deep end as I adopted internationally and flying with an infant was a requirement to get home.
I find it much harder to travel with older kids. Not because of behavior but because their routines get messed up and they miss things like sports or school. Coming back from a trip with them, I need a vacation. And there is much more "go go go" as they want to see all the sights and don't need mid day naps (although we still always have a mid-day break)
I would have never left my kids with "child care" for an extended period. To me that is a terrible idea.
Its about being considerate to your child and your fellow humans. Bottom line. I know people who won't use a squirt bottle of water to keep a cat off of a kitchen counter because its "cruel" but will drag their tired, teething, ear painful infant on a plane to see grandma and cousin Ed after totally throwing them off their schedule in hopes they will just conk out. Have YOU ever flown when you were sick? Or had a toothache or ear ache? Or just tired out of your mind? Was it fun? WHY on earth do it to your child? And why subject everyone else to your inconsideration?
Again I had a baby in January. There will be no trips on planes until he can sit quietly and comfortably. I don't agree with dragging an infant all over the place for the convenience of family and friends.
Food for thought, parents out there.
(and thanks for all the reps! I know I am not alone in this practice
The ear pain during takeoff/landing is temporary and can be dealt with by nursing, giving a bottle or pacifier. "Older children can suck on a lollipop, drink through a straw or blow bubbles through a straw to relieve ear pain. If you are planning on flying with an infant or child, talk to a pediatrician about the possibility of pain relieving eardrops for use in flight." https://www.healthyhearing.com/repor...hat-you-can-do
Some of the rest of us are getting reps, too.
I am very sorry for the loss of your daughter. There are no words.
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