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Pretty simple--earphones with music or movie, or ear plugs--I've never take a plane without ear plugs--they work. You cannot control noise, but you can control hearing it.
As far as kids--I don't like listening to them any more than anyone else, but people have to travel and sometimes with kids. I don't know why there can't be special kiddie sections of the plane, like they used to have for smokers.
I understand crying babies on planes because it does affect their ears and they have no control over it. However, the worst passengers are the ones with older kids who they do not control during a flight, kicking the seats, running up and down, or general misbehaving. There is no excuse. Make your children behave in restaurants, planes, in public period.
Unfortunately, people with babies need to travel also. You can't drive everywhere, especially considering how large the US is. Again, the Universe doesn't revolve around you.
Let's try this bit of reasoning....
Neither does the universe revolve around parents or babies. Having a child is a tremendous sacrifice. Those who choose to go down that path, must accept the sacrifice. It is not incumbent upon others to share in that sacrifice.
By way of analogy, suppose that I choose to drive a temperamental old sports-car. It frequently breaks down in traffic, causing congestion. Would busy drivers, hurrying to work, look over at my broken old sports-car, and cloyingly murmur, "Oh, look - how cute - that pleasant old gentleman is having some trouble with a darling vintage car! Wow, maybe we should pull over, to help him sort-out his overheating problem? Well, it's true that his breakdown is causing a bit of a delay for us... but that's OK... because, you know, somebody has to keep those old cars on the road!"
I think what few parents understand is how excruciatingly painful the process of flying can be for babies whose eustacian tubes in their ears are still not developed enough to handle the pressure changes. As an adult who cannot fly without ear tubes, (without rupturing my eardrums) I can tell you it is the worst pain I have ever experienced. So, when a plane begins it’s descent and I hear an infant with a piercing scream, I want to pummel the parent. If any parent understood how painful it is, they would never force an infant to fly.
Neither does the universe revolve around parents or babies. Having a child is a tremendous sacrifice. Those who choose to go down that path, must accept the sacrifice. It is not incumbent upon others to share in that sacrifice.
By way of analogy, suppose that I choose to drive a temperamental old sports-car. It frequently breaks down in traffic, causing congestion. Would busy drivers, hurrying to work, look over at my broken old sports-car, and cloyingly murmur, "Oh, look - how cute - that pleasant old gentleman is having some trouble with a darling vintage car! Wow, maybe we should pull over, to help him sort-out his overheating problem? Well, it's true that his breakdown is causing a bit of a delay for us... but that's OK... because, you know, somebody has to keep those old cars on the road!"
What?
Having children means you must sometimes sacrifice. It doesn't mean you always sacrifice. If a parent with a child wants to pay to travel on a plane, they have every right to do so. That crying baby is not holding up the plane. That crying baby is not preventing people from getting where they want to go. That crying baby is an inconvenience only so far as another passenger's ear holes are concerned, and that can be controlled by sticking something in those ear holes. If you are so irresponsible that you don't prepare for that sort of contingency, given how common it is, I don't have one iota of concern for someone who heaps scorn on another person for something they cannot control. In this case, being irritated is one thing--I've been irritated by crying babies plenty. But fuming that they shouldn't be allowed to travel? Nope. That's utterly ridiculous.
ETA: My son cried once during takeoff, then did not cry again. My daughter cried once during landing. This idea that all babies are in constant excruciating pain during a flight is bogus. The noise & jostling seemed to do more. Otherwise, they slept through it.
Neither does the universe revolve around parents or babies. Having a child is a tremendous sacrifice. Those who choose to go down that path, must accept the sacrifice. It is not incumbent upon others to share in that sacrifice.
By way of analogy, suppose that I choose to drive a temperamental old sports-car. It frequently breaks down in traffic, causing congestion. Would busy drivers, hurrying to work, look over at my broken old sports-car, and cloyingly murmur, "Oh, look - how cute - that pleasant old gentleman is having some trouble with a darling vintage car! Wow, maybe we should pull over, to help him sort-out his overheating problem? Well, it's true that his breakdown is causing a bit of a delay for us... but that's OK... because, you know, somebody has to keep those old cars on the road!"
One could say that flying in itself is a sacrifice. You can choose to sacrifice your comfort or you can choose not to and find another way to travel. Nobody else really cares if you want to hear their baby cry or not. I know that this is a shocking revelation... but when a child is crying, the parents are concerned about the child first and foremost. Any thought given to your comfort is quick and not worth focusing on. You are responsible for your own happiness. If you are that unhappy on a flight because a child is crying (while you're already stuck in a metal tube for hours, have little leg room, crowded next to a stranger, probably too cold because airplanes are always freezing, and eating sub-par and salty food (if you get any food to begin with), then it's probably better to simply avoid that mode of transportation.
Your analogy with the sports car is somewhat relevant. I live in an area that gets tons of snowbirds (old people who live up north most of the year but come down to Florida in the winter). They drive too slowly and tend to not know where they're going. Yes, it's annoying. Sometimes it's VERY annoying. But since the world does not revolve around me and I do not own the roads, there's nothing I can do about it. They have just as much a right to drive on the roads as I do, as long as they're not a danger to themselves or others (which requires some interpretation, I will admit). Surely a baby flying is less of a danger to fellow passengers than some old lady driving 35 mph in the left lane of a 45 mph zone. But alas, Edna has every right to be there as long as she's legally allowed to drive. Just like the baby has the right to be on the plane even if it cries during takeoff and landing.
Neither does the universe revolve around parents or babies. Having a child is a tremendous sacrifice. Those who choose to go down that path, must accept the sacrifice. It is not incumbent upon others to share in that sacrifice.
By way of analogy, suppose that I choose to drive a temperamental old sports-car. It frequently breaks down in traffic, causing congestion. Would busy drivers, hurrying to work, look over at my broken old sports-car, and cloyingly murmur, "Oh, look - how cute - that pleasant old gentleman is having some trouble with a darling vintage car! Wow, maybe we should pull over, to help him sort-out his overheating problem? Well, it's true that his breakdown is causing a bit of a delay for us... but that's OK... because, you know, somebody has to keep those old cars on the road!"
As frustrating as delays are while driving, most people feel sorry for the driver having to deal with that. You have no control over it when your car breaks down.
Quote:
Originally Posted by redwood66
I wonder how many of you would take your crying baby to a movie theater?
I think people who bring their kids to a movie or play are nuts. It's too loud and at any moment that baby can start wailing.
There's no excuse for that. If people can't find someone to watch their baby - they can stay home.
Flying is a whole other thing - it's not easily avoidable.
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