The New York Times had an interesting article asking “Babies on Planes. Should They Get their Own Flight?” The piece, written by Douglas Quenqua, notes that sitting next to a screaming , kicking, uncontrollable child is the second biggest fear of flying. Some travelers are calling for child-free flights or designating family-only sections.
Let us know if you have an opinion on this.
My thoughts? As a parent, I know that unpredictable things can happen such as ear problems with take-offs and landings. However, I think that parents have a responsibility to try to anticipate how well their children are going to behave. If you know that your child can’t stay in his seat for a half an hour in a restaurant, how do you expect him to last through a much longer flight? And while the rest of us can leave our tables if someone’s child is upset, there’s nothing that we can do on a flight other than to endure with, perhaps, noise canceling headphones.
I’ve practiced what I’ve preached-my kids did not go on a plane until I was reasonably sure that they could behave.
Any bad experiences of this nature?
Click here to read the article.
Travel Gal Kim Swidler 
21 responses to “Babies on Planes-What Do You Think?”
Everyone has an obligation to parent their child all the time – that means not allowing them to run up and down airplane aisles, kick seat backs or throw objects. Children cry and some cry louder than others – I travel a LOT and I’ve never been on a flight where a child cried the whole time.
I have been on flights, however, where adults yelled, cursed and were unruly. I’ve seen flight attendants verbally abused. I’ve been seated next to people who insisted on taking off their shoes, regardless of how their feet smelled. I’ve seen more than my fair share of drunks in flight, and it isn’t pretty. In October I was on a flight where I sat across from what appeared to be a mother and teenage daughter that argued for almost the entire flight. I’ve experienced other passengers on the other side of the plane and not even in the same row as me with music playing so loudly even with their earphones in, I could identify the song over the engine noise. If we’re going to have family only rows, can we also have designated “jerk-free” rows? How about “no body odor” rows?
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LEAVE BABIES HOME, THERE IS NOTHING WORSE THAN A BABY’S CRYING ON YOUR ENTIRE FLIGHT !!!!!!!
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I don’t have a problem with an area dedicated to parents with children on a plane, but I do have a problem with animals on a plane.
This year, we were leaving New Orleans to come back to Albany, a couple had a small dog in a doggy cage/pocketbook. The dog starting barking from the minute it got on the plane until we took off and were cruising, about 30 minutes. Once the plan leveled off, the couple was able to take the dog out of the cage and hold it. The dog as fine the rest of the trip while the couple was holding it, but went back to barking like crazy when it had to go back in the cage.
Many people complained, but the stewartest said a dog was like a child and nothing could be done. Alot of people said they were going to ask for a refund because of the dog.
I wasn’t as tired or as miserable as some of the other people leaving New Orleans, but I don’t think you can think of a dog the same as a child. I love animals, but they don’t belong in the cabin with humans.
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In order for my parents to see their grandchildren we either had to fly two hours or drive ten hours. We tried both and it was much easier on the kids and us to fly rather than trap them in car seats for so long. I started flying with them as babies so they got the routine down from pretty young. We flew to Italy with a five year old and an 18 month old. They had a few rough minutes but they were very good for the most part. The only thing that really made me angry was when a woman traveling alone would not switch seats so my husband and I could sit together with the kids. I have always traded seats when traveling alone if I can accommodate others.
I have seen parents, however, who do not seem to think it is their job to try to keep their kids occupied and let them run around, scream, etc. I know parents can get exasperated but it is still their job to try to entertain their kids and try to keep them from running around. Most flight staff that I have encountered are always happy to lend a hand with an extra treat or little toy for the kids.
A little cooperation and patience can go a long way toward a reasonably comfortable flight (given the small space, crabby adults, expense and other difficulties we all encounter when flying these days).
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I’d rather sit next to a fussy, crying baby than a terrorist who is planning to blow up the plane.
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Babies are part of the human condition, and they have every bit as much right to be on a plane as anyone else. Some people without children (I see you are a parent, so I am not criticizing you) don’t understand that you can’t just lock them in a kennel when you have to travel, (Sorry, but your dog is NOT “like a child.”) They also don;t get it that a baby won’t necessarily shut up because you tell it to and that babies need to go see their faraway relatives as anyone else does. People afraid of sitting next to a small human being should suck it up and turn the headphones louder, or bring earplugs or other noise-control apparatus.
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Of course the best thing would be if parents waited until their children could behave on flights, like Kim did, or take responsibility for the child!
I know babies cry, but a screaming 3 yr old kicking the back of my seat is not a baby; it’s an out of control brat with myopic parents who refuse to do anything.
I don’t think child free flights is the way to go for the reasons listed in the article -it’s just not viable. Perhaps though we could institute an attitude adjustment and stand up for our rights. I do have the right to say “stop kicking my chair, or else”. Perhaps the flight attendants could back us up on this!
If someone whacks my head with their bag getting on the plane, I’m going to say “ouch”! Likewise if a kid is acting up, I’m going to make some noise too.
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I cant’ stand babies or children on airplanes. I have had many, many bad experiences with screaming, kicking, temper tantrums, etc. They all need to be in a family section or another airplane all together. Airplane tickets are very expensive. I am not paying all this money to be in a day care center or on Romper Room.
P.S. Yes, I do have children of my own.
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Of many flights, domestic and overseas, I have had only two experiences with unruly children.
In once case, I was able to have my seat changed, solving the problem. In the other instance, I spoke to the flight attendant twice, who spoke to the parents,and I spoke to the parents, but nothing happened and I was stuck with the brat who kept kicking the back of the seat and the parents who didn’t seem to care.
My earliest flight was at the age of about four. My parents explained to me in advance what to expect, what the terminology flying meant, and in general the good manners that were expected. Ergo, no trauma, no problems, and a great experience. My sister was three at the time, and she seemed to understand it all, too, again thanks to our parents who exercised good sense and good judgment.
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So for all of those who don’t want kids on your flights – please enlighten me – what was I supposed to have done when I received a call in the middle of the night regarding the rapidly deteriorating health of my mother and I had a two week old at home that nursed exclusively – thus I couldn’t leave her @ home and jump on a plane by myself. I had to book the next flight and pack her up and of course she went with me so I could actually spend a few hours saying goodbye to my mother. Driving was NOT an option.
Yes kids misbehave at times, but deal with it people. Lord knows none of you were perfect as a child either.
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The last red-eye flight I took from the West Coast had _one_ infant on it. I’m sure the parents thought that given the late take off that she’d sleep. We had all hoped we’d sleep too, but 1/2 hour after takeoff she started screaming. Blood curdling, like the child was being physically injured. She screamed herself hoarse. Sleeping was not an option for anyone. My iPod doesn’t go that high. Was it necessary to take an infant on a red-eye? Really?
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As an animal person, I kind of resent your comment about “your dog is not your child” and just put it in a kennel. When I need to take a trip that requires flying, I drop the pooch off at my parents house.
I often sympathize with the parents if their child is acting up on a flight. But in all my years of flying, I’ve very rarely experienced anything awful like the above scenarios
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I have 3 children which I have taken on numerous flights. My children have never acted up or been a nuisance to other passengers. I can however tell you that I have been on flights where children are unruly and flat out annoying. So a lot of it I can blame on parental control.
I will tell you that I was also on a super crowded flight one time and in the middle seat. The woman on the window seat had a lap child- about 12-14 months old. I ignored the child when he pulled my hair and kicked me several times. Not to mention needed my attention quite frequently. But when the mother stood the child up on her lap, pulled the child’s pants down and changed a #2 diaper- right there- well we’ll just say it was the last straw. Now I refuse to sit near small children.
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I’m all for specifically designated “family-only” flights, though I doubt it will ever happen; it’s too logical and would involve litigation.
It’s much like charging for flights by weight: you pay a flat reservation fee, you and your bags step on the scale and you are assessed the per mile charge per pound…we are cargo and should be treated the same way every other piece of cargo is shipped: BY WEIGHT, not by who booked two days earlier, who knows some secret, etc. The fact that some folks pay $200 for a R/T and some pay $1000 for the same flight is simply ridiculous.
In the meantime, I never fly without my earplugs. Scream all you want.
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I hate flying on planes with squealing children and crying babies. Maybe parents have no choice or are taking them to see their grandparents. I see nothing wrong with having families in their own section. I remember traveling with my husband when a young child started kicking the seat and whacking the fold-down table with toy. My husband very kindly asked the mother to stop the child from at least kicking the seat to which the mother said “no, she wouldn’t” We asked the flight attendant to talk to her, and she wouldn’t either. We were ready to get off the plane and wait for another one when the flight attendant finally found us another seat. I’ve found the parents to have a great sense of entitlement and very few manners. It’s hard enough to fly these days without out-of-control children.
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a little chloroform on a handkerchief would knock out the monster for a while – just be sure to carry it in a plastic bottle of 100ml or less!!! saying “stop kicking my seat – or else” will get you a big fat reprimand from the flight attendant for “threatening” (it happened to me after i’d politely asked a mother several times to control her brat – uh, i mean her lovely little child).
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I agree with # 6. Babies and children are a part of the human condition. So you are going to get angry at someone who has a collicky baby and has to take a flight because of a family emergency? You don’t always know the parents’ situation…I like to give parents the benefit of the doubt…they can’t control their children, let alone their babies 100% of the time and that is the truth. There are much better ways to get a child to stop doing something that is annoying you rather than threatening them. As far as someone mentioning a dog on a flight…I’ve never seen a dog actually in the cabin. I would have to immediatly object to that rather than a child. Some people are deathly allergic to animals…I never heard of someone being deathly allergic to a human being however.
I have been on a flight sitting next to someone who was persistently trying to chat me up. After I politely asked him to stop and told him I was engaged,he proceeded to get quite obnoxious and “spilled” his drink all over me and I had to sit in wet clothes the entire flight…this is okay because he’s an adult? I would much rather deal with a child on a flight who is still learning about life and how to behave and treat people, than an adult who is clearly grown up and acting obnoxiously because they feel like it.
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For the most part, airlines don’t care about you or the flight attendants. That pits you against the flight attendants. So try to complain about the seat-kicking screamer. See how much the flight attendant cares about your comfort. No one has mentioned that the screamers don’t pay anything to fly, while you’ve paid hundreds. Headphones help with the screaming but not with the kicking.
As far as the entitled parents, I moved to the south and I’ve been flabbergasted that parents here teach their children manners!!!! In a restaurant recently, a mother actually got her child and made him sit on her lap to keep him from kicking the seat at our booth.
Southwest seems to have changed it’s seating policy so seniors and disabled are grouped together in the front, then families with children. Much better.
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I have 2 boys. 9&7:) we moved to the west coast, and all the rest of our fam live on the east. We have lived out here for about 8yrs now. And when we first moved out here the boys were still really little, and we would try to fly back a few times a year. But let me tell ya, that got old, right real quick!! So we quit, HA! and told our fam if they wanna see us, they can fly out here. Just recently have we started flying back home again:) the boys r perfect lil guys now. they got their PSP’s and their iPods and their just chill all the way there:) Kids need to be a certain age before they start flying. If u absolutely have to fly with small children, then fly. but if it can wait, WAIT:) Its zero fun even for adults to fly, so why would anyone think it would be so for a child. They have WAY to much energy to just be sitting still for several hours.
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#18…I agree, they couldn’t care less. At one point, I was also pointed to the kitchen and told to figure out how to warm a bottle for my child. While in the kitchen, I got some “if looks could kill” glares. It’s not like the 1950s TV commercials, that’s for sure.
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Babies in diapers should be banned from all airliners. Screamers should be given formula with Jack Daniels in it. Seatkickers should be restrained, and cuffed in irons if necessary. Stupid parents who allow this crap should be forcibly sterilized.
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