ArizonaRoadWarrior

Based upon my travel experiences with my 19 month-old son, I agree with these above items. I am sure that it is too late for this flight but another thing is that we book flights around my son's naps or sleeping time (if it is transatlantic or transpacific flight).

ArizonaRoadWarrior

A lot of babies don't handle hot temperatures\heat like adults so it is important not to overdress your child. We dress our son in layers or carry a 'light' outfit and 'heavy' outfit with us when we travel to handle the range of temperatures in the cabin.

ArizonaRoadWarrior

If your daughter is walking, walk her around the concourse\terminal...this will wear her out.

We purchased an Eddie Bauer 2-in-1 Harness Bear Buddy (there is a monkey model as well) for our son. He loves it…when we put it on him, his behavior changes and he thinks that he is on a hike or something. You hold on by the bear’s (or monkey’s tail) which latches on to the backpack. You can remove the tail as well which we do. There is a zippered back pocket which you can put toys and other things into it.

This week when I was traveling on business, I saw several of these bear and monkey backpacks at the airport. We purchased ours at Target for $ 9.99 http://www.target.com/Eddie-Bauer-2-...harness&page=1.

Shesells

Sorry to post a negative thread but I was so stressed on a recent flight that I thought it might be a good idea to post - then I realised the FT parents are clued in so it's like preaching to the converted - but then I decided to post anyway.

On a recent flight JFK-CVG (just under 2 hrs) we boarded the 50ish seater CRJ and instantly saw that we were not going to have a pleasant journey. The row behind us had two adults and a lap child of approximately 18 months. He was already kicking and screaming. The flight was full so nowhere to move to.

We endured 90 mins plus of this, my seat back being kicked and the toddler screaming at the top of his voice. A fellow passenger suggested that maybe they walk around with him, so Mom walked in a one pace circle in the aisle beside us! At one stage the Dad apologised to us and my OH suggested maybe they use a toy or pacifier or even food to distract him. They had nothing! Even worse they then went on to say that they had been travelling for 20 hours at that stage.

Parents like this give parents with lap children or in fact any children a bad name. Their child was clearly unhappy and distressed and they had nothing to comfort with him. The result was the entire aircraft suffered for their lack of preparedness. He finally stopped crying about 15 mins before we landed by which time I had a thumping headache.

One flight I won't forget in a hurry!

MojaveFlyer

Did you ask the parents to have their child stop kicking your seat? That to me is just not tolerable. Everything else, well you sort of have to live with it, though clearly these parents would appear to be either clueless or clods for not being better equipped to deal with their kid in a crowded public space.

jsgoldbe

Aside from venting your (well-founded) frustration, how does this thread help those traveling with children?

Perhaps the mods will see fit to nip this one in the bud.

FlyinHawaiian

I'm willing to let this one stay for a bit; I have trust in the posters here

To help frame things, how about suggestions on what you, as parents, do to avoid the scenario decribed by the OP and how you deal with tired and fussy infants.

Thanks!

FlyinHawaiian, Co-Moderator
Travel with Children Forum

travelini

I do empathize with the passenger who had to listen to the crying toddler - a crying baby can be "irritating." That said, babies cry and there's not always something that can be done about this. I say this as someone who is not a parent, but spends a lot of time with my siblings' kids.

The fact is babies or not, flights can be loud and unpleasant. I recommend any frequent flyer invest in a solid pair of noise-cancelling headphones - they can really help out. And I recommend, as irritating as the sound of crying can be, evey person being "annoyed" accept the fact that they were once a baby that "annoyed" others with their crying and kicking. Maybe listening to a baby crying when we'd rather not is nothing more than karma.

Unfortunately, an 18 month old having a tantrum isn't always easy to stop. At that age, the kicking involved in a tantrum is pretty much impossible to control.

Keep in mind if the parents had been traveling for more than 20 hours, maybe they started out prepared, but had simply run out of snacks/drinks, etc. If they are inexperienced long-distance travelers, they may just not have realized how difficult it might be to replenish supplies in transit.

As for pacifiers, not all babies like them. If this is a non-pacifier baby, it would have done no good.

And, unfortunately, 18 month olds aren't entertained by portable DVD's etc. They're pretty finicky about toys in general.

If they'd been traveling for more than 20 hours, there may not have been anything that would have distracted/calmed the baby. It's truly amazing how long babies can cry non-stop.

Shesells

The mod is right, I posted more to start a discussion about what parents can do to avoid this scenario than as a general rant.

TBH this kid was a big lap child so without them sitting him sideways they couldn't keep him out of seat kicking distance. I know lap child size is frequently discussed on here.

My main concern was for the child, I was irritated but he was clearly distressed. When I travel I make sure my carry on is full of distractions for me, it just amazed me and other passengers that these people did not even have a drink to give their child.

dchristiva

If they'd been traveling for 20 hours, it's possible they'd run out of drinks or snacks. I'm not saying that's a good excuse, but it's plausible. It's happened to me with my 2 kids before. The best planning in the world can't anticipate that the child might spill an entire cup of milk just before boarding (which happens to be the last milk available until the next airport). They might have just found themselves up a creek without a paddle at that point. I'm sympathetic to everyone involved.

In my experience, no 18-month old is going to tolerate 20 straight hours of travel. Hindsight being 20/20, I suppose if I was in their shoes, I would have broken up the trip for everyone's sanity. But, I also understand that, sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do, so maybe they went for broke and hoped the planets would align and the child would get through it all.

It does sound like the parents were aware of the externalities their child was imposing on others, and that they were relatively apologetic. In this case, I think all anyone can do is acknowledge the situation and offer constructive suggestions, as it appears people did.

tazi

No drinks even available on the plane? As someone else has pointed out, they could have started out prepared and got caught in unexpecterd delays.

BrokerGal

Flying for 20+ hours with a child that age is, IMHO, not going to happen without some major upset at some point. Unless the travel is unavoidable I really believe parents need to think hard about such an undertaking with a child way too young to fully understand patience, consideration of others, etc. I can't imagine that after 20 hours of flying that a drink or something to eat would have made a bit of difference...in other words, as I think someone above pointed out, no extent of planning is going to get a child that young through such an arduous trip.

Emeraldcity

Boy flying 20 hours with a toddler. I don't think I could do it without heavy medication for me AND the toddler.... LOL LOL

I think if I had been already travelling for 20 hours with a toddler, I would have stayed one more day and flown the last leg the next day. Give the child a chance run around , then get some sleep and get it all out of their system before that last 90 minute flight. It may or may not have worked, but the screaming would have been a lot less. I am sure all they wanted to do was get home, but I think when people travel with children, they need to be able to be flexible so they can realize that 100 other people on the plane don't necessarily want to hear their child be fussy.

It is most trying for anyone to travel with a toddler let alone 20 hours!

My nephew is an odd duck......he was just three and has been traveling with my brother since he was born. He loves to fly. His longest flight has been 9 hours including a layover and he thinks it is the coolest thing. He likes it when the FA bring him juice.... lol He is definitely an exception to the rule, and he flies in first class!!! Flying with him is easy....... people look at him so funny as he sits in his first class seat. I KNOW their thoughts, because they are mine a lot of the time. "God is this kid going to scream the whole flight", "Why the hell is a 3 year old in first class?" But again like I say, he is an odd duck...... lol

maurene

For a minute, I though the OP could be talking about my toddler on our flight last week.

2 hours into the first leg of our trip, DS (29 months) just flipped out. I was well equipted with new toys, books, DVDs and snacks. Nothing could calm him for nearly an hour. I ended up just holding him to try to prevent him from kicking the seat in front of us. (He did have his own seat.) Eventually he calmed down on his own and I still don't understand why he flipped out. I felt awful for the people around us. DS was perfect on the other flight and on the way home.

In my limited experience, it is hardest to travel with kids between 1 and 2. And my advice as a mom would be to try limit air travel during that age. If you really want/need to travel by air, expect and PREPARE for the worst and hopefully you (and your fellow passengers) will be pleasantly surprised. And, I always suggest getting an infant/toddler their own seat. I really debated bringing DS's carseat on this trip and I think the trip was easier with his carseat.

KebaNYC

I have flown a lot with my son since he was just 3 months and there is definately an age window where things get more difficult. Although my son has mostly been a great traveler, things were definately more difficult between 1-2 years. This is the age where they become more independent and want to explore the world. They are also too young to sit and watch Dora on the DVD player for 2 hours. If you combine that with not having a seat at that age I think you are asking for trouble.

Ultimately it comes back to the parents and in this case even if the kid was screaming, the parents should have been able to hold him tight to eliminate the kicking of the seat in front of them.

Keba
Keba