Crying baby, screaming passenger

[Fornebufox]

Back in the dark ages when I was an infant, my mother took me to meet her parents in Paris. (Dark ages means pre-jet, when a flight from CLE-ORY required refueling stops in YQX and SNN) According to letters found after she died, her father recommended a wee dose of phenobarbitol to insure a quiet baby, which apparently "worked like a charm."

I'm NOT saying parents should drug their kids but only pointing out that if respecting the social contract is a value parents generally figure out how to keep their kids quiet. When I fly red-eye to Europe in Y (a few times a year) there are always families, often large ones. Somehow I don't remember being kept awake by a screaming kid. Flying domestic OTOH is another story.

IMHO even if she only said what everyone was thinking the young woman was way out of line. Wonder what SHE was like as a flying baby?

[num1bearsfan]

Let the inconsiderate parents hire, pay for and travel on a private jet.

Exactly! Why would the majority go out of their way to accommodate the few?

Yeah there would be 40,000,000 private jets in the air, and all of the commercial airliners would be flying empty just with parents and their kids..

[blueskeyes]

I strongly recommend against bringing a baby on a red eye - people are expecting to rest - and the baby is an unknown. Travelling with a baby - pick a daytime flight please

Noone really recommend that others to drink up and drug up for a flight? (2 gin and tonics, a Xanax)? That was a joke - right???

[safigan]

Let me add my +1 to PTravel, who seems to have the right balance to me.

If we should "just deal with it" re: the baby, then by logic we should "just deal with it" re: the rude young adult. I don't agree with either attitude.

On my next flight, I guess I'll fart at will.

[macabus]

I have always felt that there should be a "families with infants" section - separated by a plexiglass partition.

Why spread the misery all over the plane? If passengers get to bring their lap-babies onto the plane for no charge, then they should abide by the rules of civility.

Although, I might reconsider this if I got the only empty seat on the plane - right in the middle of the "screaming section."

[brendog]

Originally Posted by blueskeyes

Noone really recommend that others to drink up and drug up for a flight? (2 gin and tonics, a Xanax)? That was a joke - right???

My name is not "Noone" (...but, he apparently hangs out on these boards with all of the "loosers"...), but, yes, I heartily recommend that everyone on the plane take the edge off of the unpleasant experience of flying with the miracles of modern and ancient science (i.e., Xanax/Ativan/Valium and gin). You combine those with some good noise-cancelling headphones and you could relax in the midst of a French transit riot. The result: Happy, zombie-like flyers...

[danville 1K]

Originally Posted by rbwpi

No, passengers shouldn't have to deal with it. You don't have the right to visit your problem on someone else. One should not bring a child, who has the potential of crying uncontrollably, on a red eye flight. Total lack of consideration for other passengers.

The DEN-MKE flight in question is a 2 hour 27 minute flight with a scheduled departure time of 8:35 p.m. and arrival time of 12:02 a.m. Hardly a red eye, at least as I know them. The mother can't control the actual time of departure and arrival.

[xinerevelle]

First off... do people who travel on red-eye flights REALLY expect to rest and get a good sleep? Really? Usually people are on that flight because it a)fit their schedule best, b) was less expensive, or c) they got bumped or irrops and had no choice. I can't say that I've every willingly thought "gee, lets take the red eye and then I'll arrive refreshed and ready to start the day!"

Second, if that loud mouthed immature brat had screamed at my 20-month-old like that it would NOT have shut her up for more than 3 seconds. She would've freaked out and screamed EVEN LOUDER AND LONGER AND MORE SHRILLY.

I've not had my child on a red-eye, but I have flown with her several times, usually because the alternative of a 1500 mile trip to see family across country was out of the question with a baby. It would take me a week to get there with all the stops I would have to make to feed, change diapers, etc. And no, I didn't really have a choice of moving away from family as my husband was transferred. And yes, an airplane is a PUBLIC conveyance and as such is open to ALL members of the public without discrimination.

Usually she is a good natured, fun loving child. But, once when an FA had a hissy fit because I had belted her in (at 18-months-old) to the open seat next to me after the door had shut and told me I had to hold her instead, she threw a fit. There was nothing I could do to console her. She didn't want to be restrained when she'd had the privlege of feeling like a "big girl" sitting in a seat by herself. And yes, I did not pay for the seat, but was instead following Delta's allowed "infant in arms" policy for kids under 2. So, after my entire bag of tricks was depleted and she was still screaming and crying and carrying on, I just let her cry. And because I was ticked off at the FA for her piss-poor attitude (which went along with the order to hold the child), I said loudly enough for those around me to hear "Well, I guess I have no choice but to just let her scream. Nothing is working. She really just wants to sit in the EMPTY seat next to me." I got a couple of sympathetic glances. Interestingly enough, Karl Rove was 2 rows away (it was a CRJ). Oh, and it was god-awful hot on the plane, which just added to the stress. And it was 2 in the afternoon.

So yes, I can see if parents did nothing to console the child or offer some distraction, then you could be perturbed. But if the parent has tried to do something and it isn't working, regardless of whether YOU think it's enough or not, give 'em a break. The loud-mouthed brat was essentially put in "time out" by the FA. Good for the FA. I'd have been tempted to say something to the brat if I'd been on that flight.

I have to say, I've been "disturbed" by lots of things on airplanes in the past: too loud iPods, people talking loudly across the aisle or several rows away from each other, people congregating at my seat as they chat the flight away with other pax in the vicinity, parents who insisted on bringing their crying baby up to the area I was sitting in so they didn't bother the people around their seat, drunk and loud golfers on an overnight tatl flight, etc. Did I ever once turn around and scream at the top of my lungs to any of these people to SHUT UP!? No, of course not. I have more self control than that. I usually just sat and steamed quietly or .....ed about it to my traveling partner.

[brendog]

Originally Posted by macabus

I have always felt that there should be a "families with infants" section - separated by a plexiglass partition.

Why spread the misery all over the plane? If passengers get to bring their lap-babies onto the plane for no charge, then they should abide by the rules of civility.

Although, I might reconsider this if I got the only empty seat on the plane - right in the middle of the "screaming section."

Considerate parents would either gate-check their spawn or would ship them in the hold in a kennel. Obviously, as we have learned from previous posts, all parents are inconsiderate pricks...

[schwarm]

According to the OP, the baby was quiet for most of the flight.
This was not a red-eye, although it was delayed. It was supposed to land at 11PM mountain (originating city) time.
We don't know for sure that this was even the planned itinerary for the mother and baby. Perhaps there were irrops.
We don't know the reason for travel. I could name a dozen valid reasons.

The appropriate response to the young woman: "You were a baby once too, and your parents obviously did not do a good job raising you."

[kipper]

Originally Posted by schwarm

According to the OP, the baby was quiet for most of the flight.
This was not a red-eye, although it was delayed. It was supposed to land at 11PM mountain (originating city) time.
We don't know for sure that this was even the planned itinerary for the mother and baby. Perhaps there were irrops.
We don't know the reason for travel. I could name a dozen valid reasons.

The appropriate response to the young woman: "You were a baby once too, and your parents obviously did not do a good job raising you."

Perhaps the appropriate response to the young woman is, "Here's a set of earplugs. You'll find they help."

[alief]

Originally Posted by xinerevelle

Interestingly enough, Karl Rove was 2 rows away

Your child's reaction was completely understandable - that would make me cry too.

[Gandhi90s]

It's up to the airline to decide whether or not to allow babies on certain flights or all flights. As long as the airline permits it, there is no sacred expectation of peace and quiet on a redeye, and you all are indeed just going to have to "deal with it." If you don't like it, complain to the airline about its policies instead of b!tching and moaning here. What's that? The airline doesn't care? Tough.

Personally, I find loud adults much more offensive than crying babies. Some of them are probably on this thread. Let's ban them from flying too.

For the record, I'm not a parent. But I'm pretty sure I was an infant once.

[thegeneral]

"I have always felt that there should be a "families with infants" section - separated by a plexiglass partition."

How about a people should spend $0.79 on a seat of foam ear plugs and not worry about it section. It could be the whole plane and you won't need any plexiglass. Seriously, anyone who doesn't take such a basic precaution against what is a very noisy environment anyways really has no grounds to complain.

[Lehava]

Originally Posted by schwarm

The appropriate response to the young woman: "You were a baby once too, and your parents obviously did not do a good job raising you."

Or maybe her parents taught her what many of the rest of us have learned, that there is a difference between how you behave at home and in public (which the mother obviously didnt get), and that you are not more important than the masses. Or maybe her mother taught her if you have a child you don't take them on a plane until they are old enough to control themselves, as my mother taught me. Some children are raised that there are adult places and child places and you grow up before you do everything adults do.

Dont get me wrong, I think the girl should have held her tongue, I dont think her behavior was right, but my point from the first post was that the mother was equally as wrong with her child disturbing others.