MelesMeles

I agree, but with one caveat: that if we are going to say that age doesn't matter, we have to mean it. That means that behaviour which would be unacceptable in a 35 year-old pax is unacceptable (within limits) from a 4 year-old pax. A 35 year-old who urinated in their seat would be expected to pay a HUGE fine, surely, to cover replacement costs on the seat? (I don't know, never having wet a seat in F, C or Y.) I wonder whether the 4 year-old's family had to pay anything.

Here is an experience that I had in F a couple months ago. An child pax (ticketed in F) walked up and down the aisles punching people in the arms. It didn't hurt, but it was incredibly annoying for the 2-hour flight. When I raised it with a FA, she said "he's just a kid, it's up to his mother to control him, we can't intervene." She also couldn't offer me any compensation (fair enough, that's not her decision), nor could the airline after the fact (outside a couple drinks vouchers). If an adult pax walked up and down the aisle continually disturbing flyers by tapping/bothering/punching them, they would be removed from the cabin, and the other flyers would be offered something by way of apology.

I've also flown with 7 year-old pax (twins flying with their dad to a baseball game) who were incredibly well behaved. They said please/thank you to the FA, and spent most of the flight sitting quietly and reading. I'd prefer them to many of the alcoholic business flyers I've been subjected to.