<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by bayotter:
I have been told by my parents what I was like in my formative years which is exactly why the waited to take me on my first journey on a plane until I was old enough to act appropriately. We often traveled by car to many wonderful places. When they come to visit me now they are appalled by the number of people who feel compelled to travel to far away places with children too young (under 5) to even understand where they are going, dragging along a dozen carry-on bags, strollers, and child seats. Understandably, these children become difficult to travel with since they would probably rather be home with their friends and toys. I remember a recent FlyerTalk post (which I can't find now) where a poster stated that he is "anxious" to take his 2 year old to Hawaii. I'm not too sure how anxious the child will be. I think with most of these trips it's the PARENTS who are anxious to travel regardless of its affects on their children or those stuck around them. But sometimes it only takes one trip for parents to say, "We'll never do THAT again." Unfortunately, I was sitting in front of them for the one trip they did take, and that was in first class.</font>
I'm sorry for your bad experience bayotter, but please don't lump all children into the same category. My boys have both been flying internationally since they were 5 months old and, if anything, I believe this makes them better travellers. Travelling to them is normal and I am thankful for that, as half of their family live on the other side of the world, a 14 hour flight away. It always amuses me when receive compliments on our boys' behaviour at the end of flights as they're often the same people who glared at us as we boarded
[Edited to correct typo]
[This message has been edited by JodieD (edited 06-20-2003).]