Originally Posted by PTravel
What I have said is that screaming infants, shrieking toddlers and the like are an imposition on other passengers, and common courtesy dictates that passengers not impose on other passengers without a compelling reason. What follows from that is the hope that parents of such children would refrain from creating such an imposition on, for example, red eyes and long-haul trans-oceanics, where the imposition is greatest. What I find disturbing is that a number of posters on this thread (mirroring a number of parents I've encountered on flights) simply said, in essence, "I'll take my kid wherever I want whenever I want and I don't care who is disturbed or bothered," -- and usually followed by an insult.
Because of the prevelancy of this attitude, my personal preference is that children be banned from commercial aircraft. However, obviously, that is not going to happen (though I would happily patronize any airline that did so, even if at a higher per-ticket cost). Failing this draconian approach, it would be nice if the airlines restricted flying children to a "family section," or, at least, insured that F-class pax would not be subject to intrusive child-created nusiances, just as the airlines try to insulate F-class pax from other adult-created annoyances.
These are, however, rules-based solutions and would not be necessary if, as I said in my first post to this thread, all passengers made the effort to respect all other passengers by not imposing on each other, and not expecting each other to bear the imposition as a matter of right. Common courtesy (and no name calling) -- that's all I'm advocating.
Yea I think you are saying the right things the wrong way. You have riled up abit of emotion on this thread
mainly b/c people heard you say that you would like it if children were banned from commerical airlines and that they were an imposition that must have a compelling (to you) reason to fly.
Ultimately though, you are really just bothered by parents you feel are negligent thereby, in your opinion, imposing on the flying public.
But i guess the thing here, at the end of the day, is that this is a flying
public on commercial airlines situation and whosoever pays for a seat in their repective classes, regardless if travelling solo or with young children, gets the seat(s).
As in any public transportation situation, one must be able to deal with others. Unfortunately (or not), children are sometimes these others. Disruptive children are sometimes those "others." And some negligent parents allow the discomfort to other passengers to continue.
However, my position, as I log 150k to 250k miles per year now (more before), is that I have only seen a very few parents such as this. Most are kind, considerate, worries quite abit and caring towards their infants and other passengers.
The parents here (mostly rightly) have become angry from hearing that someone said they should be banned from bringing their children on commercial flights (further to add that they must have this compelling reason to fly).
Probably most of them are angry because they have tried their hardest to be good parents (flightwise) and not to inconvenience their fellow passengers on said flights.
Regardless , I think you just wish for respectful parents and common courtesy.
We all do.
And the majority are.