Originally Posted by
newyorkgeorge
My parents were far, far from "parents of the year" but they understood that children should need not be in anyplace, anytime, anywhere. We did not take our first flight until we were pre teenagers and beyond the scream and shout stage.
Unfortunately, it seems that many want to have children today (usually for fashion sake) but are not willing to make sacrifices to raise them. As far as I am concern screaming babies have no place on a plane and children should be taught to keep quiet at all times. And before you point a finger, my mother (raising four boys) completely agrees with this opinion. Believe me, that is how we were expected to behave in the presence of other adults.
You were raised how you were raised.
I plan on raising my daughter to be respectful of others, but by no means will I teach her that she is inferior to adults nor will I require that she be "silent."
My recent trip with my (at the time) 22 month old daughter:
I flew 4 segments with my daughter last month on NW. I'm a PLT and took her on as a lapchild. After getting upgraded automatically on flights I targeted as likely empty flights, I used my F seat as a way of getting my daughter her own free seat in our own Y row. We read, played games, looked out the window, had a great time. Was she "silent?" Nope. So what? Neither were the idiots in the row behind me loudly discussing their business deal. Are their voices more appropriate than my daughter's? My money's just as good as theirs.
The last leg of the flight I took my seat in F, fully planning on trading with someone in Y. I was in 4A and the guy in 4B shot me some of the dirtiest looks when I sat down with my daughter to the point where I ended up asking him what he was looking at. Although I was tempted to stay there and let her act up as much as she wanted, I ended up back in row 9 with 3 seats for the 2 of us.
Face it: Air travel isn't what it used to be. Nobody dresses up, the food is crap, and the service is nonexistent. Further, I won't drive 15 hours to take my daughter to visit her grandparents when I can be there in 2 70-minute flights.