The flyer on a plane, a public space, is responsible for opening up the possibility that he/she will have to deal with a kid -- or the host of other minor and major nuisances that make flying a quarter-step above riding the greyhound.

And really, the likelihood of having to deal with a bad child in flight is a lot less than most of these other annoyance, some of which I listed in a previous post.

If someone is really so child-averse and gets so steamed up about their own personal, quiet peace and calm being violated (and, come on, you're on a plane afterall), it is equally up to that person to pay up to fly in the front. I do it when I just don't feel like dealing with the hordes on long flights. Or simply avoid flying publicly.

Importantly, it simply does not follow that a business man with a meeting (which, btw, is usually me when I fly) is in any position to pull rank on a family traveling with children and say that children should not fly but that he of course is perfectly entitled to it. I could equally say if someone is not able to calmly deal with the chance of discomfort due to the inherent loss of control in an airplane, don't fly.

The fact is parents have a right to fly with children. It's not illegal. And in the rare case of a truly spastic child, that's not illegal, either.

No idea why some people are so hostile toward kids when there are so many other annoyances in flying. http://www.flyertalk.com/confused.gif