GaryZ

Me, I always travel with a small pack of those rat-trapping glue boards, and disburse them around whenever there are disruptive munchkins running all over the place. They adhere so firmly to the kids feet, it essentially immobilizes them and it takes the parents forever to un-stick them!

leungy18

Confrontation adverse?

Oh, come on. We live in a world where every confrontation has a chance of ending up viral every quickly. I don't want to be famous. If I was given the choice to either physically obstruct the path of a running kid and confront his entitled parents, or get the attention of lounge staff -- I'm choosing the latter.

I wouldn't consider myself soft -- it's just that most people I meet in public are unreasonable and I'd rather have someone else deal with them than waste my time.

I'm confused. What does this have to do with seat kickers?

rjw242

I guess that's technically true, but the chance is really minuscule.

leungy18

I know this is getting off-topic, but another reason that I don't want to start any confrontation is that I'm 16 and I usually travel solo. Most of the time if I look presentable (polo/button down+long-sleeved khakis will do), lounge staff bend the rules and let me in anyways. It helps to have a copy of the WSJ in your hands.

But it's an unfortunate reality for young people that an authority figure, in a lot of cases, will automatically side with an older person in the case of any heated dispute. The amount of condescension I get from supposedly mature grown-ups is ridiculous, no matter whether I'm a lounge, by the gate, in a restaurant, or in a mall. Parents I confront will lash out at me with "oh, you'll get it when you finally have kids". A barmy old codger who's too loud on the phone will start rambling about "young people lacking respect nowadays". An approaching employee will look at me, look the adult I'm arguing with, and start admonishing me unless someone else comes to my defense. I don't want to get thrown out of the lounge.

So that's why I stand by what I said in my previous post: people I encounter are too unreasonable for me to confront them directly. Therefore the most pragmatic solution is to talk to staff calmly and quietly, and hope that they deal with the miscreant in question.

Lovethecabin

having got one of those stuck to myself (hand and arm) the above makes me both laugh and figuratively cry!

i have gently corrected children's behave in past with a "please don't do that" and if that didn't work, taken it up the chain to whoever is in charge at the given facility.

However, parents can go nuclear when they perceive someone is targeting their children so in the situation the OP described, I would have gone to the desk and complained.

GNRMatt

I don't have a problem with someone confronting the children/parents. If the parents then refuse to follow the rules (and have their children follow the rules), that is when you need to bring it to the attention of the staff. If the staff refuse to do anything, I'd get their names and report it to AA management.

MDJennings

Oh, come on. Politely asking a parent to control their child in an area where they are disturbing others isn't out of line.

What does this have to do with seat kickers? Seriously? The point is you politely ask them to stop whichever bothersome behavior it is and then only escalate when they refuse to. I guess the airline equivalent of this (that people whine about) is a FA not bothering to talk to a pax calmly and instead calling for the police or notifying the captain. Maybe today's population is soft like you said.

So, if someone keeps bumping their knees into the back of your seat or they're being a little too vigorous when interacting with the IFE mounted on the back of your headrest, are you going to hit the call FA button instead of turning around and asking them not to?

charmed

I haven't run into this in a lounge, but at home, we have dancing on the town squares where they make an announcement to keep children from running through the dance floor for their own safety as well as the safety of the other dancers. I have corralled running children and asked where their parent was. I find this brings the caregiver right over, and then you can talk to them in a calm voice. At that point I've always found they take their children somewhere less dangerous.

MSPeconomist

I would hit the call button and hope that it isn't a FA who loves children and is convinced that the little darlings can do no harm as they're so cute when they're hitting me on the head and pulling my hair while screaming at the top of their lungs. I've had parents not only become verbally abusive (yelling four letter expletives) but also threatening me with physical violence for politely suggesting that they curb their offspring.

JonNYC

Sometimes you have to look for who/what might be the common denominator in the case where people have repeat experiences like this.

MDJennings

In the latter case you mentioned, that parent would be the target of the youtube paparazzi, not you. If they want to get irate on the flight at a polite request, then the other pax around you would most likely take your side and the awful parent would be arrested upon landing.

Not to start anything, but are you physically small in stature? I think posters might have a different POV depending on whether they're petite or built like a linebacker. It would be interesting to see if there was any such correlation of polite requests being met with hostility based on requester size.

edit... also, have you considered that if the FA is one of those children-can-do-no-wrong types that the parent might decide to spite you by NOT even taking a modicum of care to prevent future kicks to your seat from their child? People can be vindictive, so it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility that one of them might take offense to you calling the FA immediately instead of asking them to their face.

I agree completely. I'm guessing other pax would have a higher rate of success of having their polite request honored if they had a enough tact to try to make a human connection to the child's parent beforehand. The parent is more likely to be proactive if you exchanged a few pleasantries at the start of the flight and weren't just some random face peering back over the seat in front of them with a request.

rjw242

Fair point, and +1 for "barmy old codger"

jacobguo

I don't think it's ok for kids to run around in any part of AC. If they want to use it then act like a grown-up.

Danwriter

"Hell to pay." Great. Road rage in slow motion. Still in search of an adult in this room.

rjw242

Whatever you say, champ.