JessicaB

On my last two night flights in J I have had the displeasure of children that would not stop crying, for hours and hours. The one last night literally screamed the cabin down for all but two hours of the 9 hour flight. In the "lights out" section of the flight when we were all trying to sleep, the blood-curdling screeches coming out of this child, even with earplugs wedged firmly into my ears, even 3 rows away, prevented me (or anyone else in the cabin) from getting any sleep. And I just wondered why someone would pay £5,000 or more for a flat bed when a parent's inability to stop their child from screaming puts the mockers on sleeping.

I don't object to having children in J or F. I don't object to a little crying, I realise that young kids do cry. But I do object to selfish parents who allow their kids to make so much noise that every other person in the cabin is disturbed for most of the flight.

What's the answer?

sammyg901

I have 2 toddlers myself and unfortunately despite my best efforts it's sometimes impossible to keep them from crying on planes. To the point I've just decided not to bother going on anything longer than a couple of hours if at all for a few years !

at the end of the day it is public transport and the answer is if it really bothers you that much you'll have to fly private. If I saw a parent had gone to sleep and left their kid screaming I'd have a word with the crew but if the parents are obviously trying then you can be sure they are far more stressed / disturbed by it than you are !

Jpm81

If the parents were trying to calm the child down, which I'm sure they were then they would have found the whole experience far more stressful than you did.

gcuk

Private jet for you would be the only guarantee.
Before we had children, I used to think the same about screaming children. When we had our 3 children, you realise that sometimes you just can't stop them crying. One time one of them was teething, another time it was the pre-cursor to an ear infection. No way we could predict either ailment booking in advance. On other occasions, we did manage to quieten them. One time the only way to keep my baby son from crying was to walk up and down the plane. It worked, but I had the dubious honour of walking from Johannesburg to London

JessicaB

I get it, but if you know this is a thing, is it fair for you to book seats in a cabin with flat beds on a night flight, knowing that your child will probably prevent all of them from sleeping. Personally I couldn't be that selfish.

krispy84

Given there are very few guarantees with small children, this would result in a de facto ban from J and F cabins. You said you didn’t support that.

passy777

That's a bit unfair to suggest parents as being 'selfish' for having the audacity to fly in J with a child.

Are you suggesting they only fly in Y? Babies cry...and that's the harsh reality. It's not the parents who 'allow' them cry, but the child is very likely suffering some discomfort from teething or differing air pressures in the cabin and there's not a great deal a parent can do, although crying is natures way of relieving issues of air pressure pain.

scottishpoet

you would prefer the baby cried all night in Y and kept even more people awake?

Jpm81

I doubt they came up with the dastardly plan to spend thousands themselves just to punk the entire Club cabin by having a noisy child.

I've been in a business cabin where a passenger in the row behind was an extremely loud snorer - were they doing it deliberately too?

gcuk

I don't consider myself selfish. I can't predict when my child may have an ailment and in the absence of a complete ban on children in premium cabins, I'll choose to book in them. I'll avoid expanding the conversation to include the issue of drunk obnoxious adults in premium cabins.

flarmip

It's a tricky one. The parents were likely trying their best to quieten the children down, though of course there are always exceptions. The question is therefore really more whether children should be allowed in premium cabins. Nobody is realistically going to be getting a great night's sleep in Y so the issue doesn't really arise there to the same extent - the effect of screaming children is much greater in premium cabins.

Personally, I don't think that children below a certain age - say 5 - should be allowed in J/F (at least on LH flights), but that's just my view and I recognise that others - particularly those with children in that age range! - may disagree.

For aircraft which have J split up into multiple sections (e.g. lots of BA's high-J aircraft), a compromise might be only to allow young children into the rearmost section of the cabin. Obviously that doesn't work for all aircraft layouts, or for F/Y+.

sammyg901

This thread should probably be closed as it is going to go around in circles. Is it fair for someone to book a flat bed who snores or is going to get drunk and be annoying. There are plenty of reasons why you might get disturbed on a flight and it's best to make as best a preparations for yourself as possible with good headphones etc.

BA could potentially do something on some of it's fleet to create child free zones but in the event of any irrops etc it'd go out of the window and on a lot of routes like anything out of LGW it just isn't possible so I can see why most airlines don't bother

flybymonkey

A thimble of spirit? (just kidding) Probably a question for a paediatrician for a definitive answer.

I have had this issue a few times flying long haul economy. The mother especially can become highly stressed. I have volunteered to help and take the baby off the parents’ hands while they have a meal and try to have some rest. Also found other children within the cabin who with a few seat swaps can also help.

scottishpoet

hi ... waves ... it was probably me

JapesUK

I certainly would