dwsnc

Just finished reading the thread about kiddies and the dirty diapers and it reminded me of IAD to AMS with 2 little monsters behind us who just had to kick the back of our seats. The plane was full and the thought of having to endure this until the little heathens fell out was unbearable. I finally said something to "Mommy Dearest", but you know how that goes. Anyway, I guess I had blocked this out of my mind until I read the ***tty diaper story.

Daydream

Ha, Seat behind? ORD-MUC, next to me in the middle aile with 4 seats a fat guy with his family, I nearly leaned on the aisle because he needed a bit much space..
After an hour or so he decided to let his kid sit in his place next to me...my enthusiasm fanished immediatly...This little monster either played around in the seat, thus kicking me and nearly leaning on my seat, or he slept and kicked me there all the time. He thought noone minds when he stretches over 3 seats while sleeping, and now lets talk about parents not getting a hint!
I love kids, but the ones around me learned to behave when in public, this boy was at least 5, there you can expect some manners!

And directly after that is when people leave during meal service their seats reclined! Dont they listen to those "please bring your seat in upright position" announcements?

Enough ranting, I have seen the last years also some truly wonderful kids on airplanes,and believe me, I always talked to their parents and made them compliments!

juanvaldez

This is why John Madden takes the bus to the NFL games instead of flying

Analise

How wonderful when parents don't discipline their children and instead allow them to bother the passenger in front of him/her. If you say something, you typically get an arrogant person who thinks that their cute little "Merritt" can do no wrong and that it is you who needs to "lighten up". Besides, they paid for that child's seat so he/she wants to kick, so be it.

Oh there is a remedy to that. You might sneer but I have to tell you, this works. I've had the dubious honor of having such a delightful family behind me on a few rare occasions so when the parent feels that he or she should be treated like the Emperor of the World, I say "fine". Then I warn them that everytime his/her child kicks me, I will turn around and sneeze or cough over the child. I'll make up a white lie and say that I have some hideous cold and that each time I get kicked, my body reacts with either uncontrollable coughing or sneezing. If they give me a "who cares" look, well that's just fine. I'll do it then. The parent will then see (as will all the adults sitting nearby) that I mean business and will finally stop their little precious dear from being an annoyance.

Again, this rarely happens. Typically in my experience, parents are more than willing to stop their child from the endless kicking. They are usually very apologetic. Yet for those with holier than thou attitudes, the above works like a charm.

Buster

This is a huge pet peeve of mine. I had a horrible flight to SEA a few years ago that never actually materialized. The airplane door was stuck at the gate, so we sat on the plane for several hours while they tried to fix it. In the meantime, 2 children behind me took turns kicking my seat. About an hour and a half in, I turned around, and asked the parents if they could stop their children from kicking my seat. They replied that their kids could do whatever they wanted, and if I didn't like it, I should fly first class. The nerve! It's stuff like this that sends my blood pressure rocketing. I thought about pouring my bottle of water all over them, telling them that if they didn't like it, they should fly first class, but ultimately decided that I really needed the water!

hhonorman

Anyone else think the time has come for child-free flights, or in the alternative, a special designated section of the plane for families with children? Wouldn't it be great if travelers had an option of having some flights be child-free? I am not suggesting that all flights be child-free, that would be unfair. However, it would be nice for once if we had the option of booking a flight and knowing that there would be no children on it. And while they're at it, how about a few pet-free flights too. I am allegeric to cats and some dogs, yet when a passenger is seated next to me with "fluffy", the flight attendants always say there's nothing they can do about it.

wingless

It should be a requirement that children be belted in during the entire flight, unless they need to use the restroom.

I keep my belt on when seated.You would think the parents would worry more.

I gave a 4 year old dirty looks while he stood on the seat in front of me and peer over the back of the seat while I was eating. Eventually he got the hint.

I know...that's not very nice but...

JS

Little kids have a hard time sitting still. I try to keep my four year old from kicking the seat in front of him, but it's not possible to stop it completely.

If you're talking about big kids, who can sit still, or parents who don't do anything to try to keep their toddler still, that's one thing. But, if you want to ensure the back of your seat is not touched at all, your only choice is the last row of a cabin, or UA E+.

Also, just because you don't overhear the parent behind you saying something to the child doesn't mean the parent isn't trying. If I see my son start to swing his legs, I'll put my hand on his legs and that stops him for a little while. If I don't see him start to swing his legs, it's too late to prevent a little bump or two (little legs in a small space move fast). If you were sitting in the next row up, you wouldn't hear anything, but that doesn't mean I'm not trying.


Analise, when you lie and fake sneeze in this situation, you are being childish. Kids cannot sit perfectly still like adults, but adults can be civilized and not act like children.

JS

Actually, there are many vendors who provide these two services. Charter a plane!

anonplz

Maybe it's childish, maybe not, but the important thing is that it's effective, and no one is being harmed, and the parents are getting the message that your children are disturbing other passengers, and you need to start demanding self-discipline from your children.

Is the age of four too early for that? If it is, I'm sure there are plenty of people who would say six is too early, ten is, 16 is - there's no limit to how long people today seem to believe they don't have to grow up. (Witness the popularity of South Park, Jerry Springer, Big Brother, etc.)

Having said that, hopefully, this situation presents itself rarely, and Analise doesn't have to do this very often. No one likes to be the bad guy, but better children learn when they are younger than later on. I have had to stop children from harassing other children when their parents were nowhere to be seen, and I did not enjoy it, but I'm proud I did it.

Analise

To perfectly honest, it means nothing to me that some or many believe that I might be acting "childish". You will see in my piece above that it is on the rare occasion when the parent speaks in some high and mighty tone at me that I do as I do. I refuse to have some high-anxiety child continue to kick my seat.

I agree with the idea of having mandatory seatbelts on children say under 13. If they cannot sit still, then they should not be on an airplane. My parents strictly enforced that when I was a child. If I or my siblings even remotely bothered a passenger, we were told we would be left at home the next time the family went on vacation. That worked. Amazing about parental involvement and discipline, isn't it?

[This message has been edited by Analise (edited 08-23-2002).]

anonplz

What I find objectionable about JS's response is it assumes that he/she should know better. First of all, do you have a Ph.D. in child psychology? How do you know Analise doesn't have 10 children of her own? Me, either?

I'm not TRYING to be argumentative, but I dislike when FTer's take criticism personally, and then go and attack others, by calling them names, like childish, whatever.

It is always true that reasonable people can agree to disagree without resorting to ad hominem attacks, and when I hear that kind of rhetorical nonsense, I may just call you on it.

Furthermore, all FTer's have the right to post their personal experiences freely, and what conclusions they have drawn about them. If you disagree with the conclusions, and can educate us all, so much the better.

That's all I want to say.

[This message has been edited by anonplz (edited 08-23-2002).]

TrojanHorse

Analise, wow, i'm surprised, we found something we agree on LOL.. just kidding, seriously, I'm with you and the sneezing, I have numerous tricks of my own that I use on kids to get them or their parents to notice that what the little rug rat is doing bugs the heck out of me..

if the sneezing works, go with it..

JS

Let me clarify -- I am not attacking anyone personally. All I am saying is that an adult doing a fake sneeze and cough is a childish thing to do. It has nothing to do with who you are, whether you have children, or anything, other than being an adult who should not stoop down to that level.

Re "I agree with the idea of having mandatory seatbelts on children say under 13. If they cannot sit still, then they should not be on an airplane."

When my four year old sits in a coach seat (other than UA E+) with his seat belt on, his feet can reach the back of the seat in front of him.

Actually, not keeping his seat belt on prevents kicking. He likes to stand and look out the window, walk up and down the aisle, and sit on the floor and play toys or color in a coloring book laid on the seat. Of course, he has to have the seat belt on when the seat belt sign is lit, which seems to be on half the flight on 2 hour flights.

Analise

TrojanHorse, we agree once in a blue moon, right?

Sneezing and coughing work. A pity that I must resort to that sometimes. A gentleman sitting next to me on a flight to SFO shared that approach with me about a year ago. So what are some of the numerous tricks of your own? Now you've got me curious.

[This message has been edited by Analise (edited 08-23-2002).]