When you get a cold or influenze, do you lock yourself up in the house?
If you don't, SHAME ON YOU!!! THERE IS NO EXCUSE IN JEOPARDIZING THE HEALTH OF STANGERS!!!

You mean like that?

1. You can't guarantee. From what other parents in this thread have written, you can never tell. However, food and drinks are served at the seat. Diaper changes don't belong anywhere that people eat (no restaurants either -- take note).

2. It's flat-out disgusting.

No, you put your ellipsis (...) in the wrong place. If you're gonna play, play fair, Mr. Umpire.

Oh Yay! We've never had this discussion before! What a concept!

I'm sure you can stipulate whatever rules you like on your own private jet. @:-)

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.

TH. The comment about not having kids so you cant complain was as sarcastic as the rest.

In general. I dont think many people hate children on flights. They hate the fact that parents go into vacation mode and figure the FA or whoever will deal with it and dont try to handle their children. Its all about image. If it looks like you're trying others wont get as angry and may even help.

One child ruined what was left of my first SG experience squatting on the seat back (yes on top of the seat back) jumping up and down from there.

ONLY the head FA did anything. And as soon as she went back to first class he was right at it again. Parents, they didnt care. Other FAs. Nope not them either.

Disappointed I had to deal with this child across the aisle and a seat infront so if when he fell and cried it was right in my face, yes. But I blame the parents. And their total lack of caring.

I've flown with some of your children. And for the very most part those with parents on here are well behaved. Because you parents attend to them. Its when the parents ignore the situation that we the childless get so angry.

And for the record I support and would pay a premium to fly an airline banning children. But since no one including myself has started one I believe we should ALL work to make the shared cabin better.

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.

One of my favorite sayings is: Tie goes to the umpire.

History buffs will remember that it was a parent's irresponsible handling of a baby's diaper that touched off a cholera outbreak in the late 1800's that killed more than 600 people.

I can't picture a passenger washing out a diaper in a drinking water well.

http://www.ph.ucla.edu/EPI/snow/snowcricketarticle.html

I was waiting for the "your not a parent, you don't understand" comments...

It is true I don't understand the changing diapers in the seat and toddlers running down the aisle..

You are right in that if I don't want those things, I should fly charter...

I will be glad when the season is over...

As for my original post, it was 5 toddlers in the aisle, not 15 I mis-keyed (my apologies)... and no the FA's and parents didn't do anything.

Lastly, the diapers were put in the seatback... and no I didn't ask if it was a wet diaper or a dirty one, so that everyone on the plane could feel better about it..

It takes very little effort to imagine other ways one contaminated diaper change could infect many people.

For example: parent changes diaper of child with disease spread by fecal matter on the seat in the gate area, discards diaper and touches the counter with unwashed on hands when dealing with gate agent - it doesn't have to be a great, big noticeable smear of poop to be infectious. Handing tickets back and forth passes contaminate onto hands of the gate agent - how many more people with the gate agent hand things to in the course of the day? Perhaps everyone boarding that flight, and the next 6 after it? How soon will the gate agent be able to wash his/her hands? Before or after their next meal? Before they next touch their nose or mouth? If the gate agent contracts the illness, how long could they be infectious before being diagnosed and treated? It is easy to see the potential for spreading disease if you know how it is transmitted.

I spent my career in pediatric health care and I've traveled with my son since he was 4 months old - so I've changed many diapers, including on planes with no changing table. I think it is never acceptable to change a diaper when you do not have immediate access to washing your hands - that means use the bathroom!

(yes, I know plane water is far from perfectly sterile, but it is better than not washing at all)

In Indian traditional (Ayurvedic) medicine drinking urine as a treatment is quite common. I'm also happy to inform this board that cholera is no longer a health risk in the US. Though urine poses absolutely no health risk, fecal matter still does (though the risk is very small).

Remember the rumor that you could get VD from sitting on an infected toilet seat?

Pediatricians are big on hand sanitizer now. And I carry a bottle with me wherever I go.