usvi-on-line
Kids on Planes
Kids on Planes
Very interesting article in USA Today about
Kids on Planes
http://blogs.usatoday.com/sky/2007/02/k ... l#comments
Kids on Planes
http://blogs.usatoday.com/sky/2007/02/k ... l#comments
Yep, parents need to take responsibility for their kids on planes. A lot of folks try to raise their kids by giving them the freedom to make their own choices - even run around the plane like a monkey. I figure kids are ready to make their own choices when they are old enough to choose which wine they want with dinner (14 in France with parents). When mine were little I strapped them down in the plane and they behaved. Having the certain knowledge that Dad would enforce the rules with a calloused right hand was just a small part of the solution. Teaching the kids the rules in the first place is what a lot of those traveling with kids don't understand. This goes for planes, restaurants, ferries, beaches, pretty much everything. People say "Your kids are great, how did you as a single Dad teach them so well?" My answer is a mostly joking "I beat them." The real answer is "Teach them, and follow up with real consequences." My 9 year old remembers her last spanking 5 1/2 years ago. She knows I mean business.
That being said, the biggest kid issue I've had to deal with on planes is my now 9 year old daughter's severe barotrauma (ears don't clear which causes lots of pain). She lives in fear of long plane rides. Her ears do not recompress for 15-20 minutes when we descend and the pain is shocking. She has gotten to the point, with treatment from her ENT, where she no longer screams as though she is being slowly torn apart, but there is still lots of pain with enough crying to wet her shirt. How do people take this? About half are nasty - screw them! The other half are handing us chewing gum, tissues, nose spray, every remedy you can think of. Luckily, even the direct flight from Washington, DC is not enough to trigger the worst of this. European trips are the big challenge - a small price to pay.
Seriously, there are more rude adult travelers than kids. That's the real problem, when a rude adult brings a kid along.
Cheers, RickG
That being said, the biggest kid issue I've had to deal with on planes is my now 9 year old daughter's severe barotrauma (ears don't clear which causes lots of pain). She lives in fear of long plane rides. Her ears do not recompress for 15-20 minutes when we descend and the pain is shocking. She has gotten to the point, with treatment from her ENT, where she no longer screams as though she is being slowly torn apart, but there is still lots of pain with enough crying to wet her shirt. How do people take this? About half are nasty - screw them! The other half are handing us chewing gum, tissues, nose spray, every remedy you can think of. Luckily, even the direct flight from Washington, DC is not enough to trigger the worst of this. European trips are the big challenge - a small price to pay.
Seriously, there are more rude adult travelers than kids. That's the real problem, when a rude adult brings a kid along.
Cheers, RickG
Last edited by RickG on Mon Feb 26, 2007 11:48 am, edited 1 time in total.
S/V Echoes - Coral Bay - St. John, VI
Ya, did not work for us. Her problem is on the eustachian tube side. Growth should solve it. If not, she and I are both going in for the eustachian roto-rooter. I'd be able to dive below 60 feet again.waterguy wrote:Hi rick
My son had the same thing He had special ear plugs made with a valve in them that help unbeleiveably and ear doctor had them made.
Tom
Cheers, RickG
S/V Echoes - Coral Bay - St. John, VI
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martini girl
- Posts: 329
- Joined: Wed Aug 16, 2006 4:29 pm
- Location: Pennsylvania
I have to chime in on this one. It is totally the LOSER parents who are responsible for the disruptive children's behavior. We have been traveling thru the Carribbean since our oldest (now 12 yrs old) was 10 months old. We presently travel with another family
for a total of 5 kids. Our kids have been brought up to be on their best behavior both on planes and in restaurants.
We use our heads. We don't go to "finer" dining restaurants with small children, it's stressful on us, the parents, as well as other diners if it doesn't work out as planned. We pack lots of extras for the kids to play with on the plane to keep them busy and occupied. We do not rely on other strangers to play with them, that is unconscionable to me!
Bad behavior is not only rampant on planes either. I was so tired of having other kids look to me to entertain them at the public swimming pool (while their moms caught up on their reading) we belonged to that I twisted my husband's arm (almost broke it off in fact
) and convinced him that we needed a pool in our backyard! It was THAT bad. I seriously don't know what these parents are thinking!
Anyway, I think the airline was right in kicking the whole family off, and the responsiblity falls squarely on the parents for that fiasco. I know "stuff" happens with kids, but you need to be prepared to head off that stuff ahead of time.
Whew! Can you tell that's a sore subject with me???
for a total of 5 kids. Our kids have been brought up to be on their best behavior both on planes and in restaurants.
We use our heads. We don't go to "finer" dining restaurants with small children, it's stressful on us, the parents, as well as other diners if it doesn't work out as planned. We pack lots of extras for the kids to play with on the plane to keep them busy and occupied. We do not rely on other strangers to play with them, that is unconscionable to me!
Bad behavior is not only rampant on planes either. I was so tired of having other kids look to me to entertain them at the public swimming pool (while their moms caught up on their reading) we belonged to that I twisted my husband's arm (almost broke it off in fact
) and convinced him that we needed a pool in our backyard! It was THAT bad. I seriously don't know what these parents are thinking!Anyway, I think the airline was right in kicking the whole family off, and the responsiblity falls squarely on the parents for that fiasco. I know "stuff" happens with kids, but you need to be prepared to head off that stuff ahead of time.
Whew! Can you tell that's a sore subject with me???
Just a note - when they ran the family's story on local news here in Boston, the 3 year old could not sit still for more than 10 SECONDS during the interview and the parents just let her do whatever she wanted to do. Can you imagine that going on during a 3 hour flight 
(( If you have that little control over your child you should definitely NOT be subjecting paying passengers to that type of behavior. Until your child is old enough or well brought up enough to behave, take car trips!!
This is my opinion as a mother - my now 16 year old daughter has been traveling since she was 2. I always brought a car seat or booster to strap her in and plenty of things to keep her busy and she never bothered anyone.
(( If you have that little control over your child you should definitely NOT be subjecting paying passengers to that type of behavior. Until your child is old enough or well brought up enough to behave, take car trips!! This is my opinion as a mother - my now 16 year old daughter has been traveling since she was 2. I always brought a car seat or booster to strap her in and plenty of things to keep her busy and she never bothered anyone.
Paula
Newbie & Kids on planes
Hi Guys. I am new to the forum. I love all the great information shared here. We are planning our 5th trip to St. John this May. The 19th to 30th, and Jorge, I sure wish it was a week earlier! I have a list of questions somewhere, which I will post soon.
My two cents: Air Tran was completely justified. Our last flight Newark to St. Thomas the not-so-little (about 7 or 8, old enuff to know better) rug rat behind us kicked the seat the entire flight. I asked the Mom once nicely to ask him to stop. She asked, he didn't stop. I borrowed a Zanax from my sister.
Best Regards to all,
Nancy
My two cents: Air Tran was completely justified. Our last flight Newark to St. Thomas the not-so-little (about 7 or 8, old enuff to know better) rug rat behind us kicked the seat the entire flight. I asked the Mom once nicely to ask him to stop. She asked, he didn't stop. I borrowed a Zanax from my sister.
Best Regards to all,
Nancy
I had the same thing happen to me on a flight to europe the kid kept kicking the back of my seat asked the mother once nicely and when the kid din't stop I asked the kid to stop needless to say I wasn't as nice as the mom but i got my point across and he stopped the mother reported me to the flight attended. When I got off the flight attend gave me 50 dollars of airline money for taking care of the problem.
Tom
Tom
I've had an adult kick the back of my seat on an airplane. 
Or how about the adult who reclines his/her seat so that it is practically in you lap? Come to think of it....these are probably the same folks who let their children act like monkeys. 
What do y'all suggest to parents traveling with newborns and infants? Or to parents whose child has a serious mental/emotional condition? Such as autism? I don't have the answer....simply interested in your views regarding extenuating circumstances, which aren't all that rare?
I agree with the action taken by Air Tran, if the unruly child was just that....unruly....mia
Or how about the adult who reclines his/her seat so that it is practically in you lap? Come to think of it....these are probably the same folks who let their children act like monkeys. What do y'all suggest to parents traveling with newborns and infants? Or to parents whose child has a serious mental/emotional condition? Such as autism? I don't have the answer....simply interested in your views regarding extenuating circumstances, which aren't all that rare?
I agree with the action taken by Air Tran, if the unruly child was just that....unruly....mia
Last edited by mia on Mon Feb 26, 2007 4:23 pm, edited 2 times in total.
It takes both the sun and the rain to make a beautiful rainbow. --Unknown
I do a lot of flying for work and have a 4-year old daughter. SO, I get to see it from both sides. All I know is that when we fly as a family, my wife and I do EVERYTHING we can to keep her occupied and behaved. One of my bigger fears in life is "Being that guy". You know HIM.
I used to be a lot less tolerant of kids on planes, but am now. It is not easy hauling yourself and a child onto a plane.
The people who really bug me are the parents who don't seem to "know" that they have a child with them. They allow preboarding for a reason, folks.
<rant>
But, I have a lot of issues with people on planes. Don't get me started on the people who can't lift their carry-on bag into the overhead. If you can't lift it, you CAN NOT store it up there.
</end rant>
I used to be a lot less tolerant of kids on planes, but am now. It is not easy hauling yourself and a child onto a plane.
The people who really bug me are the parents who don't seem to "know" that they have a child with them. They allow preboarding for a reason, folks.
<rant>
But, I have a lot of issues with people on planes. Don't get me started on the people who can't lift their carry-on bag into the overhead. If you can't lift it, you CAN NOT store it up there.
</end rant>
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LandLockedBeachLover
- Posts: 374
- Joined: Mon Nov 06, 2006 9:16 am
- Location: St. Louis, MO
My husband and I are at the point where we're considering our first child (I'm 30, he's 31). Kids used to scare the bejesus out of me, and I always hated it when they were near me on the plane. Now that my friends are having kids and have their own travel horror stories, I just feel sorry for some parents when their kids act up on a plane (note that I say SOME, b/c there are just those parents who really don't care).
On our way back from St. Martin in January, we had a family of four onboard whose 3 year old threw a fit like nothing I've ever seen, beginning when we starting taxi-ing and ending after 30 minutes into the flight. However, his parents kept him in his seat (the reason he began throwing the fit). The mom starting crying she was so embarrassed.
I also have a friend who says the DVD player works like no one's business to keep his toddler quiet... until it's time to turn it off for initial descent. Then, his kid goes a bit crazy. What's a parent to do then? Try explaining "we have to turn this off so it doesn't interfere with radar" to a toddler. Good luck.
My solution? I always fly with earplugs. I don't like the loud engine noises, but the earplugs have an added benefit if kids are getting noisy on takeoff (before you can use electronic devices).
On our way back from St. Martin in January, we had a family of four onboard whose 3 year old threw a fit like nothing I've ever seen, beginning when we starting taxi-ing and ending after 30 minutes into the flight. However, his parents kept him in his seat (the reason he began throwing the fit). The mom starting crying she was so embarrassed.
I also have a friend who says the DVD player works like no one's business to keep his toddler quiet... until it's time to turn it off for initial descent. Then, his kid goes a bit crazy. What's a parent to do then? Try explaining "we have to turn this off so it doesn't interfere with radar" to a toddler. Good luck.
My solution? I always fly with earplugs. I don't like the loud engine noises, but the earplugs have an added benefit if kids are getting noisy on takeoff (before you can use electronic devices).
Get pregnant, go on vacation, take the kid. It works just fine! Teach them your obsessions and vices early. My favorite beach for breast feeding is Jumbie Bay.alw1977 wrote:My husband and I are at the point where we're considering our first child (I'm 30, he's 31). Kids used to scare the bejesus out of me.
Cheers, RickG
S/V Echoes - Coral Bay - St. John, VI