[ZTAngel]

I've experienced both. I had a guy and his two year next to me last month on a flight. I expected the worst but the toddler behaved the whole flight. Anytime he got antsy, his father would start reading to him or would give him apple juice. In a completely opposite situation, I was unlucky enough one time to get stuck on the tarmac for three hours with a toddler behind me who threw a temper tantrum. The parents did nothing to try to calm down their daughter (didn't even try) and the kid started kicking my seat violently. I turned around and gave the mom a look that basically pleaded with her to help me but she instead started yelling at me. Unbelievable. Words were exchanged and eventually the dad put a blanket over his daughter's head and basically smothered her into silence. Whatever works I guess...

I can imagine that it's very difficult to fly with a toddler. They get antsy and it's hard for them to sit quietly for long periods of time. I've found that the best parents are the most prepared parents. They anticipate that their child might act up and make appropriate accommodations. My sister and I had our first overseas flight to Tokyo from Chicago when I was 4 and she was 1.5 years. We sat in business class so I can only imagine the looks on everyone's faces when my parents brought their young children onto the section of a plane where people pay a lot of money for comfort. Did I mention this was a 13 hour flight?? My parents were prepared, though. Lots of books, snacks, juice, toys, etc. When my sister did act up, my mother brought her into the bathroom until she calmed down. People use to compliment my parents on how well we behaved. Nowadays, my parents would have access to iPods, portable DVD players, electronic games that we didn't have available in the mid-1980's. There is so much more today that parents can do to keep their kids occupied during a long flight. Unfortunately, many choose not to.