Southwest kicks mom, cranky kid off flight

[southbymidwest]

Ugh. I have been on flights where the kids, including toddlers, were well behaved, and ones where they were the devil's spawn. The difference was, no surprise, their parents. Good kids usually have parents who come prepared for the trip- books, favorite blanket, toys, stuffed animal, crackers, whatever... the idiot parents with the demon children usually come with nothing to keep the kids entertained or distracted, and do nothing to keep them from driving the passengers around them insane.

[ComradesTrue]

Originally Posted by southbymidwest

Good kids usually have parents who come prepared for the trip- books, favorite blanket, toys, stuffed animal, crackers, whatever... the idiot parents with the demon children usually come with nothing to keep the kids entertained or distracted, and do nothing to keep them from driving the passengers around them insane.

I think this resonates with real life too. Parents who actualy *parent* typically have well behaved kids.

Parents who are too absorbed in their own lives to play, read, stimulate, hug, love, discipline, and instruct their children typically have poorly behaved kids. It is unfortunate that we often refer to the children as "bad kids" when the more accurate moniker would be the "children who were unfortunately born to terrible parents."

[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.

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by ZTAngel

I've found that the best parents are the most prepared parents. They anticipate that their child might act up and make appropriate accommodations. There is so much more today that parents can do to keep their kids occupied during a long flight. Unfortunately, many choose not to.

THIS.

Just as I've been on flights with kids who are complete hellions, I've been on flights with kids who were SO quiet that I didn't even notice them. I once saw a family of three kids whose parents came prepared with an ENTIRE carry-on full of DVDs, books, games, puzzles, snacks, etc. and I never heard a peep from any of them (and they sat right in front of me).

[UGAalum94]

I'm certainly not minimizing inconsiderate parents because I see plenty of that myself, but if you consider how little people seem to consider the presence of other people when they have loud conversations on their cell phones, etc, it's really no surprise that they regard other people as unimportant when it comes to how their kids act.

The last time I flew a few months ago, I was treated to the guy next to me's entire cellphone conversation about his broken toilet. I mean at a louder volume that my own conversation with my husband next to me. I'm sure he isn't going to magically transform into a considerate passenger when he has kids.

[texas*princess]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

I'm certainly not minimizing inconsiderate parents because I see plenty of that myself, but if you consider how little people seem to consider the presence of other people when they have loud conversations on their cell phones, etc, it's really no surprise that they regard other people as unimportant when it comes to how their kids act.

The last time I flew a few months ago, I was treated to the guy next to me's entire cellphone conversation about his broken toilet. I mean at a louder volume that my own conversation with my husband next to me. I'm sure he isn't going to magically transform into a considerate passenger when he has kids.

I've never been on a flight where someone was talking on their cell phone. Isn't that still not allowed in the US?

Gawd I would go absolute BONKERS if I had to listen to someone's conversation the ENTIRE way on a flight. I hope the airlines never change that no cell phone rule!

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by texas*princess

I've never been on a flight where someone was talking on their cell phone. Isn't that still not allowed in the US?

Gawd I would go absolute BONKERS if I had to listen to someone's conversation the ENTIRE way on a flight. I hope the airlines never change that no cell phone rule!

Oh, sorry, I guess I said that in a misleading way. It was before the actual flight. I guess I was free associating with air travel.

I suppose I should be thankful that it didn't go on the whole flight. It was just really strange because it seems to go on a long-ish time, and it was really loud and about stuff that none of us having to listen to it really wanted to be listening to. I could probably still give a play by play.

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by OTW

I was very nervous when we took the 4 year old to Michigan last summer. I read everything I could about how to prevent kid meltdowns on a flight, especially since we were flying HNL-LAX, LAX-ATL, and ATL-DTW. He's very talkative, so whenever we boarded a flight, we'd get dirty looks from people who I could tell were silently praying that they weren't sitting near us.

This reminds me of when the nephew took his first flight (to my college graduation). My sister said that L was sooo excited about flying, and then he walked out to the tarmac. My family lives in a small town with a small airport where you have to walk out from the airport to the plane, so it was really loud. He was screaming BLOODY MURDER. "No! I'm not getting in that thing! You can't make me! I'll die in that airpwane!" HE WAS 3. My sister had to pick him up, throw him over her shoulder, and haul him into the plane.

As soon as L got into the plane, he sat down and went to sleep. Now he loves to fly. So, if a kid is chatty/screamy when he's about to board, there's a good chance that he will be quiet in the plane.