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Quite possibly, screaming toddlers. At least the snakes kill you; the screaming, like Chinese water torture, just slowly drives you mad. I should know: a LAX->JFK leg I recently flew on featured more than 95 minutes of uninterrupted, top-volume toddler-screaming, so out-of-the-ordinary bad that several passengers got into heated arguments with the child’s mother (certainly a rarity in the mind-your-own-business world of airline travel). Easily the worst flight ever, it got me to thinking about the Hawaiian 16-year-old who was kicked off a flight for suffering an excessively long coughing fit. A statement issued by Continental Airlines maintained that “the captain felt he was acting in the best interest of the passenger and other passengers on the flight.” (Hmmm … double-standard?)
Also, you may remember in January, a family whose screaming three-year-old wouldn’t get in her seat for takeoff — thus delaying the flight more than 20 minutes — was kicked off the plane so the flight could take off. They then went on TV to complain. (Needless to say, the other passengers supported the captain’s decision.) In another incident, a Northwest Airlines flight attendant pleaded guilty to giving a 19-month-old baby Xanax in apple juice to stop her crying on a transatlantic flight. Certainly a bit excessive, but it, and these other examples, raise a crucial question: what steps can be taken? Do passengers over the age of three have a right to some modicum of comfort on their flight? All questions … just questions.
I am just wondering if duct tape is ALWAYS out of the question.
posted by WizardBoy on 3-30-2007 at 8:46 am
I few years ago when my wife and I flew with our one year old, my wife read on some child care websites that young children can not deal with the pressure change. We can pop our ears by chewing gum, but they can’t. The pressure is painful to them and they cry. The suggestion offered by those sites was to cover their ears during take-off. Somehow, it would help relieve the pressure. We did it, and our child did not cry during the flight, while another child on the flight did, which prompted other passengers who saw is in the airport afterwards to say, “Oh, look. It’s the good baby.”
posted by Michael on 3-30-2007 at 8:46 am
Airlines need to start charging full fair for the little kids who currently get to fly free, ostensibly “sitting on their mothers’ laps” (yeah, that is safe in the event of a crash). Bad news if you are next to one of them … If the airlines charge would full price for the seats, a whole lot fewer will fly. Any airline that starts a policy along those lines will have preferencial purchasing treatment from me. Get the little hellions off the flights! Take a car! If it’s too far for a car, you really don’t need to take the kid. If you can’t leave the kid, stay home yourself.
Another topic - fat slobs who take up a seat and a half (half of mine), yet only pay normal rate. These guys are always the last ones on the plane, are sweating like MAD. Invariably, it’s a really crowded plane and when everyone with an empty seat nearby sees Jabba coming aboard they all cringe and whisper “not me… Please not me!! If you can’t fit in the seat, they should make you buy two.
posted by Sid on 3-30-2007 at 8:56 am
Yes, adults should not be objected to bad behavior by toddlers on planes: and parents do have more control over this than they admit.
I have two young children, and we were nervous about taking our first child on a plane, because we’d had to endure screaming children on flights and now were faced with possibly bringing the same on board ourselves. Our pediatrician recommended Benadryl as a mild sedative (though it sometimes backfires.) It turned out, we just had to get our son to drink some water on ascent and descent, and keep him entertained otherwise. Our daughter turns out to be a similar passenger.
There are many tricks to keeping a young child under control on a plane: snacks, books, toys, food (and yeah, I guess new airline regulations make it tougher to bring all that along), pacing the aisles when allowed, making funny faces for hours on end, etc. And I do have to admit that if you have a child determined to tantrum, you don’t have the option of taking the child outside or giving them a time out. So even though I’ve never needed it for my kids, a sedative on hand (though preferably pediatrician-prescribed) is really not a bad idea. Either that, or sedate all the adult passengers for free.
posted by Carolyn on 3-30-2007 at 8:56 am
In a perfect world, children under 5 would never have to travel more than 50 miles from home. But if you HAVE to take your toddler across the country, you can choose to listen to them for three days in a car, or three hours on a flight.
I took a toddler on a four-flight, 9,000 mile journey once, and just lucked out that she’s a great traveler. I couldn’t say as much for my husband.
A safe and effective pharmaceutical aid would be the best thing, since each cranky baby does not fly often, but so many people frown on it that doctors are wary of prescribing anything.
posted by Miss Cellania on 3-30-2007 at 9:12 am
This topic terrifies me because I’ll be traveling with a two-year-old and a newborn next winter on a four hour flight. Don’t get me wrong. I get how annoying it is to listen to someone else’s child scream and cry. But even if sedatives are given and lots of entertainment provided, sometimes toddlers can’t be controlled in that kind of environment. What is the mother supposed to do? Keep hitting the kid across the face until he stops screaming? Duct tape across the mouth?
It’s going to be hell to try to keep my energetic, easily bored toddler busy, quiet and entertained for a flight. He’s very verbal and loves to interact with strangers. I think the only time he’d have a temper tantrum is for the times when he has to stay seated and quiet.
You can be damned sure that he’ll be given as much Benadryl as is allowed by his doctor. And I apologize in advance if you happen to be on our flights.
posted by Cheryl on 3-30-2007 at 9:13 am
I, as a 20-something with no children, naturally feel inclined to insist that there is nothing wrong with drugging your kids up before the flight. Let the kid stay up as late as he or she wants the night before the flight, and FOR THE LOVE OF GOD would you parents cut back on the kiddies’ sugar supply? Since when were kids allowed to drink anything but milk anyway?
posted by Zach on 3-30-2007 at 9:37 am
It appears I’ve touched a nerve! (Let it out, people!) I only wish that I had saved the cell phone video I took of the brat in question, who screamed
- as we landed
- disembarked
- and all the way to baggage claim
posted by Ransom on 3-30-2007 at 9:50 am
Well, as a father of two girls I must say that I thought that I had heard pretty much all of the torture that could be issued. However, on a flight to San Francisco last summer, I had my misjudgement rubbed in my face…with predjudice.
Allow me to set the stage. I’m flying from KY on the very first available flight (5:00a), so I’m a bit sleepy. My screaming offspring have been left with their grandparents for a week of splendor, sure to receive all of their needs, wants and desires. I’m snoozin’ — just barely…you know that kind of awkward sleep that you get when the lady next to you smells funny because she did not bathe the night before and, in her slumber, she insists on trying to snuggle, not to mention the fact that the pressurized cabin gives me a headache from hell itself for which there is no known cure — and all seem right with the world. Suddenly, my sleep is broken by a pair of demons, er…I mean kids, who have both begun to frantically scream “WE’RE GOING TO DIE, OH NO, WE’RE GOING TO CRASH AND DIE”. I, with one leg still in sleepy land, look out the window to see water quickly approaching (if you have ever landed in San Francisco you have seen the same sight, I swear it feels like you are going to crash). The revelation of imminent death startles stinky lady and I to the point of scrambling to brace ourselves for the impact (no, not by hugging). Once we realized that these two monsters (around age 4-6) were just being “mini jerks” we felt a little relieved and a little embarrassed (again, no, not because we were hugging). This single flight has prompted me to vow to never, ever, bring my kids on a plane until they are of ample age to be polite to the other passengers. I suggest the same for the rest of the world.
posted by Ben Hubbard on 3-30-2007 at 9:54 am
Never underestimate the power of Dimetapp.
posted by Beth on 3-30-2007 at 9:57 am
I’d never flow until in my early twenties and I hate heights. I was quite nervous on that first flight, and to make matters worse there was a woman right next to me who, for the entire two hours, was talking baby talk, playing patty-clake and peek a boo. It drove me NUTS and I wanted to scream.
-however-
On the return flight I was a row away from a screaming toddler, and all I could think about is what a saint the woman from the first flight actually was for keeping her kid quiet and entertained.
posted by EV on 3-30-2007 at 10:01 am
I’m also in the camp that I will tolerate an unhappy child on a plane, but I will not tolerate parents who blithely ignore their unhappy child. They make ear plugs for a reason, after all.
If parents are making absolutely no effort to control their offspring, chances are the poor thing is simply crying because it wants attention and isn’t getting any. Much like my cat when I first wake up in the morning. Sometimes a cuddle is all it will take to calm the child down.
posted by Cathy on 3-30-2007 at 10:32 am
We have twin 2-year old boys. We have flown with them on several occasions, and they’re great travelers. That said…
…if they were to kick off on a screaming fit it would be unfortunate for those around them, but I really can’t believe that there are people who would expect us to DRUG THEM INTO SUBMISSION. They’re toddlers, and for something like the aforementioned 95-minute flight, people can just deal with it. I’m not going to put my kid at risk by drugging them (yes, there is a risk associated with sedatives, and it’s much greater than any posed by the inconvenience of screaming) just so others can have a marginally higher level of comfort for the whole couple hours of their entire life that they’re on the plane with us. It’s not like airplanes are the most comfortable places in the world anyway, for chrissake.
There are obviously many who haven’t been parents who just don’t understand that when a kid wants to cry, they’re gonna do it - regardless of what the parents’ or anyone else’s wishes are. So get over yourselves, and remember that if you decide to be parents you may just find yourself in the same situation someday. And believe me, the minute someone suggests that you drug your kid or not be allowed to fly, you’re going to feel the exact same way as we do. Given what I’m hearing from those complaining though, I’d suggest that perhaps you just go get yourselves sterilized - if that’s how you really feel your kids are gonna be miserable growing up under your roof.
posted by Father of Twins on 3-30-2007 at 10:37 am
As a veteran traveller with over 1,000,000 miles of flying I have long ago resigned myself to teh fact that parents get dumber and children get brattier when locked in a metallic tube full of human cattle for an extended period of time. Face it, if the kid wants to scream and tantrum they will and the parent can do very little about it. Just pack a pair of “mickey mouse ears”/ear protectors, suck down a shot or two of Nyquil and the screaming won’t bother you a bit. This works over the Atlantic, the Pacific, and Indian oceans as well as 5 continents without a problem. Don’t try to change them, change yourself.
posted by S on 3-30-2007 at 10:48 am
People who travel shouldn’t reproduce.
posted by Mike on 3-30-2007 at 10:54 am
I am a parent and I do love children (or alt least mine. I understand that children will often freak out on planes. They’re kids and are not yet locked into good social behavior. I agree with Sheldon and Cathy. If the parents are at least making the attempt to keep them quiet I can forgive. What about the kid who kicks the back of your seat non-stop for 4 hours? That drives me bonkers!
posted by Jane on 3-30-2007 at 11:21 am
I think that airlines should offer ONE flight a day where children are allowed on board. A flight of nothing but screaming children. Leave the rest of us in PEACE! You chose to have the kid, not me.
posted by kipper on 3-30-2007 at 1:02 pm
My wife and I once took a two-year-old on cross-country trip. He did just fine until we got caught sitting on a Dallas tarmac in July for three hours with no A/C (pilot’s strike).
As the temperature inside the cabin approached the 90’s and the ultra humid air got stale, everyone on the plane got grumpy, he just started vocalizing it (not screaming, just complaining). The old hag sitting next us started acting like a two-year-old and saying things like, “Cant you do something with IT?”
When the fight attendants finally relocated her, all the passengers around us told how good our toddler was being and that they did not understand the lady’s over-reaction. Truth is, the intolerant senior-citizen was likely a lightning rod. Had she not been so vocal, more people would have been peeved at us.
Guess it is all relative.
posted by n2y2 on 3-30-2007 at 2:35 pm
As for the drug / no drug debate: Beth got it right.
We have had 3 pediatricians recommend giving children Dimetapp before flights for two reasons:
1) It opens the ear canals and reduces the painful pressure differential and also prevents ear infections (learned that one the hard way)
2) It usually makes the kids drowsy for everyone’s benefit (including the child).
Reason 1 is the best reason, but 2 is a pleasant side-effect.
posted by n2y2 on 3-30-2007 at 2:46 pm
Anybody who is reading this and is thinking that the Dimetapp is a good idea, which for some it may be, I seriously urge you to seek the advice of your doctor before doing this. Some kids, such as mine, cannot have decongestants, it is seriously dangerous. So please do not just read this and decide to try it without medical guidance, especially if your child has a heart condition. Dimetapp is for purchase over the counter, but that does not mean it is for every child and without risk.
posted by momx2 on 3-31-2007 at 7:42 am
Parents can also ask their pediatrician for the same numbing ear drops used for ear infections — just put them in once you get in your seat. While great for preventing pressure-related ear pain, it, of course, does nothing if the screaming is from something other than ear pain.
posted by Melissa on 3-31-2007 at 5:01 pm
I was on a 9 hour flight in the same plane as a screaming, spitting up brat who insisted on looking over the back of the seat. his mom was just reading a book with her Ipod glued to her ear, completely oblivious to the stench from his butt till he pulled a turd out and wiped it on my leg at which point i tapped her on the head and said”do something with your child” she acted as if I was a demon from hell and started saying “Ohhh look at the meanie meanie like a little poopie will kill her” then he started flinging milk from his bottle so I snatched it a squeezed it on her head. she moved with her brat to another seat, GOOD FOR ME!!!!!
posted by maggie on 4-1-2007 at 3:08 pm
yes… the horrid screaming children. Last time I was on the plane with a group of people, a kid started screaming so we made a nuisance of ourselves. It distracted the kid but had passengers staring about curiously… one of the girls in my group can do a perfect imitation of a chihuahua, which was rather bewildering to hear on a plane where no passengers are allowed. :)
posted by Korin on 4-1-2007 at 3:57 pm
There is so much venom in some of these comments. Yes, it’s annoying when children cry on flights - and yes, I have been annoyed to the point of wanting to scream myself at them or some of the obnoxious adult passengers I’ve encountered.
The individualist idea has gotten out of hand these days. “I’m so much more important than everyone else, how dare you subject me to anything that may cause me temporary discomfort. And how DARE you bring a child into the world and deign to bring it along on trips!”
Like someone mentioned before - very young children often don’t understand what’s going on, and their inborn response to pain is to cry. Unlike adults, the idea of tolerance or self-control hasn’t congealed in their brains yet.
Learn compassion. Or drive your cranky butt where you want to go.
posted by Liz on 4-2-2007 at 8:00 am
I like kipper’s idea of the Kiddie flight, the movies theaters in my area have one showing a week just for parents and babies. I have two small active(1 ADD) children and people would have this look of dread on their face when they had to sit near us. But as we got off the plane I would get multiple thanks on how good my kids were from the other passengers :) Let me tell you it is HARD WORK! I’m like Felix the Cat with his bag of trick! I have Dramamine, Tylenol, ear drops, gum, wipes, juice boxes, snacks, a zillion new travel toys, cards, paper, crayons, books. Of course your hubby is sleeping with his Bose noise canceling headphones on and you really want to hit HIM with the rolled up inflight magazine LOL!
posted by CropTillDawn on 4-2-2007 at 1:31 pm
Ummm, sometimes people HAVE to travel via airplanes to visit families… Half of my family lives in Europe and the other half in the US, so yeah, there were some long trans-Atlantic flights when I was a young child. Apparently (I don’t remember it) I screamed from Paris-NY when I was about 2 years old. I wanted to run in the aisles. The problem stemmed from the fact that someone told my parents that giving valium to a child would calm them down… Apparently, they gave me half of one, and as is commonly the case in young children it had the opposite effect on me as it would an adult- it made me hyper. My parents, who both have master’s degrees, decided to give me the other half to see if it would make a difference. It didn’t. My mother said that she walked me up and down the aisles as much as she could during that flight, but I pretty much screamed for most of the flight. Surprisingly, we continued to visit my French relatives throughout my childhood. Lesson learned through this experience: don’t give small children Valium before flying on planes.
posted by greenstrawberries on 4-3-2007 at 8:01 pm
On a recent flight from Hong Kong to New York, I found my cabin partially populated with American couples returning from a tour to China to adopt (buy) babies.
Thirty happy couples who had no clue how to silence their screaming infants for 16 hours.
posted by gjd on 4-8-2007 at 10:06 am
I don’t think the child who delayed the flight because he wouldn’t get into his seat can blame his inner ear for his behavior.
There is one thing worse than listening to screaming children on a long flight - paying for a first class ticket and listening to screaming children.
posted by Karen on 4-27-2007 at 2:41 pm
I assume most of the above crazy individuals do NOT have children. I fly often with my four year old and I do not LET him scream or misbehave. I am a very strict mother. However, he does scream and he does act up. It’s not that I am letting him do it he just does it. We have landed before and for the last 15-20 minutes of a landing my son has scremed his head off. I have tried small amounts of gum and juice and sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t and it is painful. I have sat surrounded by children who have parents that let them act anyway they want. Normally these aren’t the crying children. They are content due to the fact that they can get their way. Children under two have barely if any concept of “Hey we are flying and joe two isles up wants to sleep so please keep it down” I say to those of you who have a problem with children flying to go jump off a cliff! I will continue to fly with my child on a routine basis if you don’t like it too bad! I paid for the flight too and I have to put up with your crappy attitude and comments so you can put up with my kid. Oh and to the mother who questioned how safe it was for a mother to have her child on her lap during a flight. If a plane crashed over the Atlantic while my son was on my lap or in a seat of his own chances are he will still die. We will all die! I very rarely see news reports of a plane crashing and 200 people survive!
posted by Amber on 7-12-2007 at 3:02 pm
The best alternative would be giving the FA and other annoyed passengers sedative themselves so that they can not hear the 20-30 db voice of a baby. If they refuse, they’re the ones who should be kicked off the plane.
This baby was just talking repeatedly for a couple minutes, and he was not even screaming. Guaranteed, even babies won’t talk repeatedly for the whole 45 minute flight. You’re all once babies too, people. Get a life.
posted by Me on 7-12-2007 at 11:06 pm
It makes me sick how people say that we should drug children before they fly. The person (Sheldon)who swore on this website sounds like a two year old himself. He should be more mature and use more proper words to express himself. It is so sad that adults foreget what it is like to be a child. Children are our future and we should not treat them like slugs on the road. So what is the child cries throughout the flight, buy earplugs when you fly so that you can wear them if this happens. Sometimes it is an emergency and children must fly with their parents. These comments on this site make me so angry. Children should not be thrown off flights if they cry. I agree, parents should try their best to keep the children under control, but sometimes it is not possible. Children should be in their own seats. I agree with that. It is the safest way to travel. I swear, sometimes it seems like we treat animals better than children. Just remember, you might be a parent someday and have to deal with this. CHILDREN ARE PEOPLE…NOT ANIMALS!!!! THEY SHOULD BE TREATED AS SUCH!!! Maybe if the people on these flights talked to and/or played with the children on these flights it might stop the crying and the adults might end up having fun, too!
posted by Marcia on 7-13-2007 at 6:27 am