As a mom I understand children are children and I have a pretty good threshold of perceived bad behavior that I am willing to tolerate.There are some kids that are truly awful on flights,and there are also many adults on flights that have flunked basic civility.My dd is always good on flights and I will be the first to admit it if/when she does act out.But sometimes you can be the best parent in the world with the best kid an their behavior is still unpredictable.I have tried to keep my kid in her seat, and unfortunately she has tried to look behind her and in front of her.I do tell her that it is not appropriate , to stop and then i find some diversion activity, I have alot of those in my carryon.I hate to inconvenience anyone, but I find it ridiculous that someone suggested here, that a parent should not just tell them to stop, but they "should make them stop..." how ?...If I lay a hand on my child,then I am suddenly an abuser and will have child protective serv.waiting for me. I think people need to learn a little empathy, and understand that not every child is the spawn of hell, and just because a child may peer over the seat once or twice, is not grounds for calling a child unruly and the parents awful.let's face it, there are some people that already have it in their mindset that the child in front of them or across from them is the spawn of hell and even if the child is a saint, they will give you the hairy eyeball, or mutter things under their breath, and to answer a PP, yes someone actually told me they "hoped I would keep my brat quiet" for the flight.
Please, don't misunderstand me. I have no issue with those kids that are curious and are looking around them, and stand up to look over the seat, or behind them. Kids will be kids. I have no issue with the occasional bump on my seat from behind, or the little face peering over at me, to say hi.
I do have a problem with it when it continues on, for an hour or so. The kicking, in one case, had actually gotten a beat to it!!! It was constant. Or the child who was seated in the middle seat behind me, and continually put both arms through the seat, on either side of me!! Scared the living bejeebers out of me the first time. Still can't figure out how he got his arms through there but he did. And continued to do so. My problem is the parent who sits there and does nothing. But, all kids act out occaisionally....it's part of being a kid.
The absolute worst behaviour I've seen while flying? It was in the JB terminal at Logan. We were flying to WDW (where else!!). There was a largish group also waiting for our flight. THere had to be about 15 of them..a large family or some kind of group, I'm not sure which it was. Well, in order to pass the time, these kids starting blowing up balloons and tossing them around. Now, understand, these kids were not 4 or 5..they were preteens and teens. And, there were adults with them. It started to look like a volleyball game in there. After about 10 mins of this, the balloons started popping. Now, let's get a mental picture here.....a crowded airline gate area, add to that many popping sounds! Ah yeah, right....so not a good idea. There were pilots walking by, on their way to the gate when 2 or 3 balloons popped. I thought they were going to drop to the floor.....their faces were priceless. It's funny now, but it wasn't at that point. These kids were running all over the gate area, punching balloons up and down, with much balloon popping happening. It was kinda scary to hear that noise and not know what it was.
Finally, a gate attendant went over and told them to stop. They did, but only for about 15 mins or so, then they went right back to it. The parents response??? They actually said this to the gate attendant...'Well, it's a long wait to board, so they need to let off some energy."...I kid you not.
Most kids are pretty well-behaved when they fly. And there are adults who are badly behaved. It's not just the kids. It just seems that when you get a child who is running up and down the aisle or jumping around in the seat, yelling, it colors everyone's picture of flying with kids!
How annoying
You got that right. 
