Debate - when should a crying child be taken out of a show/meal/attraction?

[year2late]

Originally posted by TheBellhop
Wow..some of you people can be cold! It's a baby for crying out loud...no pun intended! I mean come on! These parents payed money to get into the park, and they deserve to get their money's worth!

In the case of our viewing of Aladdin - the few hundred people in the immediate vicinity of the baby missed their chance to enjoy the program. They paid good money as well.

My take is that going to a theme park is for fun. A baby screaming is obviously not stimulated in a positive manner -- where is the fun?

Is it cold to be bothered by incessent crying of a baby or tantruming toddler? Perhaps. Is it cold to keep a baby in a situation meant for enjoyment that the baby/toddler obviously is not enjoying and possibly is even frightening? Yup.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Originally posted by TheBellhop
:dons flame resistant suit:
Wow..some of you people can be cold! It's a baby for crying out loud...no pun intended! I mean come on! These parents payed money to get into the park, and they deserve to get their money's worth!

Yes but everyone who has had their enjoyment of the show ruined because of said screaming child paid good money to get there too.

 

[TDC Nala]

personally I have no problem with anyone bringing infants to WDW. Most of the time they're fine.

I agree with removing a screaming kid from a public situation (if possible, obviously this can't be done on an airplane) as soon as it becomes obvious that the child isn't going to calm down.

I do appreciate parents of small children who sit in aisle theater seats, if possible, for easy egress! Sometimes the kids have to leave to go to the bathroom, too.

 

[year2late]

I was happy to see the poll turn out so well...I wish you all were at Disneyland last week with us in place of the parents who insisted to keep their screaming kids in places they did not wish to be!

 

[Winka]

Originally posted by peachgirl
I voted for a few minutes but would have preferred an immediately choice.

Ditto.

And I imagine that that last choice is said with sarcasm aimed at those who misunderstand the annoyance people have with a screaming child in an attraction for having a distaste for kids at Disney in general. I always roll my eyes when I see people leap to that assumption.

 

[leahannpen]

Originally posted by Pugdog007
why would you take a baby on a plane? I fly a lot... and am so sick of babies crying throughout the entire flight! It's irresponsible and inconsiderate for parents to take babies on planes.

Maybe because you have no other choice. Let's see, hypothetically here, maybe your relative (mom, dad, sib) lives in another state and you need to get there because they are ill and you have no other choice.

Maybe you are going to visit family/friends who live far away and have a limited amount of travel time and have to get there quickly.

Maybe you are coming home from adopting them from another country.

There ARE other reasons other than just to make people mad and being inconsiderate because someone with a baby wants to go on vacation......

 

[TheBellhop]

Well thank you, Winka, for criticizing my opinion and answer. And leahannpen, couldn't you maybe ask a neighbor or someone else to watch over the baby? I went to Walt Disney World when I was 5 and remembering the plane hurt my ears REALLY badly. As far as the adopting thing goes, I'm fine with that because that is extremely important.

EDIT: And by the way Winka, it says BABY, not kid. I have no problem with kids in general.

 

[cheyita]

First off, I wouldn't bring a child under two or three to Disney. They can't appreciate it.

For shows/restaurants - a couple minutes of crying/screaming without being comforted and we are outta there.

But as to why would people bring infants on a plane? What - don't travel at all when you have a baby? Don't visit far away family because a plane ride is cruel? Certainly not as cruel as sticking a baby in a car to drive 20 hours, especially nowadays when the child is strapped to a seat the whole time. Honestly, I did drive cross-country with a 6mo and we managed fine, but I don't have any problem with people bringing their babies on a plane.

Same for restaurants - as a new parent I still enjoyed going out to eat with my babies and they usually would remain content. I can't predict the one time they would have a meltdown - and if they did, we would walk out and calm them down.

 

[Winka]

Never meant to criticize you, Bellhop...never even read your response, quite frankly.

 

[TheBellhop]

OMG I'm so sorry!!! I didn't mean to come across as mean!!! Shame on Ryan! These are just my opinions bases on my experiences of the past...It's all good!

---Ryan

 

[NMAmy]

Of course you remove a baby from an attraction or theatre in the first few minutes when they start crying. It really bothers me when parents just ignore the kids. I would never have sat there and let my kid cry.

But never flying on a plane or going out to eat because you have a baby? That's not very reasonable. We sat across the aisle from a lovely couple with a little girl who was about a year old recently. She was cute as a button and any time she started to fuss, her parents would console her or distract her. At the end of the flight, the father leaned across and apologized if the baby had been annoying us. I just complimented he and his wife on their great parenting skills and their beautiful daughter. You could just see the relief on this poor guy's face.

 

[MosMom]

First off, I wouldn't bring a child under two or three to Disney. They can't appreciate it.

I disagree with this. My son went at 1 for the first time and LOVED it. He started saying Disney when we were there and everytime I open the WDW website he runs over and smiles and yells DID-NEY DID-NEY. The boy is a continuous ball of energy but will sit for a good 20 minutes looking through the WDW guidebook. I think he definitely appreciated the trip and remembers quite a few things. Will he remember it when he is 20? Probably not, but he certainly does now and loves it!

As far as everything else you said...I totally agree with.

 

[Disneylvr]

We took our DD, then 14 months, on an airplane and to WDW last month. IF she had cried during an attraction/show/meal one of us would of taken her out if the crying didn't stop within a couple of minutes. Thankfully, she was very happy in WDW and only cried when she was excessively tired and needed quiet time which we provided her immediately.

We came prepared on the airplane by bringing snacks, new toys, a pacifier, a drink etc to calm her should flying scare her or hurt her ears causing crying. We also purchased her a seat so instead of holding her on our laps she was safely strapped into her familiar car seat. Thankfully both flights went smoothly.

I spent the first 35 years of my life childless and just the last 15 months as a parent. In my 36+ years I have experienced much more obnoxious ADULTS and OLDER CHILDREN on flights, in restaurants and on attractions than crying babies. So do I believe that babies/toddlers should go on vacations and/or fly on airplanes? That is a definate "yes!" Just try your best as the parent to be respectful to other guests/passengers enjoyment and at the same time the other guests need to practice a little patience and understanding.

 

[year2late]

Originally posted by cheyita
First off, I wouldn't bring a child under two or three to Disney. They can't appreciate it.

I disagree. My son's first trip was around two. We knew in advance that he was not frightened by the characters. His first trip was more of a character search and parade watching. A few rides as well. We stayed on site at Disneyland Hotel and much time was spent in the pool and on the grounds. The trip was fully on his schedule.

Now my son is 10 and the trip is on my schedule . Bwahahahaha!!!!!!!

 

[AirForceRocks]

I'm voting for "within a few minutes". With both of our kids, it was sometimes a matter of changing their position, or patting them or comforting them in some other way. But I didn't wait more than 3 or 4 minutes before removing them from the situation.

Yes, I paid good money to see the shows, but so did everyone else that was there. And the bottom line is that I considered having to step out of the venue a "cost of doing business", for lack of a better term. I had the choice of bringing the baby/child into the show, but the other patrons didn't have the choice of keeping the baby/child out. I never saw any reason to have others miss out on the show because I chose to bring my baby/child.

 

[PatriciaH]

I voted for in the first few minutes. A lot of parents do take their children out if they fuss in a restaurant, show, etc.. but a lot do not. I wish there were adult only flights and housing complexes. I know there are adult only communities but only for 55 and older. Why? I know they passed the Fair Housing Act but why is it ok for over 55? That way if people want to travel on a flight say with children under 16 they can. If they don't want to chance having a baby cry throughout the flight, they can book an adult only one. I am sure a lot of people would even pay extra for this service. DH and I like children a lot. I used to teach 3-6 yr olds and we both have worked (tutors) with teens taking their GED at the library. Some children today are really hyper though and can not seem to calm down. I see a lot of unhappy children and parents daily.

 

[cheyita]

Originally posted by MosMom
I disagree with this. My son went at 1 for the first time and LOVED it. He started saying Disney when we were there and everytime I open the WDW website he runs over and smiles and yells DID-NEY DID-NEY. The boy is a continuous ball of energy but will sit for a good 20 minutes looking through the WDW guidebook. I think he definitely appreciated the trip and remembers quite a few things. Will he remember it when he is 20? Probably not, but he certainly does now and loves it!

As far as everything else you said...I totally agree with.

You know, the more I think about it, I guess you are right. Children as young as six months can still get some enjoyment out of a Disney experience. Especially if you are not there in the blistering heat of mid-summer.

Plus, as for remembering the experience, I doubt my DDs will remember much of the trip we first took down there when they were just 3 and 6. But I'm glad we went anyway.

I will say, though, that I wouldn't have brought mine that young - particularly under a year - because I wouldn't want to be fussing with strollers, formula, diapers and all that. I found experiences like that easier once they were potty trained, could walk independently and eat "people food." (You know what I mean by that)

 

[jeleebeene]

I say, if the child can not be consoled in the first few minutes, to take the child outside. While everyone deserves to see a show, eat a meal in a restaurant etc., there should be a little courtesy from the parents for the people around them. They paid as well, and shouldn't have to listen to a screaming child and ruin the experience. Plus, if the child is screaming, they are not enjoying it anyway, so why stay? If the parents want to see a show and the child won't calm down, child swap - but don't make the child or other guests suffer.

I love children, but when my nephew acts up, we are out of whereever we are. I won't stay just because I want to - that is disrepectful and irresponsible. It is best to leave and try something else.

 

[leahannpen]

Originally posted by TheBellhop
And leahannpen, couldn't you maybe ask a neighbor or someone else to watch over the baby?

Yes, I suppose you could, if you had that option, which not every body does. I was just trying to show that you just never know someones situation, and there are many reasons why a baby might be on a plane. Just because it could annoy some people for x-number of hours dosen't mean someone can't or shouldn't do it.

I guess that myself, as a parent would try to make it as easy on the baby as I could, such as providing a bottle to suck on (for take off and landing), making sure they were dry, and giving Tylenol before hand (as my Ped. suggested w/ my "toddler") to ease the pain. And, when I travel as a passenger without my child, I try to understand that that person who is traveling with a baby may have reasons for taking the baby with them, and that a kind word or understanding look goes a long way for their nerves also. I'm sure it's not pleasant for the parent(s) when the baby is screaming and crying either. I doubt they feel good about that fact, and they aren't doing it on purpose. I'm not trying to critisize or anything, but just say you never know what someone is going through.

 

[Pugdog007]

Well... just returned from my latest business trip and as usual... crying baby the entire flight there. The parents didn't even seem to be trying to console the child! It was unbelievable!

Another pet peeve on Southwest in particular: children under 2 fly free. However, with open seating and "parents with small children may board first" they snag a row of seats (3) and place all of baby's stuff in the middle chair so that no one will sit there. Flight attendant had to make 2 different people hold babies because they tried to do this and the flight was sold out! As a side note... if a baby MUST travel, they should be required to purchase a seat for them and strap into a carseat. It isn't safe for them to sit on laps in the first place.

Ok rant over. Until my trip to Wisconsin in 2 weeks.