Parents, PLEASE sit with your kids on your flights!!!

[Jillpie]

We took our Song flight home from MCO two weeks ago and had a nightmare of a flight. I was sitting with my DS13 and husband, I was in the middle. I got the tv started, got my nice soda, I was all set.

Until...the kicking started. And the fighting. And the "how does this tv WORK???" Over and over again. I turn around and yes, it is not one, not two, but THREE very little kids all together!!!! They had to be three, four and five. I kid you not.

So where are the parents you ask???

I look across the aisle and sure enough, there was Mom and Dad sitting together watching t.v. Oblivious of everything their kids were doing. I could just scream.

This went on for three solid hours. I and my DH kept turning around, hoping the parents would see us looking at THEIR kids, but no. They kept watching the darn t.v.

Then we get to Logan airport, thankfully. We all get on the moving walkway and there one of the kids are...stopped on the walkway, bending down, putting his fingers into the part where it is moving. The father is watching the whole thing. Letting his child "explore his world". PLEASE.

Parents, please, I beg you. And I have three of my own, so I know. Please sit with your little kids on the plane. I will be forever grateful. Thank you, from the bottom of my "peaceful for three hours" heart.

 

[Brian Noble]

Since it takes a village to raise a child, I don't mind being a villager.

In other words, if it is clear to me that a parent isn't able to be the parent, for whatever reason, I don't hesitate to tell the child sitting behind me to please stop kicking my seat. Repeatedly, if necessary,and firmly, but always politely. Eventually, the parent takes the hint.

 

[seashoreCM]

Why not badger the parents repeatedly? You could even summon a flight attendant if the problem persists. It is OK to use the call button for any situation you cannot resolve yourself.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[Brian Noble]

Because it is sometimes the case that the parents don't think that Junior is doing anything wrong. Given that this parent was watching Junior play with the business end of a moving walkway, I'm guessing that might have been the case here.

And, on the walkway thing: just natural selection in action...

 

[wintergreen]

Sounds to me like the parents should have mixed it up a bit, and parked one of themselves in the row with two kids, and one kid over with the other parent.

A bit off topic, and doesn't sound like it is the situation in this case, but one of the things that steams me most is when the airline will assign seats that are not together to a family with kids, even when the family has taken pains to try to assure that the seats are together. I don't know how many times we've shown up at the counter only to find that the seats we reserved together five months earlier are now spread out all over the airplane. The response I get from the person at the counter is that the flight is full, that they cannot change the seats, and that I will have to negotiate with other passengers to find seats that are next to each other. Arrggghhh!!!

 

[Jillpie]

Since it takes a village to raise a child, I don't mind being a villager.

In other words, if it is clear to me that a parent isn't able to be the parent, for whatever reason, I don't hesitate to tell the child sitting behind me to please stop kicking my seat. Repeatedly, if necessary,and firmly, but always politely. Eventually, the parent takes the hint.

Believe you me, I turned around several times and firmly told these kids to stop kicking the seats, to no avail.

 

[Jillpie]

Sounds to me like the parents should have mixed it up a bit, and parked one of themselves in the row with two kids, and one kid over with the other parent.

This is exactly my point. Why one parent didn't sit in between these kids is beyond me. I have a huge feeling it is because they wanted to immerse themselves in the tv watching and completely ignoring their own kids. And punishing the people in front of them instead!!!!!! At least I can try to reach the thousands of parents here on the Dis to please not do this. It probably won't change the kind of parents these people are though, they'll do it again and again over the years, I'm sure.

 

[Amberle3]

I thought the airlines had rules against having only young children seated together. In the event of an emergency they would need an adult there to assist with the oxygen masks etc. The flight attendants should have insisted that one of the parents sit with them.

 

[jadejazzkayla]

you could have changed places with them and kicked them for a while. probly would have made you feel better.

 

[Arielle22]

I flew to Tampa in early April. Upon my return, DH and my dds picked me at Logan. DH told me how they were on the moving sidewalk from the parking lot and there was a family in front of them. The little boy was pulling his luggage and when he got to the end of the sidewalk he was unable to lift it slightly over the lip. The luggage went down and took the boy with it. The parents were oblivious until they fell also. DH said he picked up our dds 1 at a time and lifted them over the side of the sidewalk and then jumped the side himself. The people behind him starting jumping also and some started walking backwards to try to get away.

This must be a common occurrence since the same thing happened to my brother and his wife on the sidewalk. My brother had to lift his wife (who weighs maybe 90 lbs) over the side and grab his teenage daughters as they began to fall.

We flew on JetBlue. The family in front of us had the parents with a little girl about 3 and a baby on the lap. The parents would not belt the child in when the light came on. This was none of my business but as a parent I was astounded that they would belt themselves in but not her. Also, it got annoying when she was staring over the seat at my sisters and I. If I wanted to have to entertain children I would have brought my own with me!

 

[goofy4tink]

Jillpie...I have 'sat in your seat' so to speak!!! Many instances of turning around and this was with the parents sitting there!!! Never made a difference. I wonder if it is okay, like seashore says, to have an attendent mediate. If the FA spoke to the children first and if that wasn't working then go to the parents. I'm all for letting kids explore their world but not if it's going to 1. hurt them, seriously or 2. impacts others negatively. Obviously this was the case on both counts.

 

[mbb]

........I wonder if it is okay, like seashore says, to have an attendent mediate. If the FA spoke to the children first and if that wasn't working then go to the parents. ......

Please, no misunderstandings here:

We've had to ask the FA to intervene, when a PAX kept turning around and telling, then yelling, for my child to stop kicking his wife's seat.

The first time he turned around, yes, my 7 yr old had pushed on his wife's seat with his feet. He had just woken up and was trying to sit up a little straighter...and used the seat ahead of him for leverage. I told -and have told- our boys that they don't touch the sit ahead of them with their feet. It's part of our social stories when we fly.

I don't like it when kids sit behind me and kick my seat either.

The second time - which escalated to the very loud and FIRM voice, was when my child lowered his tray table to colour...and then changed his mind and put it back up.

My DH volunteered to switch seats with cranky man's wife - DH was sitting across the aisle from us, as in "Sir, I don't mind to sit next to you, if your wife would like to sit in my seat."

Cranky PAX basically told my DH to mind his own business.

At that point, we requested assistance from the FA...because this was going nowhere fast, and I wasn't about to put my children through another confrontation with this man and his now very inebriated wife.

Here's my point...
Yes, always request assistance from the FA....whether you're "the kicked" or a "parent of the kickee"... nicely ask for help, you may be pleasantly surprised that a situation can be resolved with another "villagers" assistance.



PS...the Cranky PAX and the loopy wife...detained by security after we deplaned

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I have never traveled with small children, but I imagine it is not a lot of fun. That is precisely WHY I have never traveled with small children.

My friend was on an international flight and a kid was running up and down the aisle, bumping the seats and generally being obnoxious. Finally my friend told the kid if he came by again she would rip off his arms. Not the most politically correct action, but it worked.

 

[amyjo]

Good grief! We're flying in Nov/Dec with our six kids (yep, 6). I'm already trying to figure out seating arrangements. We have four rows of two. Right now it's me and the baby in front; dd 10 and dd 4 next; ds 8 and ds 6; and hubbie with 2 yo dd behind. Hubby says this way he has a good view of all of them to keep track of what they are doing. We will be closely watching their behavior during the flight. What is with some people?

 

[wintergreen]

Amyjo,

Don't sweat it. I'm sure that your kids will be fine. Sounds like your pairings will be great, and the only way the people in front of you could possibly complain is if you are kicking the seat in front of you, yourself.

 

[cbrfan]

This thread brings back memories of my DD's first flight at age 4. There was another little girl, also approx. 4 years old in the seat ahead of her. She kept standing up in the seat, turning around and dropping my DD's tray table down. At one point my DD shouted to the girl "You're a bigger brat than I am!!" (By the way, we never told our DD she was a brat, her DGF used to tease her with that.) Then when the plane landed we were waiting in the aisle to deplane and the mother was holding the little girl, who was busying herself by reaching out and pulling my hair. Not one word from the mother! I guess I just don't get some parents.

 

[mexican-mouseketeers]

When we went to Orlando last year (just around this time, flight from Mexico City) there was this woman (I didn´t see her husband but don´t know if she was alone of not) flying First Class and she had her 3 obnoxious kids (ages 5 to 10 aprox.) siting back in Coach.

We had the second row of seats at coach, because we were flying with dd who was 20 months (3 seats in one side of the row, 2 on the other, we always buy ticket for dd) at the time and she wanted us to change seats with her kids (like row 20), and I said no way, if you want I can change seats with YOU, but I am not going to the back of the plane after arriving at the airport 3.5 hrs early to get good seats!

If dh and I are traveling with dd, we either buy first class for all, or coach for all, would never think of traveling first class and leaving the kid back. (now we are flying with points and on the return trip we had to book dd first class, but dh or I will stay with her in coach while the other adult goes up front, we would never dream of leaving dd there unsupervised-besides from being almost 3 years old!)

 

[DebbieB]

I try to book the row in front of the exit row, I know kids will not be sitting in that row and I don't have to worry about the kicking and banging on the tray. Those seats don't recline but that doesn't bother me.

 

[JerJan]

UNFORTUNATELY, the "SAD" truth is the parents that allow their children to act rudely or go unsupervised frankly don't give a "DAMN" if you are being bothered or annoyed as long as "THEY" aren't! These are the people out there that should have to have a "LICENSE" to have a child. In these instances I refuse to be put out by their "STUPIDITY" and I have no problem with having the FA intervene, who cares if they get mad, offended or don't like it! They don't care if other people are miserable......

 

[amyjo]

Wintergreen,
"Don't sweat it. I'm sure that your kids will be fine. Sounds like your pairings will be great, and the only way the people in front of you could possibly complain is if you are kicking the seat in front of you, yourself."

LOL! That did play a role in figuring out that setup!