Why is it everytime I fly on a plane,

[1957]

That was me. And what I meant is that there is no way to prevent a small child from kicking if the seat is reclined. Of course I will still make the effort but after a while it's a lost cause. I will feel bad that the person in front of me was disturbed but the flight could have been better for them if they did not recline....

Flying without DD's carseat is not an option. I will go back to my original statement that just because you can does not mean you should. Bottom line, it IS safer to fly in the carseat. We fly a lot, many trips cross-country so we are no strangers to flying. We were recently on the most turbulent flight I have ever experienced. FAs never left their seats so no beverage serve etc. I cannot imagine how dangerous it would have been for a small child flying on someone's lap.....

Don't understand why your DD and carseat and giving up on DD's kicking makes you or DD more important than any full-paying passenger in front of you who either chooses or needs to recline their seat! And doesn't want to be kicked! MANY parents utilize the "kids under two fly free if they sit on your lap" because it's affordable. My oldest grandchild flew from Oregon to: Denver, Alabama, LA, Japan, and Costa Rica before she was two, and sat on her parents' laps. They are absolutely no strangers to flying, either. She never kicked anybody, because her legs weren't long enough! I'm trying to be polite and not rude, but not everyone has or agrees with your "elitist" mentality. I apologize in advance for seeming rude, but....what makes you so special?

 

[MELSMICE]

I will go back to my original statement that just because you can does not mean you should.

This can go for everything in life though........just because you can take a small child on a plane that can potentially kick the seat in front of you doesn't mean you should. Obviously, I know that's not realistic, but we can all have that attitude about things if we want.

There is always someone that is not comfortable with someone else's behavior. I seriously never thought that reclining an airline seat was an issue until I read this thread. Didn't even give it a 2nd thought.

There is a lot of behavior that I come in to contact with that I think is rude & probably many people would not blink an eye at. Just the way it is.........

 

[goofy4tink]

me too...



Not the same thing...if the person puts up their armrest then they are personally touching you....if they recline the seat in front of you, their seat is closer to you, they aren't physically touching you.

Weeellll, there was that lady in front of me one time. She reclined shortly after take off. Fully reclined as far as was possible. So, she falls asleep. No big deal. Except that her extremely long hair kept falling through the space between the seats.....not so wonderful for me. It just kept swiping past my tray. Finally gave up and closed the tray up.

Or there was the nice gentleman seated in the middle seat (not a recline issue!!). I was on the aisle and his son was at the window. It was a JetBlue flight. Won't ever take an aisle seat if flying solo again. Why?? Because that gentleman next to me insisted on using both the armrests available to him. His son was leaninga against the window, and didn't use his left armrest, so dad did. But, dad also took the armrest in between us. Yes, I had the one on my left free. BUT...the JB tv control thingie was on the right armrest..right where this man stretched out his arm. I had to keep saying 'excuse me'..over and over. He never 'got it'. Again, I finally just shut down the tv,and listened to music. Not sure why he felt he could commandeer both armrests but he did, the entire flight.


You know...this argument comes up all the time over on Transportation. And yes, there are those who feel that no one should ever recline that seat. While others proclaim it is their God given right to recline. Neither side is right, or wrong. Yes, the seats recline. But others need to understand that when those seats are reclined, they do impact those behind them. A little common courtesy goes a long way. Perhaps if you just leaned around and said 'Coming back a bit!', perhaps the person behind you wouldn't be so nudgy. Yes, it is your right to recline. But it is also the right of the person behind you to not have his/her knees banged into, or to make it impossible for those in the middle and window seats to get past that reclined seat.

My word..you would think this subject was one of huge import. Just a little common courtesy on both sides would be nice. But no...we get...'Hey, you can't recline that seat. You're going to infringe upon my tray table.' and 'Hey, you in back....live with it. It's my right to recline as far as I want to. Get over it.' Isn't there a nice middle ground?? Crap...now I sound like a mediator.

 

[kpm76]

WE had very bad turbullance once when DS was quite small. He was not in a lap but rather in his own seat belted in. You can cinch those seat belts up tight and they will hold even a super skinny toddler like my DS was for turbulence (not a crash likely). Everyone has different levels of what they are comfortable with and that is FINE--but I do not think it is okay to give up on trying to get the kid to stop kicking someone. I knew when I decided to become a parent I would have loooong days and have to keep on my kid at tiems when all I wanted to do was rest, but the otehr person on the plane did not sign up to put up with my kid's behaviour I did. If you flew with your son that often didn't he get used to it and learn any way While there are times when trying your (general you here everyone) very hardest is not enough to calm a child in a plane and then other passengers should be nice about it--if you make the decision to take a young child on a flight you have to know that you are responsible for doing everything in your power to keep that child behaving throught the entire flight time. Flying is one of the fw situations where you cannot jsut up and leave if your child will not calm down--and the people your child will be botehring cannot leave either and you know that going into it so you have to be prepared to at least try

I never said I wasn't going to try to keep DD from kicking. I did say I wasn't going to go nuts because frankly it's fighting a losing battle. There simply is not enough room if the person in front has their seat reclined. I will still try to distract her, take her shoes off etc.

 

[NHdisneylover]

I believe that you should try just as hard to stop your child from bothering others if the seat is reclined or not (now if the other person were spilling over into her seat from next to her and she poked at the part of him in her area tha would be different--but here the other passenger is just using the seats as intended). I also think that if you truly believe that it is not possible to keep your child from kicking other pasengers throughout a flight that you need to find another way to travel until it is. Yes, I am mean and cranky. Again, I have NO issue with parenst who are trying their darndest, but if you have already made up your mind that there is nothing you can do--well then you can always drive, or take a train or stay home, or book someone you know in the seat in front of your child or something.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Excellent idea about the newspaper! I usually just bring a book. I'll do that when I'm heading out again next week! I've flown for over 40 years, but usually with assigned seats. I've been flying SW for the last few years, and have been in the B or C boarding groups a couple of times, which is why I got a middle seat. Was once sitting between two women who were having a verbal contest about whose ex-husband was the biggest piece of s***, and the other time was just after the 2008 Presidential election where two sun-tanned golfer guys' discussions vascillated between how much money they made and how Obama was an Arab. Unbelieveable!! Just kept reading my book and LOL occasionally.

Hopefully you will never have to try that trick (because you will not be sandwhiched between such people again) but if you do, please come over to the transportation board and let us know if it works

 

[Magic Mom]

I offered to switch seats - they refused! Yeah - they took the aisle and window seats hoping no one would want the middle seat, but when there's a full flight, someone (like me) will have take the middle seat. This has happened twice to me, and as they were 3-4 hour flights, these folks had no problem forgetting that I sat between them!

You should have just interjected random inane comments into their conversations, like "Hey, pigs can get a suntan!" or "wild turkeys can fly 35 MPH." They may have shut up, or at the very least you could have been entertained by the looks on their faces

 

[NHdisneylover]

You should have just interjected random inane comments into their conversations, like "Hey, pigs can get a suntan!" or "wild turkeys can fly 35 MPH." They may have shut up, or at the very least you could have been entertained by the looks on their faces

Oh THAT is 1000 times better than a newspaper

 

[MELSMICE]

I never said I wasn't going to try to keep DD from kicking. I did say I wasn't going to go nuts because frankly it's fighting a losing battle. There simply is not enough room if the person in front has their seat reclined. I will still try to distract her, take her shoes off etc.

I'm really not trying to bash you, but this I just find so much more rude than the seat being reclined.

I remember flying with my DD's when they were younger & if I said it once, I probably said 1,000 times each flight to keep their feet away from the seat in front of them - many times putting my hand on top of their tiny legs to keep them down.

My DD's are grown & when I see them reach for the bag they've put under the seat or get up from their seat I remind them not to touch the seat in front of them because it's rude to push or pull someone else's seat. Just a mom thing, I guess!

 

[bicker]

@goofy4tink You raise a good point: I think one thing really serving as a barrier to peace and harmony is the hard lesson we all learn as children, that very often when you extent and olive branch to someone that person may just use the olive branch for kindling. Way too often, these days, in all aspects of society, from the tightest context, parent/child, husband/wife, etc., all the way up to relationships between nations, there is the overriding, at times, tendency for the good guy to (not just sometimes, but almost) always lose -- for unilateral concessions to be considered, as a matter of course, as new starting points for negotiations. It does often seem, today, that there is no rational foundation for assuming that the "other guy" is going to play fair, and that very well may underlie the reluctance to pursue a mutually-reasonable compromise.

Another point, though, is that some things are atomic. For example, if there is one piece of pizza left, and two people want it, you can cut it in half, and share it. By comparison, garden peas are practically atomic: If there is one pea left, and two people want it, cutting it in half and sharing it is pretty silly. Reclining a seat is pretty-close to being atomic. The recline is so little, to start with, that asking someone to recline only 3/4 or 2/3 or 1/2 is almost ridiculous... you'd need precision calipers!

 

[1957]

WE had very bad turbullance once when DS was quite small. He was not in a lap but rather in his own seat belted in. You can cinch those seat belts up tight and they will hold even a super skinny toddler like my DS was for turbulence (not a crash likely). Everyone has different levels of what they are comfortable with and that is FINE--but I do not think it is okay to give up on trying to get the kid to stop kicking someone. I knew when I decided to become a parent I would have loooong days and have to keep on my kid at tiems when all I wanted to do was rest, but the otehr person on the plane did not sign up to put up with my kid's behaviour I did. If you flew with your son that often didn't he get used to it and learn any way While there are times when trying your (general you here everyone) very hardest is not enough to calm a child in a plane and then other passengers should be nice about it--if you make the decision to take a young child on a flight you have to know that you are responsible for doing everything in your power to keep that child behaving throught the entire flight time. Flying is one of the fw situations where you cannot jsut up and leave if your child will not calm down--and the people your child will be botehring cannot leave either and you know that going into it so you have to be prepared to at least try

I never said I wasn't going to try to keep DD from kicking. I did say I wasn't going to go nuts because frankly it's fighting a losing battle. There simply is not enough room if the person in front has their seat reclined. I will still try to distract her, take her shoes off etc.

Wow - talk about (lack of) parental control! What about the people in front of your DD "going nuts" because they can't even fight the battle!! Very selfish attitude, IMO. The people sitting in front of your DD paid a full-fare as well, and have every right to recline their seat without the pitter-patter of little feet on the back of their seat when they don't expect - or want it!

 

[NHdisneylover]

Wow - talk about (lack of) parental control! What about the people in front of your DD "going nuts" because they can't even fight the battle!! Very selfish attitude, IMO. The people sitting in front of your DD paid a full-fare as well, and have every right to recline their seat without the pitter-patter of little feet on the back of their seat when they don't expect - or want it!

Umm-I was (am?) arguing the same side you are. I said the parent with the toddler kicking a reclined seat should not have the child on the plane if she cannot conrtol the child or at the very least keep trying her very hardest to. I am so confused as to why you quoted me for this

 

[kpm76]

I believe that you should try just as hard to stop your child from bothering others if the seat is reclined or not (now if the other person were spilling over into her seat from next to her and she poked at the part of him in her area tha would be different--but here the other passenger is just using the seats as intended). I also think that if you truly believe that it is not possible to keep your child from kicking other pasengers throughout a flight that you need to find another way to travel until it is. Yes, I am mean and cranky. Again, I have NO issue with parenst who are trying their darndest, but if you have already made up your mind that there is nothing you can do--well then you can always drive, or take a train or stay home, or book someone you know in the seat in front of your child or something.

Honestly, I don't even know why I am fighting this battle because in all the flights we have taken I only had an issue with DD kicking once. She loves flying and is a great traveler. I guess I was advocating for all parents of toddlers who have challenges on planes.

 

[crashbb]

Umm-I was (am?) arguing the same side you are. I said the parent with the toddler kicking a reclined seat should not have the child on the plane if she cannot conrtol the child or at the very least keep trying her very hardest to. I am so confused as to why you quoted me for this

It took me a while, but it was just a bad quote job. The last paragraph (the one 1957 was, I think, refering to), isn't yours - it is kpm76.

 

[NYPDwife]

Jeez maybe I'm still old fashioned. When I fly, I don't use a laptop, I read a book. That's small enough so that I can use my tray to have a snack, drink something and read all at the same time!! LOL

 

[crashbb]

It took me a while, but it was just a bad quote job. The last paragraph (the one 1957 was, I think, refering to), isn't yours - it is kpm76.

 

[kpm76]

Umm-I was (am?) arguing the same side you are. I said the parent with the toddler kicking a reclined seat should not have the child on the plane if she cannot conrtol the child or at the very least keep trying her very hardest to. I am so confused as to why you quoted me for this

Sorry, the quote came out incorrectly when I tried to quote you....

 

[NHdisneylover]

Honestly, I don't even know why I am fighting this battle because in all the flights we have taken I only had an issue with DD kicking once. She loves flying and is a great traveler. I guess I was advocating for all parents of toddlers who have challenges on planes.

I am glad it was just a one time thing I know parents of toddlers have it rough on planes (been there, done that). I think you generate bad will and not good though when you try to defend giving up on getting good behaviour or try to make another passenger out to be the bad guy (for reclining his seat) when in reality it was your kid who just couldn't settle down that day. It is much better to say you tried your very, very hardest and just say that when you try your hardest and toddlers are so unpredictable that your normally well behave little one kicked some poor man's seat all through a flight and you felt awful about it (assuming that is true of course). That will garner you much more sympathy (or at least tolernace) than trying to place the blame elsewhere are chalk it up to toddlers being toddlers, etc.

 

[NHdisneylover]

It took me a while, but it was just a bad quote job. The last paragraph (the one 1957 was, I think, refering to), isn't yours - it is kpm76.

Sorry, the quote came out incorrectly when I tried to quote you....

Got it, sorry for the confusion and thanks

 

[bavaria]

I don't recline my seat because I know that it's a pain for the person behind me and I don't feel particularly more comfortable when it's reclined anyway. Flying is just plan uncomfortable!

So, if you were flying for example Phuket to Bangkok to Zurich to London for more than 22 hours flying time would you recline your seat?