First of all: on longhaul flights I don't book coach as it's just too uncomfortable for me and I've never encountered any stares or other problems with my seven year old.
This article is written by a man who gave his son benadryl in order to sedate him. I don't know if that is common in the US but to me it seems plain crazy to try to sedate a child. Afterwards this kid was out of control so I wouldn't say that this is an example of a regular trip with a kid.
I really fly a lot and have never witnessed such a scene. I don't care about the opinion of a man who drugs his child so that he hasn't the hassle of tending to him.
Oh how I love your post.
Problem with Benadryl is that it has colors and even corn syrup, depending on the formula you get. And some kids react strongly to those things (like my son). One time DS's dentist needed to do some work on DS, and at the normal checkup DS was in the "big" room for the first time, and was curious, moving his head around and being in wonder about all the other kids in there (the other visits he was younger and having work done, and was in the private room). The dentist insisted that we give him some antihistamine with a prescription. DS never calmed down, he actually revved up during the appointment. This was after we knew about his corn syrup problems, but before we realized that if you have a syrupy goopy medicine, it is almost surely goopy and syrupy due to corn syrup (and some even due to HFCS). He revved up and up and up, and crashed about 2 hours after the appointment. AT the appointment he was fine, because they did the work in the private room again (no distractions).
ALL medications can have opposite effects. You can NEVER count on any medication to work exactly as you intend. Throw in funky ingredients to the mix, along with the excitement of travel, and you've got a bad situation brewing.
I'm so sad that it was CE who said he did that...he and I had a lovely exchange of emails a few years ago, and we're from the same area, it turns out. What the heck was he thinking?
And why on earth would ANYONE think that paying $$$ for first class means that you can control the other passengers any more than you can control people in coach? You pay for the food, for the bigger seats, and some extra service...you don't pay for others to be quiet or polite or anything like that. I've never been in first class, but the most disturbed I've ever been while on a flight was thanks to an adult, who played her guitar and drank all night long on the way to Ireland...babies don't phase me and neither do toddlers!
Along with everything else, I'm usually too busy dealing with my own family to look around for disapproving looks...just focus on your son and it will be OK.
Umm, NO, I am not a babysitter.
