Screaming 3 year old gets parents free airline tickets!

[lizbud]

If the flight was delayed 15 minutes, they may have had more than 15 minutes to get the kid in the seat, given that airlines allow parents with small children to board first. So it doesn't sound like the parents were making that much of an effort.

If parents want to conduct a Middle East-level negotiation whenever they need to coax their child into a car seat in the family vehicle, fine. But they certainly have no right to hold up a commercial flight when their parenting skills prove ineffective.

I do also. I have flown with a toddler before & I know what it's like. Did
you see the interview with the mother?

[Catlady711]

Did you see the interview with the mother?

No I didn't. But from what I read on other columns about her comments, sounded like she was being about as whiney as the toddler.

[RICHARD]

The mother was an AH that did all the talking while daddy stood off to the side and smiled in the interview.

They should have tossed the kid in the overhead bin and made the mom go with the luggage.

NExct time they should go to AVIS-two days driving with that little twerp will teach them.

[Cataholic]

The irony of letting parents with small children board first is lost on people that don't have children. The very LAST thing someone with a toddler wants is 'extra' time for their child to be seated. Toddlers don't sit well. They don't stand well, they don't stand still, etc. They are toddlers, not mini-adults. Most of us with children can roll eyes at what these parents were up against, but, most of us have also been there, too. I actually researched flights for what would best fit my chid's nap schedule, trying to consider the other passengers on the plane. As mentioned above, I scored on the flight out. Not on the flight back. He he he...living with children, just part of the joy of parenting.


When I flew in July, with Jonah at 22 months, I boarded the plane early. I needed plenty of time to figure out how to attach the car seat to the plane seat. However, my sister and Jonah boarded nearly last. You see, post 9-11, I wasn't allowed to board, fix up the car seat, and de-plane to wait with my child.

[Prairie Purrs]

I made the point about boarding early to suggest that "more time" wasn't going to solve this particular problem--unless perhaps the parents expected the plane to remain on the ground until the child's regular naptime rolled around.

The bottom line is that airlines reserve the right to boot anyone off an airplane who is disrupting orderly operations. Sometimes they take it too far, but in this instance they were correct to remove the parents and child. And the parents were entirely out of line to think that they had any right to hold up the flight to accomodate their out-of-control child.

[mike001]

I think the airline made a mistake by not removing them and ignoring them. This is the kind of kid that I could never tolerate. Amazing how kids today seem to just rule the parents. This is like paying for a night out at a restaurant and having a spoiled brat seated next to you or near you. I have gotten up and told the parents to please be gracious enough to remove the brat so we could enjoy our meal only to be told off in no uncertain terms.

[CathyBogart]

I have gotten up and told the parents to please be gracious enough to remove the brat so we could enjoy our meal only to be told off in no uncertain terms.

That has happened to me too. I'm not so polite in movie theatres.