Screaming 3 year old gets parents free airline tickets!

[catlover4ever]

I was a flight attendant for 5 years with a small regional airline, and I can see it from both sides.

I can understand the frustration of the family, who have a crying, inconsolable child on their hands, but I also see it from a F/A safety standpoint. If the child is that problematic on the ground, how is the child going to be once they get in the air at 30,000 feet.

I always tried to settle my families in, tell them what was expected (no walking up and down the center isle, child must be belted in when the seatbelt sign was on, etc).

AirTran gave the family 15 minutes to get settled in.....more than enough timeto settle the child in.....and I don't think they should have received free tickets.

[Prairie Purrs]

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.

[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.

[rosethecopycat]

Instead of free tickets they should have been given the phone number to Nanny 911

[cassiesmom]

I think "family flights" (with complimentary Supernanny assessments!) are a terrific idea. Maybe if high-speed rail travel ever gets up and running in the U.S., that will be a viable alternative to air travel for families with little children.

There was an article in the Chicago Tribune about this yesterday. It advised that children should be allowed to burn up all their energy in the terminal, coaxed to nap on the plane, be placed in their seat and buckled up as soon as they board the plane (with the rationale that most children understand this concept from riding in the car), and be allowed to pick out and pack their own books or quiet activities they can do on the plane. If necessary parents may surprise the child with a new book or activity. The flight attendant may be able to get the child to cooperate since children are also taught to pay attention to authority figures and the uniformed flight attendant conveys authority.

[CathyBogart]

Ah, but then inconsiderate families would scream "discrimination!" if they were told they couldn't book on the normal flights.

[Luvin Labs]

I applaud the airline for kicking them off, though I do think they should never have given them free business class tickets for a future flight!

From what I've read, the brat was sitting in a seat in front of them. Why wasn't the brat put beside one of them and the other half sit in the other seat alone??!??

And that interview. All I noticed was the brat crawling all over her mother with NO stern warnings to sit her butt down. If the kid were very well behaved during the interview I would not be as pissed at the parents for not parenting their child properly. They had ample time to get her settled on the plane.

[Argranade]

So if every child acts like that they should all get a free ride ..

Well the fact that they got in free does not realy afect my life so I geuss I should not realy care lol.

[Lady's Human]

So does this mean we can fly to FLA with the kids, get on the plane with a non-napping 2 1/2 y/o and get free tickets?

Damn, and to think all this time I was doing the wrong thing by trying to do the right thing and be a responsible parent.

[Logan]

I had a 3 year old, once upon a time. She threw one, unforgettable fit, at 3 years old, and thankfully not on an airplane, but in a restaurant and I thought I would die before I finally got her out of there. That fiesty girl had a sip of something with caffeine and it set her off and she wrapped her legs around the high chair and I almost took her out of the restaurant in the chair!

If I had been those parents, I would have been so relieved that I got off of the plane. I could not have stood the embarrasement of an irrational child.

My "baby", who threw that fit, at 3 years old, will turn 16 years old on Monday. She throws different kinds of fits these days, and rarely, too, thank goodness. She and I don't get mad at each other, we just get frustrated sometime! LOL!!!

Logan

[CathyBogart]

Logan: Once, when my sister was about four, my mom took us out riding our bikes. At one point my sister decided to stop her bike in the middle of the street!! As the light changed, all the drivers were glaring at my mom who grabbed my sister's bike and hauled her kicking and screaming out of the street. That was the end of that adventure. -_-