A major pet peeve on a plane.

[I.J. Reilly]

I'm actually not kidding. Nothing ruins a flight like a screaming baby. If you can't keep your child quiet you shouldn't be flying.

Well, since you weren't kidding, a few things for you to consider.

1. It's pretty hard to "flight test" a child. Asking them if they think they will be alright flying is not as easy as it sounds. For the most part, you don't know until you go, and even then, a child who has flown well before may not fly well this time or vice versa.

2. Those that are offended by small children flying should check into the "no children on this flight" ticket. Otherwise, those kids (assuming they are flying in accordance with the company's rules) have as much of a right to be on the plane as the adults do. Companies are well aware of the problems of children flying, if they wanted to restrict them from flying they could do so.

3. If the sounds of a crying child bother you, consider investing in earplugs. They work wonders for their $.25 price tag. If you would like to go higher end, they have noise cancelling headphones that are very, very good.

I agree that making a cross-continental flight listening to a child cry the whole way is not an ideal flying situation, but I don't think I've ever been in this situation where the mother was a) intentionally making the child cry, or b) not trying everything she knows how to do to get the child to be quiet. Babies cry. It happens. It sucks. But, assuming they are in compliance with airline rules, they have as much of a right to be there as anyone else. Like I said, if airlines didn't want babies there, they could make their rules to discourage their flying, or otherwise outright ban them.

[MarkGrace]

I agree with Tim.

I also agree with the others that it's because I don't have kids.

[Rosebud]

Sorry, I struggle in this regard. There's nothing worse on an airplane than a baby that won't stop crying. Some people have genuinely sensitive ears and the sound of babies crying is painful. Their flight is ruined when a mother brings a baby too young to be flying and that baby screams the whole time.

Why do you only extend compassion to the mother instead of also considering the people who paid the same amount for their tickets but who have no interest in having a screaming baby in their ear?

So the mom (who is a human being and may also have sensitive ears, btw) ought to stay shut away in her home listening the screaming baby instead? How old should the child be before she's allowed to travel? Maybe it'd be a better idea to just begin her confinement at the onset of pregnancy. That way no one would get hurt eyes looking at her protuberance. I mean, we wouldn't want any of the real people to be uncomfortable.

[UtahDan]

My pet peeve on a plane is snakes on a mother f@#$ing plane.

[Mrs. Funk]

As the oldest kid of a young family, I've traveled with infants frequently and often was in charge of a kid. Even kids who travel well have bad days.

It's a terribly awkward and embarrassing place to be when it's your lapkid is threatening to shriek for four hours straight. I understand how much it sucks to be on the receiving end of demon banshee screams, but it's really not great for the kid's owner, either.

[smokymountainrain]

I'm actually not kidding. Nothing ruins a flight like a screaming baby. If you can't keep your child quiet you shouldn't be flying.

I can guarantee you that in nearly every situation, the mother is hating life worse than you on that plane. The last thing she wants is to be the cause of such unrest for other passengers.

[Slim]

The reclining seat thing reminds me of my last year at BYU when I had to take the express bus to campus from the Sandy Trax station.

I'm 6'4" and when I sit in those seats my knees are directly up against the seat in front of me. Almost on a daily basis someone would come and sit in front of me and then continually attempt to recline their seat into my kneecaps. They'd try pretty hard too and some of them were really persistent.

I'm sure a few of them didn't realize what they were doing but I'm convinced that some people expected me to ride the whole way spread eagle so they could recline that extra 4 inches.

[Slim]

I can guarantee you that in nearly every situation, the mother is hating life worse than you on that plane. The last thing she wants is to be the cause of such unrest for other passengers.

Agree 100%. Also my wife just reminded me of the last flight she took with our two year old. He's a good kid and stays quietly in his seat the whole time but there was a lady that sat in front of him that was determined to be bothered. Apparently my son never once kicked her seat, but he did lower his tray twice and both times when the woman felt that she turned around and glared at my wife. If I had been there I would have been pissed.

[CJF]

I'm actually not kidding. Nothing ruins a flight like a screaming baby. If you can't keep your child quiet you shouldn't be flying.

I'm dreading the 20 hours of air time our family will be embarking on shortly with an 18 month. He's going to be miserable. He's going to make me miserable. And he's going to make everyone around him miserable. I guess we could leave him in the U.S.

[smokymountainrain]

I'm dreading the 20 hours of air time our family will be embarking on shortly with an 18 month. He's going to be miserable. He's going to make me miserable. And he's going to make everyone around him miserable.

Grace, Tim...I believe the word is compassion.

[UtahDan]

Grace, Tim...I believe the word is compassion.

The other word is benadryl (fess up parents, you know you have done this in desperation).

[CJF]

The other word is benadryl (fess up parents, you know you have done this in desperation).

I'm going to try this out in the next few days as a test run. I asked our pediatrician for suggestions and that's what he recommended, but he warned that it could have the opposite effect. However, 20 hours is a long time so if it does work I'll probably still have 6-10 hours of awake pissed off time. We're going to be doing this trip a minimum of 3 times a year for the next couple of years. Dreading it.

[grapevine]

There was a pregnant women who miscarried two kids in the Chicago airport one time pregnant and shoving a child on the floor as ticket line after ticket line was full and grumpy passengers were making remarks. A stranger walked her up to the front of the line and got her a ticket. Stranger Mormon Apostle Spencer W Kimball. That lady seen his picture in magazine about Indian placement and joined church. And son she was pregnant with served mission 19 years later. SWK was not bothered by child in airport.

[MarkGrace]

There was a pregnant women who miscarried two kids in the Chicago airport one time pregnant and shoving a child on the floor as ticket line after ticket line was full and grumpy passengers were making remarks. A stranger walked her up to the front of the line and got her a ticket. Stranger Mormon Apostle Spencer W Kimball. That lady seen his picture in magazine about Indian placement and joined church. And son she was pregnant with served mission 19 years later. SWK was not bothered by child in airport.

lol...love it!

[MarkGrace]

deleted

I'm not sure how you find this relevant to my situation.

Maybe it was supposed to be directed at Tim?