Oh yeah, she went there… To say this was an “eventful” flight would be a bit of an understatement. It started off bad and ended up worse 🙂 You’ll need to scroll down to the end if you want to read the catfight, but the whole story is a good read (of course, I WOULD say that…)
- Introduction
- Holiday Inn Chicago Countryside
- Southwest boarding with family
- 17 pieces of luggage
- Getting through security with kids
- Android phones don't work on Southwest
- Why is renting a car such a scam?
- NV / ID / OR county trip
- Review - Thunderbird Resort
- "You're the type of parent that shouldn't have children"
- Pancake machine at the Holiday Inn Express Downers Grove
Delayed from the get-go
After a great week at a family reunion, we were getting to leave on Friday for our trip back home. Our flight RNO-MDW was scheduled to leave at 1:30pm and arrive in Chicago at 7:50 pm. 4 hour flight + 2 hours of time change – this was almost perfect timing for us – we’d get back and be able to check into our hotel in time for the kids to get ready for a (late but not super late) bedtime.
As we were packing up and getting ready, I started getting emails and phone alerts from Southwest. Our flight was delayed to 2pm then 2:30 then 3:30. My parents, who were also flying around the same time from RNO-LAS-CLE, were also getting notices of delays. Hopefully delays on my flights aren’t turning into a “thing” for Southwest…
Thankfully we didn’t have to check out of our condo until 2pm, so that wasn’t too much of an issue. I did get a little nervous the later our flight got delayed because I knew that meant a later arrival in Chicago and thus a later bedtime (and crankier kids).
At the airport
After some shenanigans finding a gas station to fill up the rental car, we ended up getting to the airport about 3pm. There was hardly anyone in security at RNO, and the kids enjoyed playing the TSA’s game of “Stop. Screen. Go.” 🙂
The terminal was pretty crowded and it looked like there were a number of passengers that had been waiting for awhile. We were still waiting on our plane (that was flying inbound MDW-RNO) but at least we knew that it was already in the air. By the time the plane landed and was ready to turnaround, it was about 4pm.
The kids were relatively well-behaved in the terminal though it was tough keeping them away from watching people gamble at the slot machines (ahhhh the glowing boxes!!!!). We had my 2 year old in the stroller and she FINALLY fell asleep…. right as they announced it was time to board the plane.
Boarding the plane
We had better luck with our boarding passes on this flight than on the return, but we were still well into the B section in Southwest’s boarding order, so we just boarded with the family group after the A section. We made our way towards the back of the plane and managed to get seats next to each other. We even managed to transfer the sleeping toddler from the stroller to the carseat (how did THAT happen!?!), though there was a potential crisis with the placement of the carseat that managed to be averted.
Arranging 2 adults and 6 kids on a plane is somewhat of a tricky proposition. You want to keep adults in range of every kid, but also need to limit who needs to sit next to whom (to share screens), or who CAN’T sit next to whom (or they’ll fight). On the flight TO Chicago we had my parents on the same flight with us so we had 2 extra adults to play with but no such luck on the way back.
This is what we ended up with (Yellow are the girls, red are the boys and blue are the adults)
Yellow are the girls, red are the boys and blue are the adults
Then… we sit
We thought that now that we were on the plane that we were all set, but as it turned out, our journey was just beginning. Once all the passengers got on, one of the flight attendants got on the PA and announced that there was a Junior Dance Team that was on the flight having just won some competition. She invited them all to wave and encouraged the rest of us to give them a (very loud) shoutout.
I’m sure it goes without saying that most of them were right behind us and…. that was the end of naptime… :-/
After another 15 minutes or so, the pilot comes on the PA and says that they’re waiting on a minor mechanical problem to be fixed. Supposedly it’s down in the baggage area, and it’s already been fixed but they’re just waiting on the paperwork.
15-20 minutes later…. back on the PA – “I know many of you are worrying about your connecting flights – don’t worry – the team back at headquarters is working on it. Hang tight!”
Everybody off!
Another 20 minutes or so later, they come across with ANOTHER announcement
“Ladies and Gentlemen – we’ve determined that this flight will not make it into Chicago in time for anyone to make any connecting flights. So if Chicago is not your final destination, you need to get off the plane with all your bags”
(!)
Do you live here??! THEN GET OFF!
At first there was confusion as to whether people that were continuing on the same airplane (from Chicago onto Tampa) could stay on the flight. First they said yes, then they said those folks had to get off too.
The dance team behind us was very confused about all this. I wasn’t sure what the problem was – to me it was pretty clear: “DO YOU LIVE IN CHICAGO?!?!? NO? THEN GET OFF THE PLANE!”. Eventually they figured it out and de-planed.
The actual flight (RNO-MDW)
Once everybody not going to Chicago got off the plane with all their bags, AND the flight attendants went through and counted everyone, FINALLY, we took off (at about 6pm Mountain).
The flight itself was pleasant. With the plane only half full, the flight attendants were liberal with the snacks, which all the kids really liked.
I know that actually LIVING with 6 kids, I am somewhat accustomed to the increased noise level. I feel like my kids are generally well-behaved, but 6 times even a small amount of noise can be a LOT of noise (believe me, I know!)
For this particular flight, I thought things went well. There were no kids running up and down the aisle. The 2 year old cried loudly for maybe 5 minutes total right when she was abruptly woken up (see above), which on a 4 hour flight was definitely reasonable.
Nobody kicked any seats and all in all I was pleasantly surprised with how things went, which made what happened next even stranger
“Are you unaccompanied monsters?”
Once the flight finally lands, we have to wait for a gate because they weren’t expecting us so late. Then once we get a gate, we have to wait (again) for a ramp to be brought out. Then we finally start de-planing. Of course, we’re way in the back, so we wait (some more).
As we’re waiting for the passengers at the front to clear out, a lady 2-3 rows up from us turns around and, speaking directly to my kids asks:
Are you unaccompanied monsters? Or do you belong to someone?
Wait, what?!!? First of all, you do NOT talk that way to someone else’s kids. Ever.
So my wife hears the lady and replies that these are our children. Upon which the lady says
Your children are rude and made my flight miserable.
Carolyn, thinking on her feet, replies with “Well, you’re a rude ADULT!” Upon which the lady lets us know that
You’re the type of parent that should not have children!
Sorry lady but that ship sailed a LOOOONG time ago :-).
I actually felt bad for her – she was clearly NOT having a good day. Like I said, I am biased and I am trying to correct for that, but I REALLY thought that the kids were pretty well-behaved. Like I said, she was a few rows up, so there can’t have been any seat kicking or reclining issues – no Knee Defender here!! The kids were loud but they were just regular kid-loud. If she was trying to sleep I could understand how that might have disturbed her, but in that case, if she had said something, I’d have been happy to try and keep the noise down.
Again, I’m sure she had just had enough – probably had been in the airport all day and just at her breaking point. It doesn’t excuse her behavior IMO but at least it helps to understand it. The best part is that we had to still hang around near her and her family for another 30 minutes or so pretending not to see each other at baggage claim 🙂
What about you? What’s the worst thing anyone’s said to you while traveling?
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
Sorry to hear about your experience. Stuff like that can really ruin your day. This is the reason why I choose not to fly even 2 hours with my twin 14 mth girls, in fear I have to face something like this…cuz Ill probably end up in jail for splitting someones skull in half for making comments like that hehe… JUDO CHOP!
Yeah that’s a good point – it actually took my wife awhile before she didn’t feel bad / judged. Me on the other hand, I thought it was hilarious even as it was happening “ooh ooh this is going to be a GREAT blog post!!” 😀
We have 5 children (1 set of twins in there) and have flown internationally MORE THAN ONCE! 🙂 I always remind myself that the ONLY time I have to interact with the other people on the flight …..is ON THE FLIGHT . We most likely will never see one another again. Why stress out about someone who you will never have to talk to again? Why worry about what they think of your kids? If they want a quiet plane ride…..they should invest in a private jet…..
I thought “unaccompanied monsters” was a pretty funny thing to say but obviously she meant it in a ‘not nice’ way. It sounds like you gave her the benefit that she probably had a lousy day with her day (and delay) and who knows what else is going on in her life. Anyway, I have two kids (15 yo now) and when they were small that was a handful so I don’t envy your 6 when travelling!
Oh no she didn’t. I am actually looking forward to the day someone makes a comment to me when I fly with my kiddos. People need to stop being so entitled. Children are people too and they have every right to fly just like everyone else. How many annoying adults fly? Drunk passengers? They make flights miserable. You should have referred her to Bose.com for noise-cancelling headphones.
I think that’s the part that made me the most frustrated – if she had just SAID something during the 4+ hour flight, we would have done our best to help her out. But yeah – I really felt like they were being age-appropriate. Loud, but just normal kid loud.
“..if she had just SAID something ….” ?
Oh, now I get it. You’re one of those parents that just tunes everything out; you simply don’t hear the noise your kids are making so someone else has to “say something” for you to wake up to it. They’re your kids, don’t you know what’s going on with them right under your nose and within your hearing ears ?
Thanks for sharing!
Sorry, I agree with this guy. It seems like the whole world has to revolve around kids these days. Six kids! They probably were somewhat annoying and the lady was also a little too rough. I can see both sides here and no one ever knows what is going on in someone else’s life at any given time.
I really don’t understand the argument about drunk people. I’ve heard other parents say this as well. The fact that there are occasionally drunk passengers or even obnoxious adults does not excuse your children when they mis-behave on a flight, or excuse you from not handling your children when they are out of control. From my perspective, I am equally bummed out if it’s a drunk guy or a screaming kid. Both keep me from reading, sleeping, or talking quietly with my companion, and both contribute to an atmosphere of frustration, tension, and anxiety for other passengers. Next time there is a drunk guy making a ruckus on a flight think about this: the way that disgusting drunk dude makes you feel is pretty much how your children make other people feel if they are left unchecked to be loud and obnoxious on an extended flight. Also: drunk people are often not allowed to board a plane, and can face serious repercussions for their ill-behavior once the flight lands. So in that respect, out of control children are actually afforded _more_ rights than “everyone else.”
And, god forbid someone makes a comment to you or your kiddos about their behavior when you fly. This makes no sense. You are excited about a confrontation that is brought on by the fact that your kids are making someone miserable on a flight? Bravo. Who’s the entitled one here? My heart goes out to flight attendants and other passengers who will be prisoner to your glorious tantrum defending the honor of your child.
Normal kid-loud does not mean anything. In fact yes, it means that the situation is out of control and the parents renegate their duties. Are they also kid-loud in classrooms? during TV time? Probably not. You just decided not to have them behave correctly because you either had no control or did not want to exert control. This obviously does not apply if kids are about 1 year and younger. But you would probably not have 6 of them younger than 1 year old.
I’ve been on the other end of this. My boyfriend and I were flying LAX–>JFK last year, and there was a couple behind us that had two kids. The kids were reasonably well-behaved, but one of them was playing an iPad game with the sound on. This was annoying, of course, and a violation of airline policy, but, much more than that, it made it impossible for me to get work done (which I desperately needed to do).
After a while, my BF, sensing my rising fury/panic, looked over his shoulder and asked (neutrally, but not impolitely) if they could turn the sound off or put headphones on.
Well apparently, for this couple, their children’s ability to make any kind of noise whenever and wherever they feel like it was unquestionable and inviolate. The couple spent the rest of the flight talking loudly about how appalled they were that someone would request such a thing and proceeded to encourage their kids to shout and kick my BF’s seat.
Seriously, if “The Purge” ever becomes reality, that couple will be the object of my first visit.
LOL. I know what you’re talking about. Obviously this is a hot-button issue all over the Internet and there are both sides to it. I think pretty much if you ever find yourself encouraging your kids to KICK OTHER PEOPLE’S SEATS then you MAY have crossed the line into irresponsible behavior 🙂
newsflash: the airplane is not your business address.
what is up with a lot of people complaining about not being able to get work done on a plane.
It’s a plane. Not the office. Not a work cubicle. Not a boardroom.
Not my problem if you can’t get work done. It’s like going to Starbucks and complaining that you can’t get work done. Seriously, get over it.
If you are unable to time mangage yourself enough that you need to work on an airplane, that is your problem. Not mine. Not the other passengers. And certainly not a child on vacation.
First. World. Problem!
The other passenger was unquestionably rude. There’s no excuse for referring to other people’s children as “monsters” or saying someone is the type of parent who shouldn’t have children. And there’s no point in waiting until a flight is over to complain about someone disturbing you.
But I’m troubled by what seems to be an attitude that being “loud but regular kid-loud” is OK on a flight. There’s age-appropriateness, but there’s also place-appropriateness. Most parents know, and most children learn, that the sound levels appropriate to, say, church, a library, a doctor’s waiting room, the dinner table, and the back yard are all different. Any passenger who can be heard by someone two or three rows away is almost certainly being too loud, and it’s up to parents to keep the children from disturbing other passengers. And if kids are loud enough to be annoying a few rows away, it really shouldn’t take a complaint to prompt parental intervention–on pretty much every flight, there’s someone within three rows who’d trying to sleep, read, or work. (And I’ve flown many times with small children in the row behind me that I didn’t even notice until I saw them while deplaning, so I know this is possible.)
Thanks for your comment Rich. I appreciate respectful comments on all sides of the issue. Honestly it’s been a month or so since the flight so I can’t recall exactly HOW loud they were being. Generally speaking though, I agree with you. I like the comparison of an airplane to a library and using “library voices”.
It is something that we will continue to work on – we are actually quite sensitive to our kids bothering other people – as I mentioned in the post, 6 times even a small amount of noise can be a lot of noise.
Every kid is different (just like every adult is different). Not all adults behave the same way (else we would not need police), so it is unfair to assume that if some kids are quiet then all of them should be. I don’t like kids screaming either (including my own), but sometimes there is only so much one can do. Sadly, not everyone understands that.
pointswithacrew – real nice post and cool responses. I would probably not have been able to behave as calmly as you outlined in a situation like this (if someone said that to my kid).
Thanks for the comment. Like I said in another comment, I do appreciate reasonable responses from both (all) sides of the issue. I understand that my kids are loud, and not even inappropriately loud (just the 6 times factor) – I really do.
I also see that there are parts of this that I could have handled better, from the way that we arrange the kids seating to handling the confrontation with the other passenger.
I actually had brought 4 Southwest drink vouchers that I had prepared to pass out to passengers who were bothered by my children but didn’t get an opportunity to use them (so instead I’m giving them away!)
Of course the fact that one child can be quiet doesn’t mean that all kids will be quiet. I do think, though, that it’s parents’ responsibility to minimize their children’s disruption, and I think the fact that many parents succeed very well indicates that this is not an unreasonable expectation.
I also agree that there’s only so much a parent can do. In fact, a moderately noisy child whose parents are not trying to keep him quiet annoys me much more than a much louder child whose parents are doing their best to keep him quiet.
What I found troubling about the idea of “regular kid-loud” was that it implied to me that a certain level of “normal” loudness is acceptable and doesn’t need to be addressed. (Dan, I apologize if I’m attributing something to you that you didn’t mean to say.) In, say, a doctor’s waiting room I don’t expect kids to be silent any more than I expect adults to be silent, but I’d consider anything I’d call any kind of “loud” to be a problem if it were not being addressed by the parents. My expectation on a plane is similar.
Thanks again for your comments Rich. I agree that an airplane is a good time for a “library voice”. I do think that it’s not reasonable to expect a kid to be completely quiet (or completely using “library voice”) for the entirety of a 4 hour flight.
At this point it’s been a month or so since the flight and so I can’t remember exactly how loud they were. I do remember several times keeping them in line and to a quiet voice.
When I talk about “regular kid-loud”, I’m more talking about the idea that some adults have that children “should be seen but not heard”.
The noise level that you find acceptable as “kid loud” — while sitting behind them– was obviously unacceptable to at least one other passenger. Instead of reacting so defensively, you could have politely asked what your children did that was rude and made her miserable, turning the encounter into a teachable moment. Instead, your kids learned that their behavior was apparently acceptable to you, and that it’s okay to be rude to people who complain about them. When someone else is having a bad day, it can be much more personally satisfying to treat them with extreme kindness.
You are right of course. One never seems to know what to say in the moment, especially with emotions flaring (on both sides). We actually have talked to the kids about it since then and you’re right – it’s a great life lesson to learn that your behavior DOES have an effect on other people
“You are the the type of people that should not have children.”
“Funny. I was just thinking the same thing about you.”
I think that if someone 2-3 rows in front was complaining, and asking if kids were unaccompanied “monsters” maybe you should re-think whether your kids are as quiet and well-behaved as you imagine them to be. If you don’t want someone talking directly to your kids and letting them know that they were disturbed by their behavior, maybe not letting the kids occupy a full row un-supervised is a wiser approach. In which case I’m sure the woman would have addressed you directly instead, and in which case i’m sure you would have still been as defensive about it as you are here. Remember, you’re used to living in a house with 6 kids running amok. Most people on the plane are not. Frankly, it sounds like a total bummer. I know this is a hot button issue and many will think i’m a jerk for saying this, but i’m just glad I wasn’t seated near you guys on the flight.
Thanks for your comments Doug and I’m not offended by your saying that you wouldn’t want to be seated next to me. Believe me there are times that *I* wish I wasn’t seated near me too :-). I appreciate the advice of not letting the kids occupy a full-row unsupervised – unfortunately there’s only 2 adults and we have to sit in at least 3 rows.
This is a total hot button issue I know anywhere it gets talked about on the Internet.
Doug, don’t you have a hard time being on the side of a woman that calls children monsters in front of a plane full of strangers, including the children themselves, and tells another adult they should not be allowed to have kids.?Wouldn’t you feel better about someone who flags down a flight attendant to find the parents and quiet down the kids. This lady sounds unstable, dude. Back away!
It’s hard to say, she may be a totally crazy grouch-minded child-hating cat-lady, or she may have been ineloquently expressing the sentiments of half the “strangers” on that plane. For some reason, I imagine her with a British accent- which somehow makes her remarks kind of charming.
Oh for sure – if she had said anything in a British accent it would have made everything totally cool!!!! 😛
I understand both sides of the issue, however IMHO parents take the cake for entitlement. On Southwest as well as other airlines I see parents trying to get pre-boarding and then get really upset if they are not allowed on with their 3 kids before everyone else (UA allows pre-boards if you need more time and I have no issues with this for parents with babies etc, but it takes the cake when parents try to get their 4-10 year olds on like that).
For the benefit of both sides Airlines should just implement no child flights. People who want to avoid issues with crying babies, loud kids and the such could just take those flights.
What I get most upset about is the increasingly common attitude among parents that they are not responsible for controlling their kids. Was on a FRA-SFO flight recently and a child around 7 years old kept kicking people’s seats and yelling and screaming. When the parents were confronted, they just said there was nothing they can do. If you are not ready to discipline your child and/or make sure they are well behaved then your children should not be flying.
And yes, other people have a right to ask your children to quiet down or stop annoying behavior (just like anyone has the right to). But parents are so self absorbed they don’t realize that many times their children are acting like little monsters (fine in your own home and you may be used it to, but not fine in a public space).
I also have seen this handled really well. A couple with a young infant was on our flight recently and they passed out small bags filled with candies, snacks and drink coupons for the passengers around them. The note said that they were sorry in advance for any crying, yelling or other sounds from the baby and they would try their best to avoid that and if anyone wanted more drinks just let them know. That completely changed the whole atmosphere of the flight and the FAs ended up just giving out free drinks to anyone who wanted one. The baby? Well behaved and only cried a bit on take off. It only takes some really small gestures to change things from a negative to a positive 🙂
Well, once I was on the other side. It was a long day, and I was not feeling well (sinus headache). A small regional jet, during boarding and waiting for something to be cleared so we could push back.. The kid was 5 or 6 years old and whining to mommy about something or other. Mom ignored her and was reading a magazine.
After 20 minutes of the kid’s constant whining and mom’s constant ignoring of said whining, I turned around, glared at the kid, and without raising my voice, I simply said “Shut up”. The kid instantly became silent. The mom gave me a simple “How dare you?” My reply was, “How dare you not try to control your kid?”
A few passengers commented on my rudeness, but I did not care. The flight was quiet and otherwise uneventful.
If cell phones start working for free to no cost on flights there will be plenty of loud and rude adults making noise.
The passenger should have complained earlier and should not have called your kids monsters. I’m a little surprised at the tone of some of these blog comments, too.
I feel like some that you are used to the cacophony that 6 kids can make.
I would have probably told you to make your kids shut up! I am a parent & my kids are grown, but ” the kids were about normal in noise doesn’t cut it”
I always was conscious of what other people were feeling
It sounds like it had been a very rough day already. Six kids with that many delays, I am impressed that they were fairly well behaved. No one enjoys bad behavior on flights whether the bad behavior is done by adults or children but I do give children more leeway as travel can be stressful. I am surprised at how many adults simply do not want children on flights. A few years ago I was traveling in China for 3 weeks. During a flight I saw 2 sisters going up and down the aisles smiling and giggling. I was really fascinated with this sight and it took me a few moments to realize why. During my time in China I rarely saw children and when I did it was never with siblings. It really put a smile on my face. Just a thought.
I for one think that your ability to give that woman the benefit of the doubt is quite admirable, and I wish others would be quicker to do the same for you, especially given that we can read that it was indeed a crazy day for all of you.
Certainly, 100% disagree that anyone has a right to say “you are the type of parents who shouldn’t have kids” simply because your kids were being normal-kid-noisy.
If we can all agree that noise on a plane may be rude, than we should certainly also be able to agree that judging a parent based on a glimpse of a hectic flight day is also wildly rude.
(Also Jeanne M I agree with you and the only reason I replied to your comment is because it looks like general commenting is now closed for this post? So I just had to pick someone’s comment to reply to lol! )
I’m a teacher with 30 years experience. The first thing a teacher learns is that you assign the seating instead of letting the children make the choice. Seating three boys together in a row where you do not have the ability to monitor them properly with eye contact was a poor choice. One of you should have sat with them.
Yes, children can behave and be quiet and respectful, but you have to teach them that.
Next time you may want to try seating the boys behind you instead of in front of you. Their voices will carry more to the front and you become a buffer-row for those ahead. You will also be more aware of their volume than you would be while seated behind them.
Can’t excuse the rudeness of the woman who complained, but it sounds like the boys may have been more disruptive than you realized.
Thanks for the reasoned comments Cindy. We have already thought about that. As you and the last commenter pointed out, the seating arrangement we chose may not have been ideal. Of course, random people on the Internet don’t know our family at all :-), so there may be some reasons for why we chose the seats we did, but I think we’ve got another configuration for the next time we all fly together.
I’ve found that sitting in the middle of the plane is generally better. Engine noise is LOUD and makes it nearly impossible to hear anything further away than a row.
LOL that’s a great idea – I hadn’t thought about that. One problem is that we were on Southwest, so by the time that we got to board, our only option for seats near each other was in the back. Though one of the ideas we’ve tossed around is making some of our older kids sit by themselves since typically they’re a lot quieter by themselves 🙂
Another random person on the internet that doesn’t know your family at all who’s commenting, but hey, you more or less invited these by posting about it.
I am a parent myself who travels with my children. We have two, so we are able to adopt a man to man defense rather than the zone that you’re forced to adopt. I vote with the others that say that you need to place a parent in the front row. It’s not just the noise-factor. While I don’t know the age of your kids, it’s also the kicking-of-the-seat-in-front-factor and the playing-with-the-tray-table-factor. If you’re in front, the seat that they’re kicking is yours and you know.
I do have a talk with my kids before plane trips and let them know that regular-kid-loud is not appropriate on board. Our regular rules don’t apply on board and we do resort to bribery and threats so that our kids don’t turn into little monsters that all children can be at times.
My kids find it hard to understand that adults on the plane (and let’s face it, there are always some) can loud talk on cell phones before departure and upon landing, drink too much and be loud and boisterous, grab the back of their seats to pull their fat @$$e$ up out of their chairs to go to the bathroom multiple times, and no one is there to threaten to take away their electronics for two weeks upon landing if they don’t behave.
Hey Brian, Thanks for posting. Like I’ve said before, I don’t mind comments on all sides of the story as long as they’re respectful. You might be right about the parent ahead of the kids – the original thinking was that if I’m BEHIND them, then I can SEE what they are doing.
All parents are supposed to have eyes in the back of their heads – mine did.
Sometimes I wish I could +1 comments 😛
Just seeing this now, but had to comment. It seems to me that the other passenger had already decided that they were going to be upset about the children. If she was three rows ahead and nobody in between had an issue, then it is more likely her sensitivity to blame than your children. We have faced similar issues. We flew business class MCO to FRA (in the nose of the plane!) with our 4 children and repeatedly got dirty looks from one elderly couple, however, at the end of the flight, not one, but two of the flight attendants took the time to tell us how quiet and polite our children were. I think that some people see families like ours and start from the assumption that they are going to be miserable near us and make it a self fulfilling prophesy.
I’m a teacher with my third child on the way. My husband has family in PR so we usually travel by plane to the island about once a year. All I can say is people (even teachers) have different tolerances for noise levels and what’s acceptable vs what is not. I am very easy going, my MS students are noisy, at times, but I let them work together and talk about their work so the noise is acceptable to me. In terms of my own kids, my boys are 8 and 2, but my 8 year old was “difficult” to say the least in the pre 6 years. We did not board the plane without a mini DVD player (now its an iPad), headphones, and a new movie plus snacks. I always buy/download a new movie for the plane ride which seems to help (get head phone splitters so all 3 kids in 1 row can watch). I have received plenty of comments from judgmental ppl about my “difficult” son in public over the years. The truth is some ppl just prefer quiet, and some adults (who were like my son a a child) ‘get it’ and don’t mind noise. Making comments about the right to have children is totally bogus.
I came upon this post because I’m about to fly with a 4 month old and I’m looking for tips. But I’m leaving here more than a little bit awed by how diplomatically you’ve responded to some of these harsh comments. Like… wow. I could learn a thing or two.
Hey don’t feed the trolls! 🙂 We’re flying again all 8 of us here in a few weeks so we’ll see how it goes this time 🙂
I am reading this post YEARS after everyone else. I don’t fly frequently, but I DO travel and go to events where children may or may not be present. I also have 6 kids (12-25 years old now). I think I understand what you meant by “kid-noise”. Sometimes they talk or laugh or sing a little louder than people generally prefer. As long as it’s not constant, a little outburst here and there shouldn’t light somebody’s fuse. Some people are just looking to be annoyed. As a mother who has been in the situation where my kids are the ones being noisy for whatever reason or another, I try to be understanding when a kid is upset or crying, IF the parent is trying to fix the problem and not just tuning their kid out. As a general rule, if I’m going to a place where I may be stuck in one location with children, I carry Smarties or other small treats or toys in my bag. Papers, pencils, colored pencils, dollar stuffed animals, whatever I’ve gathered up recently. If a child is getting too fussy, I’ll ask the parent if I can give them __________. Usually, parents are relieved and very happy to have someone nice interacting with their kid. Occasionally I get a negative reaction. But at least I’ve tried. As adults, it’s not up to other people to make sure we aren’t ever inconvenienced. We need to make an effort too.