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10 passengers we love to hate: Day 6 - Crybabies and restless kids
We don't mean to hate 'em but we do. The moment of truth is when you find your seat and Take my nephew, for instance. When his mouth is closed, he really is the most adorable little human: soft baby skin, big innocent eyes. But once his breath quickens and he makes even the slightest peep, he's handed off to my sister like a football on 4th down.
There's something about adjusting to the cabin air pressure that, well, turns these little cuties very ugly. Their skin turns pink, their eyes close and wrinkle, and then the mouth gapes open and the shrillest human sound escapes.
The child is inconsolable. And the parent? Well, there's really nothing s/he can do about it except bounce the child on her lap and pray the crying will stop -- and soon. Nothing -- not even an emergency stop-it-from-crying kit -- can calm this child. What makes the situation even worse is that the cry sounds like it's amplified by a loudspeaker when it's contained in the tight quarters of an airplane cabin. We're not at a Cry Baby Matinee. We're on a plane, and we prefer the experience to be as peaceful and pleasant as possible.
Let's face it: an airplane is not a suitable place for a crybaby, nor is it suitable for a messy toddler who likes to kick the back of your seat for the whole flight. It's a reality, yet one we can't do much about.
Earplugs may help -- or maybe a child section to every plane.
Read about ALL the passengers we love to hate.
Filed under: Stories, Transportation, Airports
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Baron Jun 8th 2009 11:19AM
Oh boy, this is going to be me in a few weeks! I just can't wait to be that person everyone is staring at. Really though, I am hoping it gets me my own seat w/o someone next to me.
Katie Jun 8th 2009 2:02PM
Honestly, I don't mind the crying babies. It's unpleasant, yes, but they can't help it. I recommend giving little ones medication that helps them sleep, especially through take-off, but really, my response to the babies is usually, "Poor things!" What I can't stand are the children who are old enough to know better (3+), whose parents let them scream, holler, kick seats, run up and down the aisles, crawl around on the floor, and generally be obnoxious. It always baffles me the way some people let their children act in public.
johnmc Jun 8th 2009 7:35PM
Oh the fun times I had flying transatlantic with my son, who is 7 now and can thankfully communicate what's ailing him. I pounded the aisles of those 757s probably as much as any of the crew on the flights we took with him in the first couple of years.
Ava Jun 10th 2009 4:33PM
OMG! This is one of my all-time pet peeves. When I complain about it, people of course say "you were a child once" and "s/he can't help it", blah, blah, blah. I'm sure that, as Katie pointed out, the parents could give the child something or find some method(s) in a book that will help the kid. But, no! They choose to ignore the problem or worsen it by bouncing the kid up and down.
I was on a 9-hour flight from London to Miami once and a kid cried THE WHOLE TIME. By the time we de-planed, every passenger had undoubtedly planned the demise of that entire family. I've decided that when I take over the world, there will be special "family flights" so that those parents can suffer from other people's loud, rude kids, even if they're able to ignore their own.
Ben Jun 12th 2009 1:32AM
There's no excuse for taking a child on a flight over a few hours. To parents out there: You have become accustomed to your child crying. The rest of us have not and you do not understand the discomfort your child is causing us.
Barbie Jun 13th 2009 11:44PM
Yeah, this is a bit annoying, but understandable. Those noise reduction headsets are a great investment and before I could afford a pair, I ALWAYS traveled with a few pair of earplugs. I will say the most pleasant flight with a crying baby that I've ever taken happened last year on a flight from ORD to ANC. I was sitting next to this mom and she pulled out a little "treat bag" for all of her seat mates before we took off. It included a little note of apology, a few pieces of chocolate, and a pair of ear plugs. Although her baby cried just a little, I thought her gesture to those seated near her was nice and so did the other passengers. The lady in front of her even offered to hold the sleeping baby while mom went to the lav and I don't think that would have happened if baby's mom had not been so considerate.
Malcolm Jun 14th 2009 10:24AM
You know what? I am getting a bit tired of the anti-kid posts on gadling.
Ben: Do you really think that parents should be banned from taking babies on planes? Say, I have an idea, why don't you just stay at home yourself? Problem solved.
Katie: Do you think a 3 year old should know better? BUZZ-Wrong: a tired 3 year old does not know better. A tired 4, 5 etc year old does not either.
Do you think parents should just control their kids? Ever try it? Perhaps you would like to take the challenge sometime, and escort a 3 year old across the country?
Parents here will know: sometimes ignoring a child's behaviour is the best way to make them be quite quicker. Sometimes. Trust the parents, they live with the child, and know more about this than you do.
You know what: most parents are even more concerned about their kids making noise than you are. Not the least because of the "flying-kid" haters.
While baby sometimes fly free, kids don't. And they have as much right to be on that plane as you do.
BTW: I am a father, I have flown with kids, I know what I am talking about. No, my kids were not little angles the whole time. Yes, I have had complaints, but IMHO my kids behaviour was much more excusable than that of some of the people sitting next to us.
Imagine that poor woman who brought notes and ear plugs for those next to her? How do you think she felt?
It would seem that in this day and age, many people manage to avoid children and babies almost absolutely. The plane is the only time such have to face the reality that people don't start life as quite, well mannered, reasonable adults.
My number one "Passenger I love to hate?" Passengers intolerant of children and babies.
twinboys Jun 29th 2009 12:36PM
I have twin boys (now 2) and we have flown a handful of times with them. I would LOVE kid-friendly flights or a kid-friendly section. It's stressful for me when my kids get cranky and in addition to trying to calm them down, I worry about the people around me. It would take some of the pressure off if sections were kid-friendly. This is a really good idea!
Bluesparks Jun 29th 2009 3:23PM
I feel like such a rarity. My sister and I were flying coach while my parents were in first class. We were quiet, said please and thank you to the flight attendants, and didn't run around terrorizing people. At the end of the flight the nice stewardess complimented us on our behavior. I being the naive 14 year-old I am, thought all children knew to at least say, "May I please have a insert-name-of-soda-here" or, "Excuse me, do you have a napkin? My sister spilled her soda/got marker on her face/has a bloody nose/is sneezing" and most importantly, "Thank you Sir/Ma'am!" Please, train your children to be respectful. It has gotten me out of things and opened doors. I have things lined up just due to my saying, "Yes Sir," "No ma'am," "If you may," "Can I," "Please," "Thank you," and "I'm sorry!"
boredwell Aug 4th 2009 8:43PM
I must admit that I'm guilty of scanning the lounge for any children under the age of 6 when settling in to wait for my flight. Though I like kids well enough, it's often the parents who fail to calm their fragile little beasties during the course of long-and short-hauls taking the bon out of our voyage. So, under most circumstances, it's the parents I want to swat not the poor kids. On a flight from Honolulu to LA to NYC to Frankfurt, a woman with two children, one a newborn, was unable to keep both from crying and whining for much of our 18 hrs aloof. That's too long for either disgruntled kids and the increasingly disgruntled passengers to take with a grain of salt. I learned my lesson after that appalling aural torutre- we can't kick them off, can we? - I invested in some primo earplugs and now caress myself with soothing ipod tunes: I consider these essential travel companions.