In January I flew home for my Dad's 60th birthday.  When I found my seat, I settled in for a long flight until I saw what was coming down the aisle.  My back went up instantly when I saw a family of 7 take their seats directly in front of me and across the aisle.  The children were probably aged 5-13.  However, I was pleasantly surprised that they were all well behaved and their parents did a fantastic job looking after them and keeping them entertained on the 8-hour flight.  My hat's off to the Mum and Dad!

Unfortunately, the situation completely changed when another family (Mum, Dad and toddler) sat in front of the large family, in the middle section.  This young girl could not settle down.  From the moment she got on the plane, she began to scream, cry, fuss, shake free of her parents and run up and down the plane.  The parents did very little to stop her and seemed relieved when she was out of their sight for a little while.  This would have been fine in a private family home, but a plane's cabin is another matter entirely.

During take-off the flight attendants forced the parents to keep their daughter buckled in her seat.  Being restrained in this manner, the child screamed and cried louder until she reached full decibil.  This screaming and crying continued for three hours!!!  I've really never seen anything like it!  I couldn't even scream and cry for that long, no matter how much effort I put into it.  Again, the parents did nothing.

Some passengers finally couldn't take any more and requested the flight attendants step in.  (We felt they should have said something earlier without prompting.)  As I was within listening range, I heard the flight attendant calmly and professionally ask the parents to calm their daughter down and asked if they needed anything from her such as crayons or games.  The mother's response was: "My daughter isn't doing anything to disturb anyone.  She's fine."  To this the flight attendant explained to the mother that her daughter's crying was, in fact, bothering other passengers.  The mother seemed outraged and said her daughter's crying shouldn't disturb anyone and became quite belligerent.  At this point, the father stepped in and offered his daughter something to eat, which kept her quiet for a little while.

As a non-parent myself, it was amazing to see the behavioural differences between the family of 7 and family of 3.  Yes, the larger family's children were older, but the young kids in the larger family could have made a nuisance of themselves and didn't. 

The other thing that shocked me was the reaction of the mother to the flight attendant.  I know that parents can block out or get used to their child's crying, but when confronted with that poor behaviour (of which they were doing nothing) she refused to believe her "perfect angel" was making others feel uncomfortable.

After speaking with my friends who are parents of young darlings (aged 1-2), I specifically asked them if there was anything anyone could have done.  They all said "no."  Parents need to take responsibility for their children and be aware enough to understand the affect of their children on those around them.  Parents who do not, give parents who do a bad reputation.

I was inspired to post my flight woes by an article I read this morning:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17370000/

As outlined in the artible, given my recent experience, I'm all for the option of child-free flights.  I would even pay extra for the option. 

Again, my thanks to the parents out there who (like the parents of the 5 kids) are well prepared for travels - especially the long haul ones!!