Parents Managing Their Kids On Planes

[Batesy]

Last week I was on QF580 from PER to SYD. Its a 743 service, usually comfy trip with old TV screens and loop IFE screens on each seat.

Mrs Batesy & I were in Y in row 23, which is the 2nd row after the bulkhead.
Across from us in the first bulkhead row was a family of 4 using the bassinet seats. Mum, Dad, approx 4 year old and baby. They settled in and after take off put the baby into the bassinet. It was after this that the 4 year old proceeded to start playing its RECORDER (the coughpy wind instument that we all learnt to play at primary school). This would be one of the most inconsiderate things I have seen whilst flying. The kid just kept blowing on it all of the 4.5 hour flight. It wasnt playing soothing tunes just using it like a giant whistle. I can be a grumpy old man sometimes (I am under 40) but this took the cake. FA's did nothing. I had my NC headphones but most people suffered this.
Anyway rant over!!

 

[thegurio]

And rightly so - this is the kind of behaviuor that REALLY annoys me...

I have a 3.5 year old who is as loud as they come and quite happy to wander into any situation that calls for noise. We went to Rome late last year and you know what? For the entire 36hr flight she sat there as qiuet as a mouse and only satrted making noises for the last 30 mins when coming into FCO. I think everyone who had been with us were amazed at how good she was. But lets just say that MrsGurio packed a lot of stuff (I was too busy earning the money to pay for the damn trip!(and im lazy!!)) and one of the contents was not a recorder (or any other noise making machine) Did the parents have half a clue or did they not hear it?

 

[Batesy]

And rightly so - this is the kind of behaviuor that REALLY annoys me...

and one of the contents was not a recorder (or any other noise making machine) Did the parents have half a clue or did they not hear it?

They didnt have a clue, looked like cashed up hippies!!!

 

[simongr]

A recorder? Are they on drugs????

This is the point that is made over and over again about "kids shouldn't be allowed to fly" and the like. The kids are a symptom of the disease - the parents are the real sickness.

My sister had a horrendous time travelling with her little boy last year - but that was because she wasn 't prepared for the trip - I have been giving repeated advice about preparation and planning for her big trip to Oz this year...

 

[Travel Guru]

They're probably the same ones who complain that they're being victimised by calls to seat all parents with kids together!

You showed alot more restraint that I would have though!

TG

 

[Homer]

This is highly inconsiderate of the parents. Some parents seem to take the view that "kids make noise" and that this can't be stopped so they don't try. Our 2-year old sits quietly in her own seat and draws or reads (picture books). Occasionally she will forget herself and begin to speak at a louder than normal voice so we just ask her to talk more quietly which she does. Most people wouldn't even know she was there.

If I had been in your shoes, I would probalby have said something to the parents. I don't think the FAs can be expected to do anything in this situation.

 

[Keith009]

I find it perplexing that the parents did not even bother with the slightest of attempts to quieten down their child. I mean, unless they were deaf or otherwise hard of hearing, weren't they themselves bothered by the noise at all???

 

[bokflyer]

In my experience parents generally fall into 1 of three categories. The first is those who don't care about what their little darlings do and how much noise they make. The second are the inexperienced air travellers who have no idea how to manage small children in a confined space, and the third are the kind who prompt total strangers to go up to them after the flight and say things like, "you have such lovely, well-behaved kids." I took my 14-month old around the world in a combo of business/premium economy and economy. He was generally a total pleasure and this was in no small part due to our preparation and awareness that people around us are generally overly sensistive to the presence of little kids. The only time he melted down was in economy on AA between GLA and ORD, and believe me, anybody flying economy on AA probably feels the same. For the inexperienced traveller, I try to gently tell them to give the kid a dummy/sucker on take-off/landing for the ears, it always amazes me how many parents don't know that trick.

 

[NM]

There are very good reasons why Qantas does not include whistles (or recorders for that mater) in the Wiggle Kids Packs .

 

[tuapekastar]

I like to avoid confrontational situations but in this case I would have made an exception. And any sound the recorder made would have been very muffled once I had relocated it.

 

[KateMayo]

And any sound the recorder made would have been very muffled once I had relocated it.

Priceless

 

[alect]

I like to avoid confrontational situations but in this case I would have made an exception. And any sound the recorder made would have been very muffled once I had relocated it.

Me too - and I would have been sitting with my toddler who would be either "reading" or drawing or watching a DVD. So it's not a matter of "those with kids" v the rest. These parents are just plain inconsiderate, and I would not be surprised this is not the only example of their "way".

bokflyer is spot on.

 

[Batesy]

Me too - and I would have been sitting with my toddler who would be either "reading" or drawing or watching a DVD. So it's not a matter of "those with kids" v the rest. These parents are just plain inconsiderate, and I would not be surprised this is not the only example of their "way".

bokflyer is spot on.

Had I not had my new NC cancelling headphones (Mrs Batesy has some too) I would have placed the recorder in the muffling position as well, but I just tuned out.

 

[JohnK]

It think it is totally unacceptable. But it is not the childs fault it is the parents who have no consideration for their fellow travellers.

I would have definitely mentioned it to the FAs.

 

[MelUser]

We travelled to states and back with our infant who was 1 month at the time in QF J and she was very well behaved.

Recently flying back from Cairns (now 3 mths) in J and 2 passengers came up to us and said what a well behaved baby we have.

I think people initally see a baby/infant and are mortified but they aren't that bad. There is a lot of aircraft background noise anyway.

I am horrified about the recorder incident and surprised that parents allowed it. The problem is with some children who are undisciplined, if you take the recorder off them the consequences may be uncontrolled screaming for the duration of the flight.

When flying to LA last year, the cabin also had a family of 4 - bub about 12/16 mths and girl about 2 1/2, The girl screamed a lot of the way and the last hour of the flight screamed constantly. She wouldn't sit in her seat on landing so Dad held her but she refused to be bettled in with the second child seat belt which fits over the 1st seat belt. Flight attendants were only mildly interested.

I have found now that I am doing more J travel that FAs don't want to upset or annoy passengers with 'silly' airline rules whereas in economy they quite like to tell people off. I had a flight a couple of weeks ago with Air Link 717 all economy and I have never been told off so many times in a plane! Th FA said that unless I put away my camera (little, silent digital Canon) the plane would not take off. For heavens sake, so petty I thought!

 

[Commuter]

In my experience parents generally fall into 1 of three categories. The first is those who don't care about what their little darlings do and how much noise they make. The second are the inexperienced air travellers who have no idea how to manage small children in a confined space, and the third are the kind who prompt total strangers to go up to them after the flight and say things like, "you have such lovely, well-behaved kids."

I totally agree with that. It's the first group that really annoy me, although I wish the second group prepared themselves properly prior to travelling.

 

[QF WP]

Have to agree with bokflyer and Commuter. I didn't want to be in the first or second group when we started flying with mini-LW, so by her first flight BNE/MEL/BNE (at 10 weeks of age) I had taken advice from a bunch of members from this Forum. It all worked to plan, she was quiet (bottle on the way up and again on the way down put her to sleep both times) and that catapulted me into the third group.

Subsequent trips to CNS, ADL met with the same scenario and a recent trip to AKL & WLG was going brilliantly until the AKL/BNE sector (as she had slept the entire previous flight WLG/AKL and was wide awake). That is where great air crew saved us....

 

[NM]

Have to agree with bokflyer and Commuter. I didn't want to be in the first or second group when we started flying with mini-LW, so by her first flight BNE/MEL/BNE (at 10 weeks of age) I had taken advice from a bunch of members from this Forum. It all worked to plan, she was quiet (bottle on the way up and again on the way down put her to sleep both times) and that catapulted me into the third group.

Subsequent trips to CNS, ADL met with the same scenario and a recent trip to AKL & WLG was going brilliantly until the AKL/BNE sector (as she had slept the entire previous flight WLG/AKL and was wide awake). That is where great air crew saved us....

It will be interesting to see how y'all cope when she is 18 months old! There comes a time when the honeymoon is over .

 

[serfty]

AH, those were the days, under 7 months we could go to a restaurant and as the white noise as became louder while the evening went on, a well fed mini serfty would simply snooze away in her capsule.

Betwixt 12 months and 16 Years? No Way!

 

[QF WP]

NM, the honeymoon is almost over as serious consideration is being given to the production of mini-LW number 2.

serfty, yes I remember those days. We still have a couple of months where mini-LW will probably sleep in a pram, but those days are definitely numbered. She starting to get close to hitting the ends and likes to turn over and around during sleep (somewhat hard in a constricted pram).