BEVS

You people ?

We all pay our flight prices and all I am saying is we all deserve a good flight. That lady around you may have been really needing her sleep.

I will also add that I find this comment

really offensive.

We all pay and you can't know what or why someone might wish to not have someone banging into the back of their seat for hours on end.

We all agree we have to travel with others in the chicken class, Kids, elderly, disabled, partners . It's all tough , but hey, let's have a bit of thought & care for those not on your own ride. Don't deride them. Just say sorry for making it more tough than it should otherwise be for others. You;ll be surprised what a bit of awareness, not entitlement, will do.

ellenarosemary

'you people' was a generalisation and not meant to be taken personally by anyone. Perhaps my wording could have been more thoughtful!

With all due respect this particular individual was not a nice person (my opinion) and we wernt the only ones bearing the brunt of her complaining. My son was not banging on her seat for hours on end.

We did apologize if we were causing her any inconvenience and even offered to move, but this was not possible as the plane was full. The stewardess who was in charge of our 'bit' of the plane also agreed with us and several others who also bore the brunt of her complaining, that she was perhaps being a 'tad oversensitive' (forwhatever reason) - in the end she stood up at the back of the plane for several hours rather than sitting in her alloted seat (her choice).

We all have to get along in this world, or at least try, whether it be in aeroplanes or wherever.

P18PPS

I am sure this argument is one with which you jump sides at a certain times in your life....

eg - a romantic getaway child-free for a weekend.... I will definitely be the moaning woman who snarls at misbehaving children

... long haul flight to got to a funeral, traveling on my own with 4 children.... I will definitely be sticking two fingers proudly high above anyone who even dare look at my kids in a cross way.

love30stm

im going back on my own in September and i would complain about your son banging my seat all the time and i hope i dont have any nightmare children near my seat

and incidentally i have two children grown up now thank god! and i wish they did adult only flights

love30stm

sticking two fingers up? wouldnt it be better to say sorry and explain? im sure people would be more sympathetic to your situation then, im sure i would rather than being rude yourself

love30stm

+ 1

scrubbedexpat094

+2

After a nightmare couple of flights to the UK in March for my MiL's funeral, with children screaming etc., myself & OH thought that the best place for children should be in the hold . I think we were only half-joking TBH. I do have sympathy with some parents because you can see they are trying to do the best they can but others who have 'entitled' kids because they lack discipline, I have no sympathy for.

I hate it when kids keep kicking my seat & the parent does nothing about it .

Of course I'm not allowed an opinion & can't know anything about parenting because I don't have children!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

florabundi

I have 2 well behaved (usually!) children. Yes it is annoying when other kids kicking the back of your seat but have you considered the Mum is too stressed/tired/frazzled/worried to have noticed? I have found my self turning around, looking at the child and the parent and asking politely for them to stop, just an idea. Certainly no sense in getting upset about it. I wouldn't let my kids behave horribly but I have every sympathy for parents travelling with little ones who are upset and crying or being a bit noisy, they are children after all and maybe it is all the scowling, grumpy grown ups around them that make them misbehave.

scrubbedexpat094

I would turn round & ask them to stop in a nice manner but TBH I'm never sure if I'm going to get a huge amount of abuse from said parent. I hate confrontations.

I don't believe that grumpy people will cause a child to misbehave. I don't dislike children at all & I have offered to help parents by holding a child whilst they get themselves sorted out in the past.

It's those parents who treat their child like a prince(ss) & believe they can't do any wrong that get my goat. I also hate sitting next to/near people with really bad BO

I, of course, am the perfect passenger

Hawk13

Too much perfume is another that is sometimes worse.

Have to admit - NOT a big fan of kids on long plane rides. I have a great pair of bud headphones to drown the noise but kicking the back of your chair is a pain. Let them run wild in the aisle.

florabundi

I would turn round & ask them to stop in a nice manner but TBH I'm never sure if I'm going to get a huge amount of abuse from said parent. I hate confrontations. (Quote from Vital)

God, I would be mortified if someone felt they had to say something about my kid's behaviour ~ I would certainly apologise, buy them a drink and take the little darling off for a stern talking too!

ex geordie

Travelling with kids doesnt always have to be a nightmare according to this
http://www.baby-a.co.uk/category/tra...ith-a-toddler/ Hope it helps

derab

Phenergen can quieten the kids like the Calpol (be careful though as the kids could go either way with Phenergen, so have a trail run first)
some airlines are better than others when it comes to kids, I found that BA was good as their hosties tend to be a little older and more "matronly" if you know what I mean, I have had nothing but good experiences with them as far as my kids have been concerned. QF are not so good, a bit more brash and short with the kids.
+1 on the lots of little favourite snack foods and toys. and most definitely agree with the change of clothes, at least 3 changes in reserve, one being pyjamas, and don't forget at least one change for the adult.
try to book during school terms on quiet flights, during the week too. as a general rule of thumb, the empty flights have the cheap seats still when you try to book. I personally like Tuesday/Wednesday as the flight day as they tend to be the emptiest flights.

RobClubley

I have been trying to get my parents to come to NZ for two years now and they just suggested paying for us to go to them instead (at Christmas). Libby will be 2 years 3 months.
I think I'll be giving it a miss, I can't imagine trying to get her to settle in a plane as she is now. It would be a nightmare for us and all of the other passengers.

dlmckay

I did this with a 5 month old, a 2 year old and a 4 year old. Not fun tbh. However, these things made it easier.

Book a night flight - the first leg will be easier because they're all excited about getting on a plane and won't fall asleep until the plane has taken off. There's 8 hours of bliss right there - make sure you get some sleep too.

When they wake (which is inevitable, I'm afraid), I had a backpack of toys that they hadn't seen before, so kept them interested. I had crayons (not felts) note pads and sticker books. I managed to find a book of sticker shapes and they were incredibly small - kept the 4yo quiet for quite some time, peeling and sticking.

Snacks - yes, but try not to have sugary ones. Goodness knows they don't need anymore energy than they do already.

I don't know if you can find them anymore, but I bought the older two cassette tapes and walkmans from Woolworths (this was 2003). I guess downloading some nursery rhymes onto an MP3 player would be the equivalent. That was gold and kept them in the seats (if not actually quiet because they sang along).

We stopped over in KL, made the kids run everywhere until the next nightflight to Auckland. The trick is not to let them sleep if they're not in a plane!

Good luck.