[AlisonL1982]

Babies shouldn’t be on planes? That is just ridiculous. So I guess my daughter should just never see her grandparents in the states until she is older (we live in England) because she is a baby and other people might have to listen to her cry for a few hours. Wow.

[MartynSinclair]

Welcome to the Forum Alison 1982 and bumping this thread will give us all a change from discussions about lounge access and immigration in the UK :))

Could you perhaps explain in more detail what caused you to make this post? Have you had a bad experience or had an obnoxious passenger complain when you were travelling with your daughter.

We can be a lively bunch but in the main are very friendly.

Looking forward to hearing more….

[GordyUK]

Also welcome Alison… and yes Martyn, ANYTHING but lounge chat right now 😉

I’m not aware that anyone has said NO babies on planes but i’m afraid i’m with the obnoxious pax who really don’t want them in premium cabins.

My view is simple. If I wouldn’t subject my kids, nephews, nieces – other people should be just as considerate. A baby couldn’t care less what cabin its in.

I’ve even had this argument with my brother who has a 1 year old, a 2, 3 & 5 year old and thinks its perfectly acceptable to have them screaming, running up and down the aisles etc.. Suffice to say we differ on “acceptable parenting” on this one 😉

[dutchyankee]

Hi Alison, welcome as well. I tend to agree with GordyUK on this one. Of course nothing against babies, and I think we have all been one at one stage. A crying baby can be a pain or annoying, but it’s natural and the aircraft environment is not always helpful to keeping a baby quiet, comfortable and happy. That said, the majority of this thread is about misbehaving children, and my biggest issue is actually the parents. Children will be children, but it is up to the parents to ensure their children do not disturb other passengers. A crying infant I have all the patience for and feel for the parents. An obnoxious ill behaved child I have no time for, and will hold the parents accountable for this, and if they don’t control their ‘brats’ then I will get the crew involved. Whatever their parenting practices are in their own home is their business, but on board an aircraft, children must be controlled and behaved, and if not, then the parents must be dealt with or removed from the aircraft (preferably with their ill behaved child).

[canucklad]

BA at it’s worst…. LHR -SYD
Changed my seat away from my travelling companion and next to a family with restless toddlers and screeching infant…..

24 hours of cacophonic hell in “Y”…if I had paid a premium charge and wasn’t able to fully take advantage of the full flat beds I’d I’ve have been even more irked with my tiredness when finally arriving in Melbourne

Maybe, more airlines should adopt Westjets approach to children….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4SkoJy3D0M

[JohnHarper]

I’ve long said families with babies and small children should be filled from the back of the aircraft and adults without children from the front in economy class.

There is no place for babies or badly behaved children in the premium cabins.

I was on a CX flight recently where indulgent mummy boarded with badly behaved child who played up very badly during boarding and the were in the business cabin. Some words were had by the purser to no avail and the next thing was an apology from the flight deck for a short delay while bags were taken from the hold as two passengers were being off-loaded. I think everyone in business class heaved a sigh of relief.

Well done Cathay!

[SimonS1]

I can see both sides of this.

I also believe that it is not black and white – dutchyankee is right there – a small child who is crying is not necessarily a badly behaved child, however running up and down the aisles and generally misbehaving is unacceptable.

Unacceptable behaviour needs to be dealt with by the cabin crew. The issue here is few crew really have a scooby when it comes to how to handle these situations. In fact many crew are reluctant to be proactive on anything whether it is behaviour, excessive hand baggage etc.

Sadly however those who are hoping for a baby free environment in premium cabins will be waiting a long time as other than in isolated instances it will never happen. Airlines wouldn’t give up the income or bite the bad PR that might result.

[Flightlevel]

Maybe the airlines should have instructions/rules for parents,the air pressure’s no problem,like us chewing candy,just give them a feed&their ears pop naturally!

[LuganoPirate]

Welcome Alison,
I echo the thoughts of many, and I’ve had 4 kids and travelled the world with them without problem and without them disturbing others.

It’s natural for babies to cry, and as I’m sure you know, do so for a reason. They’re either hungry, tired, ears blocked or ill. All of these issues can easily be dealt with. It’s the badly misbehaved kids that bother me. The one’s who kick the back of your chair, who flick paper over the seats or run in the aisles, talk, shout or fight etc. that I have a problem with. If yours are well behaved then I have no problem with them being in the cabin, if they’re not, then I definitely do.

[MrMichael]

I would pretty much Echo what has been said above. I hope Alison you will tell us your story. My kids are now teenagers and know in no uncertain terms the behaviour expected in public and when travelling. Not only do I ensure they are well behaved I have also taught them about the etiquette of air travel. Things that might not be bad behaviour in themselves but can be annoying to other pax. Things such as using the seat in front as a hand rail, standing close to people when waiting for the toilet, not using the seat in front as a footrest/knee rest, not invading others space, not shouting at each other to overcome the engine and headphone sounds. Bad behaviour of course has no place on an aircraft, but neither does bad manners when they are old enough to be taught better.

[nevereconomy]

I have had every child/baby-in- premium-cabin experience known to man. This included Toronto-HK in F with child AND baby with very frequent trips by Amah from the back of the bus. You just grit your teeth, put on the headphones and crank up the volume and order another glass of your favorite beverage. they paid for their seats, too and it is the luck of the draw. On the opposite side of the coin I have travelled with children who made the journey most enjoyable, too – though usually that was on short hops.

[esselle]

I think I’ve said this before, but for me it’s not the kids I get frustrated with, because they are just kids and they know no better, but the parents who think the cabin is an extended playground.

I flew in to the UK today on a flight from the middle east in the front of a plane with a couple with two very young and evidently tired/hurting ears/etc children who were models in keeping the inevitable disturbance this could have caused fellow travellers to a minimum.

Sadly, a lot of parents think changing a nappy in their seat, accompanied by congratulatory comments about how big/smelly/messy the content, is a moment for sharing with a dozen other strangers.

[PatJordan]

Alison,may I add my welcome to the forum.

I imagine we have all experienced small children who are angelic, who are demonic and everything between the two extremes!

On a more serious note many children who appear at first glance to be just plain naughty might just be Autistic. Children with this condition don’t look any different from non-autistic children, yet can find crowds, unusual noises difficult to deal with.

Dublin Airport have an excellent strategy in place:

https://www.dublinairport.com/at-the-airport/passenger-information/special-assistance/autism-asd

Having an Autistic grand-daughter has made me more tolerant of small children and their foibles. That said I have little tolerance of those who allow their children to run riot: wholly unacceptable in my opinion, and indicative of very selfish parents.

[canucklad]

As adults it’s sometimes easy to forget the frustrations a child must experience when travelling. Maybe as parents if we recognized these annoyances before we travel, we could better prepare ourselves to manage our little rugrats and their tantrums before they become a public display of premature grey hairing proportion .

For the second time tonight on the forum, I’m going to mention naughty steps….
It’s no wonder they misbehave, what sanctions do parents have….
Maybe every modern airliner should have them installed somewhere in the cabin.

[IanFromHKG]

Naughty steps – that brought back a memory (well, several memories) of us trying to keep Senior Offspring in her early toddler days amused on flights back to the UK by depositing her at the bottom of the 747’s internal staircase. When she reached shoulder height I would pick her up and plonk her back down at the bottom. She never seemed upset or deterred by this, but would happily climb those stairs for hours (or until my aching back gave in)! I hope all the other passengers were grateful – it was mind-numbingly dull but it kept her happy and quiet!!

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