Darnm darn, darn. My kids are now 21 and 24 but I wish they had done this years ago. One kid is severly ADHD, keeping her in her seat was like tying down the Energizer Bunny. The other kid is severly OCD, obsessive compulsive about routine, needed to stroke her "Lovie" as we took off. I would have had a good laugh at the FAs who would have had to deal with the 2 of them while I sat many rows away enjouing an alcoholic drink. You reap what you sow! This will not last long.

hpeabody, I have found that eating a nice garlicky lunch and breathing heavily over the seat top works well in such situations.

We recently traveled on United Airlines and they expected my three-year old son to sit alone. We booked the flight 8 months ahead and paid extra to upgrade and secure seats together, but at the last minute they cancelled our flight and booked us on an overbooked flight. While you might think people will willing switch seats, that's not always the case. We had to beg people to switch so my three-year old wouldn't be forced to sit alone, get scared and cry so hard he would throw up on people... NOT so family friendly. The ticket agent just kept saying, "sorry, there is nothing we can do".

What do you expect the airline agent to do in your case? How would you feel if your own assigned seat is taken away involuntarily so a family can sit together?

@rkkwan - the airline took their assigned seats, so I think it's reasonable they take someone else's assigned seat so a THREE TEAR OLD is not sitting by himself.

Can I pay extra to not have kids seated next to me?

Whose seat should the airline take then? How many of their customers do UA need to anger before everybody is satisfied?

Much of the flying public chooses airlines/flights based on cost. Period. Cheapest flight is the best flight. Airplanes are now the buses of the sky. Have you ever traveled any distance on a bus? You get on, you find a seat and you go. You don't expect food and drink, you bring your own. You don't ask people to change seats because you want to sit with your friend or spouse or child, you just take the first available, happy that you have a seat at all.

Airlines are businesses and they need to cover their costs in order to stay in business. Who can blame them for trying to keep their ticket prices low enough to attract travelers who select the lowest priced flights? And then they add on extra charges for things that some people are willing to pay extra for and others are not. Sure, the people who aren't willing will gripe and complain and want the same things for free that other people pay for, but that's life. And some of them will do whatever they can to make sure everyone else is punished because they don't get what they want for free.

The ones I feel for are the FAs, who will have to mediate the problems and disputes that arise. The parents who won't take on the responsibility and extra expense of ensuring they are seated with their children and monitoring their children's behavior so they don't create problems for others get no sympathy from me. Sure, 'it takes an village to raise a child' but more than that it takes parents who care enough to do the right thing.

Small kids (but not babes in arm) when their parents haven't purchased their own seat, those I feel sorry for!!!

"We had to beg . . ." sounds like there were more people than just you and your 3yo. Right? Were you traveling w/a spouse or other (older) children? Couldn't you move the 3 yo and let one of the others sit alone?

Our seats to Hawaii were changed after we had booked them months ahead, all sitting together.
Left my daughter, my nephews sitting without a parent anywhere near them. The airline would not fix it, even when I called and tried to have our seats moved. They had changed the airplane and moved us around without any effort to keep us together even though we were all on the same booking.
The gate agent wouldn't fix it.
Finally, on the plane, a few passengers traded when my nephew started hollering and crying. Too bad it took that to make some people act like the adults they are.
The airlines are going to get into some trouble with this.

Families with kids should just stick with Southwest and stay away from airlines that have assigned seats. I am not kidding - the CEO of United recently said that while they don't mind taking leisure flyers, their focus are on business travelers.

Sorry parents but it's your responsibility to ensure the welfare of a child. If I have paid for a preferred seat and the airline puts your separated child next to me do not expect me to tend to the child.

I can't wait to charge the airline my babysitting fee. It's not cheap.

We have flights on Lufthansa in May. Have chosen our seats. I talked to an agent the other day to confirm our seats. She said to check periodically in case the plane is changed. In that case a "robot" picks our new seat assignments. Her word was robot, not computer. I'd wondered now and then why my DH and I were sometimes seated not together even though it's obvious we're married. Now I know. It's the robot's fault.

@rkkwan - Southwest doesn't fly everywhere nor do they fly internationally.

If airlines are going to let someone choose seats at booking they should honor those assignments. OR else do like BA does and charge to pick seats .

BA also follows a rather civilized procedure for families traveling with children ages 2-11:

If you don't qualify to select seats in advance for no charge, and you decide not to pay to select seats in advance, BA will assign your seats three days before departure. If your family can't all be seated together, all children in the booking will be seated with an accompanying adult.

If traveling with an infant under 2 years of age, you can select seats for everyone in your booking free of charge at the time of booking.

Of course you usually won't get the rock-bottom fares with BA...

mztery - Yes, airline should honor seat assignment, but it was YOU who suggested in a post above that the airline should move other passengers to accommodate the family in that cancellation/rebooking case.

I have some great suggestions - cancellations should be made illegal. Planes should never be booked more than 2//3 full. Middle seats should always be left unassigned. Thunderstorms should be eliminated. Airlines should have backup plane and crew at each airport they fly to and from.

Where's the 'Like' button? Rkkwan is certainly on the right track...