Jean, very thoughtful and excellent points. While we have traveled with our children quite a bit, I still won't take a long fight with them. We briefly considered Hawaii this year because of the supercheap fare, but decided that even at a bargain flight, it would be pushing the limits of our 9 and 12 year olds. I still want to give it a few more years before I subject them, and all the other passengers to an 11 hour flight. As well behaved as some kids are, extremely long flights and very late nights will tax any child. My husband can't remain seated for that long much less the boys!

Nina: If your children are 9 and 12 and you can't control them - you have failed miserably as a parent.

To sssxxx-
I suggest you reread my response - I stated that children do NOT bother me. If you're unfamiliar with idiomatic slang, the phrase "a hoot" means a lot of fun. I don't mind someone disagreeing with my opinion, but being flamed by someone who doesn't grasp the meaning of my comment is a bit much. Also, how does my expressing my amusement at the antics of children reflect on my upbringing? I'm afraid I don't follow that.
Oh, and I use a real e-mail address and my initials to post.
ja

Hmm, I didn't say I couldn't control them. Apparently you're hallucinating, again.

I said that I wouldn't expect them to remain seated and quiet for an 11 hour flight like they normally do on all their previous flights, particularly the 9 year old, who is very active.As someone who clearly exhibits signs of ADD yourself, you should relate to this behavior. You see I WON'T allow my children to run up and down the aisles or jump up in their seats, I never have.

to the other "Jean" who posted above, excellent points. I agree 100%. We took our first international trip 3 years ago and are getting ready for our third int'l trip this summer. My boys were 15, 11, and 6 for the first trip and did great. They were all old enough to make the long flight and plenty old enough to be respectful of others. I haven't had a bad experience yet with out of control children or rude parents and hope I don't. There have been a couple of crying toddlers, but I felt sorry for the children making the long flight, and the parents were able to get the children to go to sleep after a bit.

As a school counselor with a Master's Degree in Child Development, I can tell you that the parenting style that Carol describes is causing a LOT of problems. Children don't want their parents to be their best friends. They want parents.

There is a happy medium between permissive and warden parenting. It is a proven fact that this kind of parenting produces the happiest, well adjusted children and, later adults.

Actualy sssxxx I'm an only child and was never ill behaved. I also had a stay at home parent that taught me manners. People care more about having a bigger house and car, etc. than raising decent children. And that's why kids today act terribly. There is no one to teach them right from wrong. They are raised by strangers in daycare.

I do think its the fault of the parents of not providing some entertainment for their children on flights. None of these parents carry coloring books, puzzles, Logos, etc. This would keep the children more busy instead of being bored out of their minds. I know that I like reading and doing puzzles so it's got to be triple the boredom for children.

And when they act up next to me on a plane I'm not going to smile and say "they're so cute" because they're not.

I can't help but to chime in on this one. I agree with the posts that say that parents need to parent more and not try to be their kids friends. Kids need guidance on proper behavior in all social situations. Not only airplanes, but restaurants, movie theatres, church etc. We take our kids to all the above and they know that they are expected to behave. I let my kids know that the world does not revolve around them and they need to be considerate of others. I can't tell you the number of times people have complimented me on my children's behavior.
I love traveling on planes with my kids. It gives us unintrepted time together and they love the attention they recieve from us.

sssxxx, thanks for pointing out the error of my ways. Now that you have shown me the light, I realize it is actually a blessing for me to spend $400 on a plane ticket so I can have the kid behind me kick my seat all the way across the country or scream at the top of his lungs for 4 hours. How could I have been so wrong?

Please, get with the program. Would it be okay for me to take my boombox on the plane and blast it for 4 hours? Would it be okay for me to tear pages out of a legal pad, wad them up, and throw them at other people on the plane? Of course not. And don't tell me there's a difference because I know better and the kids don't. Even if I give you the benefit of the doubt and say that kids don't know any better, their parents SHOULD. I don't get mad at misbehaving kids, I get mad at their parents. If the kids have never been told that it's not okay to be a brat, you can't expect them to behave any other way. It's their parents who need to wake up and learn the meaning of the word "consideration."

Rich,
You can get mad at the parents, but if so, I would be mad at them for bringing kids on the plane, not for being unable to control them. The fact is, an airplane is uncomfortable for adults and children. It's not a great environment. So I don't blame kids for getting rambunctious -- I do too. I've seen a lot of adults act like jerks on airplanes too. In fact, I've seen a LOT more adults act like imbeciles than kids.