Maybe our perspective here is colored by the fact that most of us fly frequently and have had our fill of rude passengers. On one of my last flights an older woman I assumed was the grandmother let her toddler wander up and down the aisles, including during the approach to landing, causing the FA to get out of her jumper seat and grab the kid and give her back to Granny!

We were having our car washed while we watched this on the big plasma of the car washers. The family was pure trailer trash. I said that as I watched it and my teenager shushed me in embarrassment. I kept envisioning some ambulance chaser headed their way for a quick and easy lawsuit/settlement. Disgusting.

That's one reason the airline was so quick to offer their money back; accepting it probably undermines their case for any other settlement.

I am so tired of people that CAN NOT watch their own kids, and make it everyones elses problem!!1 I have been on flights, in rest., or @ the movies etc., where the parents did not do a darn thing to control their kids.. my hats off to the airline,, and I agree that family looked like they had a lot of other problems... plus how cuold you travel with No $$$ , give me a break! It makes no sense @ all, and i have worked with Autistic kids of all ages, and they have sat fine.. but you have to bring things that will help them...
We just may well be reading that this family won a huge law suit for tons of $$$$$ , I sure hope not though!!!!!!!!!!!! :((
Should prove interesting to see what does happen?

If the children were physically handicapped, the airline and its employees would have to go out of their way to accomodate them because it's the law.

For mentally handicapped, seems the way we deal with it is rude comments on Fodors? Some of you should really be ashamed.

The parenting skills in this family may be lacking....but from a few of the comments made on this thread, there are people here with much worse ideas of how a decent parent behaves.
And if you're an airline employee, "the riff raff should just stay home" is not a good state of mind to be in as you welcome people aboard. Maybe if the Southwest employees weren't so concerned with telling jokes and singing songs, they could have nipped this behavior in the first 5 minutes of the flight.

Well, the story indicated that "children" -plural- were out of control. So that includes more than just the son with autism. No matter what the case, I cannot believe that 2 adults of average intelligence could not control 4 kids during that flight. I suspect a video would show nearly no effort by the 2 women to do much of anything about the kids' behavior. Too bad that there isn't one. Seems to me like another case of people not taking personal responsibility, then claiming to be the victims. I find it very annoying.

OK, I for one am willing to listen. How would they have nipped the behavior in the first 5 minutes of the flight? It's been made very clear that the parents were totally unable to control the little monsters for the entire flight. Do you have an idea that would have worked coming from the employees? Rope and duct tape perhaps?

There is a point at which too much is too much. This was clearly a case of that. I applaud the airline. Regarding rude comments about the "mentally handicapped" -- please. It wasn't a case of the one autistic child causing disturbances. In fact it sounds like that was NOT an issue.

I wonder if those who think the little brats had every right to ruin everyone else's flight while the parents were totally unable (or unwilling) to control them would feel the same if they were the one being surrounded by them.

I also applaud the airline. It is not the job of the staff to "nip bad behavior" in children. I'm just sorry Southwest returned their money.

Good for Southwest! I wonder if this will be on Airlines?

First, let me say that the video is priceless and could be an SNL sketch.

Second, yes, it would be quite difficult for a mom to fly with 4 little kids..LOTS of people choose to wait to take vacations involving airplanes until the kids are a lot older.

Does anyone remember the days of dressing up, even wearing white gloves and being pampered by the airlines with full food service served on linen cloths? No ugly tank tops shorts and flip flops worn by some sweaty person squeezed in the narrow seat next to you!

I have a friend who has been flying to the Far East for years and she said the passengers have really changed. She says among other things, lack of respect and a feeling of entitlement are common. Snapping their fingers and pointing at her for a drink etc. is common, among other rude behavior. She graduated with honors, speaks several languages and is an expert on China.

polaris, that makes me laugh. I always remember in the late 1960's when my partner and I flew from Ohio to Ft. Lauderdale to spend a few days with his parents there. We arrived wearing dress slacks, long sleeve dress shirts, and nice shoes. But we did not have ties or sport coats. We both got the scolding of our lives for dressing like "riff raff" when flying!

When these situations happen, I can never figure out why the parents aren't apologizing up and down. I'm sure every parent has had a child who has misbehaved in public. Yes, I've been the one with the baby who screamed when the plane was descending. And I've said, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry" to everyone around me.

Probably most people are like me, so they don't call the media when they have to live with the consequences of their kids' bad behavior.

We do kind-of wonder who called the media on this one. I doubt it was the banished adults, who just don't seem to have their act together enough to figure out who to call in a strange city. That leaves the crew, other passengers, or anybody at the airport who witnessed them being greeted by the local constabulary.

How did the family get <u>to</u> Detroit in the first place? The mother says this was the first time the children had ever flown. Did they walk to Detroit?

Hurray for SW!

I suspect the news station heard on a police skanner that there was a call to the airport and went on their own.

<i>Seems to me like another case of people not taking personal responsibility, then claiming to be the victims. I find it very annoying.</i>

Ditto. However, I must say I also agree that the very vocal &quot;name-calling&quot; in this thread is a little distasteful.

BTW, I was once on a flight and a kid in the last row (across the aisle and one row back of me) continuously kicked the seat of the person in front of him. That person nicely (several times) asked the mother to put an end to that problem, but it continued. He then raised his voice to her, and her response was along the lines of - he's a kid, I'm not the one kicking your seat, what am I supposed to do? Hey, you are the mother ---- TAKE SOME RESPONSIBILITY!!

Well, at first I too cringed at some of the remarks on the board. But after lurking on some others, I find the comments on this one to be pretty kind and intelligent.

I think we've just all had enough of unruly kids. And especially since flying is already a somewhat traumatic experience these days, we don't need some incident like this making it dangerous.

I'm thinking we're all just feeling justifiable anger and resentment.

I say adults need to take back the world!

An amusing article from MSNBC this morning.

&quot;When being rude doesn't pay
While it is true that kindness can be contagious, it seems that in the air, rudeness has become an epidemic. Here are 10 times when being impolite didn't pay for airline passengers.&quot;
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25588076/

Amusing stories vjplovesitaly. I still like my mom's story. She was a stewardess back in the early 50's. In training they told her that as long as she smiled brightly she could say almost anything to a passenger. One day as she was greeting passengers boarding the aircraft she said &quot;Good morning!&quot; to a man who grumbled back, &quot;what's good about it?&quot; With her best big, bright smile she replied, &quot;There could have been two of you.&quot;

One time my husband was complaining ever so politely to an AA flight attendant that alcohol was no longer free on interntional flights. The flight attendant said that they loved the change because it drastically reduced the number of intoxicated people on the flights. Guess it's good to look at things through others' eyes.

It's off-topic, but why does alcohol need to be served on an airplane anyway? The companies are ASKING for trouble.

I like a cocktail as much as the next guy, but I can go without while on a plane.

If nicotine addicts can survive, so can alcoholics.

I can't imagine dressing up like that for a flight these days. Just the hike through the airport in stockings and heels would just about do me in - not to mention all the endless standing for security, check in, at the gate... Then being squished into a tiny seat for hours. And how about negotiating the teeny bathroom?

This doesn't have anything to do with the children's disabilities. This has to do with the fact that the airline felt the kids were too disruptive for the plane to fly safely.


Did anybody else notice that the sister is pregnant? #-O

I'm sick and tired of flying on planes when the kids are horribly disruptive and the parents do nothing. I had to sit on a flight from JFK to SFO with a little girl screaming, a mother who didn't know what to do and the father sat with his head in his hands in complete distraught. What is wrong with people? The flight attendants did absolutely nothing, nothing!

Hmm, interesting that one child is autistic. The only person I know with an autistic child won't take him on a plane. She says it's not good for autistic kids to fly.

Now this is just what she says, and I don't know if she's right. However, she is an intelligent and highly educated woman who has researched autism, its causes and its treatments.

It's not good for autistic kids to fly? Why the heck not?

Is the pregnant sister only wearing a bra towards the end of the video? The beginning of the video shows her wearing a white tank (or longer) and a dark sweater but by the end of the video, only straps are shown.

I guess that Marginal and some of you others feel that if this family could just win the lottery, their problems would be solved, the kids would start behaving like angels, and the parenting skills would kick right in????

&quot;Does anyone remember the days of dressing up, even wearing white gloves and being pampered by the airlines with full food service served on linen cloths?&quot;

I remember those days quite well. That is how my mother insisted we dress when we travelled back in the 60s. I always had a nice dress, white gloves, patent leather shoes (black, red or white), and even a hat.

I am a little more informal now :), but I am strict about what my sons wear. During all our years overseas, they knew that they HAD to wear long pants on/off the plane in the Middle East/Asia/Africa. Shorts were not allowed. Of course, they often chose to wear the zip off pants and took off the &quot;bottoms&quot; when we were on the plane. I also don't allow flip flops and when traveling in the US - shorts must be &quot;nice&quot; shorts, not athletic type shorts. Same for shirts.

As for unruly kids.....we were flying from New Orleans to Houston on Southwest and were in the back with about 5 small kids (infant up to about 3). I have to admit - I was dreading the short little flight. As it turned out - the kids were all great. No problems at all. BUT.....the &quot;mom&quot; in front of us was driving us NUTS!!!! Her little girl was a cutie and was quite good during the flight, but I swear the mother sang one of those endless sons (like the Wheel on the Bus or something) almost the whole flight. And her voice carried!!!! AUGH!!!!!!

My sons kept looking at me, rolling their eyes.... and finally my younger one said &quot;PLEASE tell us you didn't do that when we were little!!!!!!&quot;

tracys2cents, what am I missing here? I didn't see anyone taking about the family's lack of money or how if they had more they would behave differently. Are you somehow making an assumption that if people are pointed out as not controlling their children and being rude and obnoxious that they must be poor? No one but you has seemed to suggest such a thing? Several have talked about &quot;class&quot; or lack of it, but that has nothing to do with lack of money that I'm aware of, nor that anyone else seems to be saying.

There are comments about the risks you are taking flying airlines that just anyone can afford to fly.


Please, Patrick....this is not a thread that anyone should be proud of. It's very condescending (though I haven't seen the video so won't comment specifically.)

People like the Griswolds should just drive everywhere, that's why we hitch up the dog and put the pedal to the metal. To hell with all you elite snobs in the air.

Patrick, Tracy was NOT the one to suggest that. She was reacting to earlier posts that suggested that if airline prices were higher, only the wealthier could fly and that would somehow solve all the problems with unruly air passengers.

OK, I had looked and didn't see such a post, but after much more searching I did find it. Surely that post was not meant in total seriousness, was it?

If so, it should be dismissed as silly. That sure isn't what most of the posts were saying even though there were negative comments about the family and their lack of class, control, and common sense. I didn't see other posters bringing up those &quot;negatives&quot; as having anything to do with airline prices or with a lack of money.

Author: Marginal
Date: 07/07/2008, 02:58 pm
&quot;It became apparent to me that these were passengers that would have been Greyhound denizens years ago, when they couldn't afford a plane ticket. Maybe higher fares will bring back that kind of stratification.&quot;

:-)

Yes, that was not an appropriate thing for me to write. My bad.

It doesn't take money to have class, decency, respect for others, and the ability to plan for adverse events.

This family certainly doesn't seem to have any of the above, regardless of their income status.

<i>This family certainly doesn't seem to have any of the above, regardless of their income status</i>

That's an understatement!

This is the best story I've read all day. I fly very often on short hauls to SFO and I can't tell you how many times I've been kicked by an unruly child, had something thrown at me by and unruly child, or had to listen to temper tantrums and screaming for an 1 hour and 15 minutes straight. These were clearly NOT &quot;excited&quot; children. And yes, it must have been much worse than the article stated for them to have been met by police at the gate. I can attest to the fact that a 10 year old boy is very strong and very capable of hurting an adult as my shins often experienced in 8 years as an inner city school teacher. On top of that, Autism lends an entirely different level of aggression and strength that you can't imagine. My nephew is 6 years old with Autism and he's quite petite, but when he gets into &quot;the zone&quot; where he's having an episode I swear he has the strenth of 20 men and it's incredibly difficult to control him, and he's little! I'm tired of this new generation of parents who think the entire world should revolve around their badly behaved children and are in complete denial that their behavior is inappropriate. Sorry, I went off on a rant, that article really got me fired up.

&quot;I'm tired of this new generation of parents who think the entire world should revolve around their badly behaved children and are in complete denial that their behavior is inappropriate&quot;

Amen, sister!!

I have to say this is a GREAT thread that everyone should read and heed.

The last few decades have brought about this type of extreme liberal parenting, and we need to take back society to a point where children are protected and nurtured, but not allowed to run the roost.

We need a movement.

&gt;&gt;extreme liberal parenting&lt;&lt;

What it seems like to me is that the parents have become equals, have no position of authority, more interested in being laissez-faire because it's easier than the constant work of instilling discipline and self control in a child. Which is obsurd because one of the primary and most important jobs of a parent is &quot;socializing the newest members of society&quot;! God help us when the children of THESE types of parents become the next generation of adults. God help us.