1. Sit way in the back not nearby where the kicking and screaming disturbs others.

2.Be knocked out. Give the spog a shot or pill to shut them up for a few hours.

You'll just love my sister-in-law then. She's using her miles to fly first class on a 5 hour flight with a 4 mo. old. I can just imagine the other passengers now when the baby starts wailing.....

Well it is the parents you should blame not the kid. From the kid's point of view he is locked in a metal tube with alot of strangers and his ears hurt from compression. I would scream too.
The parents should know what calms the kid and take action.

Actually a 4 month old will most likley be better than a 2 year old(although i don't reccommend it,cabin pressure on their ears and re-circulated air infested with possible viruses). I have traveled with two nephews at the same time that were about a year and a half and a 9 month old. The babies are so tired and are easy to care for. The older ones are the ones that really scream (more developed lungs) and they are harder to keep entertained for two hours or more. Try to entertain a two year old with three toys for even 15 minutes.

I agree it's not the baby's fault but I think it's very selfish to take an infant on a long plane ride cross the atlantic on vacation. And it's inconsiderate to the people who are paying big bucks for some added relaxation.

If a baby or a young child cries or screams during take-off or landing, that's unpleasant but understandable and short-lived. It's the ones that cry or worse for the whole flight that are the problem - if the kid's old enough to scream "let me off, let me off!" for an hour straight, as a young traveler sitting behind me did on a flight I took recently, they're old enough for the parents to explain what the child can expect from the flight and to set some standards of behavior.

I agree that babies and young children shouldn't be on a flight unless it's absolutely necessary, but there are some legitimate reasons why people do need to fly with infants.
If parents don't care about the disturbance to other passengers, OK - people do a lot of selfish things. But what about the kids' own feelings and comfort? No one's forced to have children, at least not in North America or W. Europe, and people who chose to have them need to understand that there are certain tradeoffs involved... and certain responsibilities to the child and to one's other fellow humans as well.

I've said for years that airlines (and trains and restaurants) should have a separate section for people with kids under 12. I am so sick of being subjected to obnoxious kids travelling with their parents...while I am sepdning my own money to try to relax and have a good time. They wouldn't put up with an unruly drunk or a dog - -but we are expected to just look aside and say nothing when a 3 year old screams all the way from Boston to LA.
Mostly it's the parents who are the problem....especially the ones who think their kid is SO CUTE that nobody will mind the uproar.

Well, after they start charging the overweight people more for their seats I'm sure that charging more for children, crying or not, is only a few months behind!!

I just love how the airlines are diverting attention away from the fact that they don't alocate enough room for a snail in their planes to the fact that it is fat people who are taking up the room. They are the ones that are running a business that includes ALL the public, which happens to include every body shape & every handicap, mental & physical!

I have no problems with babies. They are too small to know what is going on. As far as screaming kids...well they can be a nuisance but I think there are more adults who act a lot worse. Give me the screaming kids anyday...

One great airline for avoiding little kids is Southwest. They don't have assigned seating, and they let families with young children (under 4) board first. So all the little kids are in the front rows, and everyone else can sit as far back as they like in order to avoid them!

my two cents....I don't understand why parents think their child's first plane trip should be a 4+ hour flight? Would they put their 5 yr old on the biggest roller coaster the first day in Disney? I wish more parents would introduce their children to flying on a slow and easy pace...1 hr flight, then 2 hr flight next vacation, etc. I think it would help the children learn to enjoy flying, and lessen their fears.

The problem isn't fear, it's boredom aqnd restlessness plus a bit of ear discomfort. No amount of one- and two-hour flights is going to prevent a child from becoming bored on a four-hour flight, whether it's their first or their tenth. There are SO many factors to consider in planning a vacation, besides the length of the flight!

Let the kids travel. Life is short and there's nothing better than sharing experiences with family... regardless of age! Carpe Diem!

I agree with Frank.
Life is short.Sometimes shorter than you expect it to be.
There are plenty of worse things to go through than flying with a baby.
And does this mean that all the whiners out there,never cried as infants?never travelled until they were adults????

kikki, those crying chldren will grow up to be the next generation of whiners!

Furthermore, xx, children 2 and up have been charged full price for their tickets for a long time. That does give them a FEW rights.

I agree wholehartedly with the malority of you, though, that it is more than annoying to have to listen to a child "act up", whether it is on a plane or in the general public. However, the fault can not be placed entirely on the parents....part of the blame must be placed on you "whiners". Just answer this question: If a parent was to whip a child for screaming and acting up on the plane, which one of you would report them to the authorities for child abuse???? A parent's hands have been tied when it comes to dicipline, now, all of us are forced to tolerate unruly children, because spanking a child has become against the law. You can see it in the attitude of children of all ages.
Bottom line: you asked for it, you got...deal with it.

OLD OLD OLD TOPIC. NOW RATES TROLL STATUS AUTOMATICALLY. ALWAYS BRINGS OUT BOTTOM-FEEDERS, KNEE-JERK KID-HATERS, CHILDLESS ADVISERS TO PARENTS, DEFENSIVE PARENTS, AND AN ALL-AROUND BRAWL.

GO BACK AND READ ALL THE OTHER TROLLS LIKE THIS INSTEAD OF POSTING MORE OR ELSE THEY'LL GET TOPPED AND CLOG UP THE WHOLE FORUM.

BLAH BLAH BLAH

this is a free country

deal with it folks...things could be much worse than listening to children cry

put the kids and parents in the BACK of the plane where the bathrooms are.