Air Travel and Children

Shannon usually is a really, really good air traveler for her age. We keep her distracted with books and once the flight takes off we take out the portable DVD and she is locked in.

This past Sunday we flew from Buffalo to Atlanta and Shannon had a fit. She was kicking and screaming and nothing would settle her down. Not only did she have a fit, but the stewardess threatened to kick us off the plane.

That pissed me off to no end. Instead of having one ounce of sympathy or advice for us they just threatened us. All Shannon wanted to do at the time was be held by one of us but she wasn't allowed out of her seat. So she tried to get out of her seat, but Erin and I were holding her down.

I told them that she had just turned 2 but I guess being honest doesn't get you anywhere in life. If I had said she was 23 months they would have let her sit in my lap.

She eventually fell asleep during the flight, but when we had to get ready for landing it all started back up again.

There is a child seat harness that is called CARES that you can buy for 75 bucks that is pretty similar to the straps in a car seat. It pretty much straps a child under 44 pounds into the seat and won't allow them to wiggle out of a lap belt. Why don't the airlines provide you with it? I mean they don't ask you to bring your own seat belt onto a flight, do they? So if they are gonna charge me full price to fly my 2 year old, they why don't you provide the proper safety equipment for them? I mean to buy a few of these belts can't possibly cost more than it does when they have to return a plane to a hanger before it takes off.

Another thing that pissed me off: When there is a child losing his/her shit on a plane, don't look back at the parents. Trust me, we are aware the child is being loud, but there is nothing we can do about it. Especially when the flight crew limits your abilities to calm a child down. It is extremely stressful for the parents and your looks aren't gonna help the situation end any sooner.

Just turn up your iPod, go to your happy place, and don't look back. I so wanted to just blast this guy in the face. Nothing would have given me more satisfaction. He sat in front of us and all he could do was look back and make faces.

I sent a letter to Airtran letting them know about my feelings on the CARES issue and to state that the flight crew could have acted more professionally. You'd think they would have some training in these type situations instead of just threatening passengers. Airtran did kick a family off the plane in a similar situation a few months back and took quite a PR hit over it. They must encounter situations like this all the time. Everyone has a story about a crying baby on a plane.

This only tells me that either their policy or training for these situations isn't working and needs to be adjusted.