Ok, ok…before you go and get your picket sign, let me just say that I love kids, I really do. I just don’t like the uncontrollable one that sits behind me kicking my seat on a 4-hour flight! Outside of animals in the cabin, which seems to be a new trend, an uncontrollable kid on a flight is my biggest traveling pet peeve. So can someone tell me why parents don’t (or can’t!!) just keep their children in “check” during a flight?! My theory? The same kid who is poking me through the arm rest and playing in my hair is the SAME uncontrollable kid in Target screaming “NO, I want the red one!” Unfortunately, those are the kids that are giving all traveling kids a bad name. So parents, here’s a fact: if your child does not know how to control him/herself in a public setting, then your child probably can’t control him/herself on a plane and I honestly do not want your child in the seat behind me on a plane. Sounds cruel? Before you judge, please let me give you an example...
On a recent flight from Los Angeles, a father and his son sat behind me. The father, while in his iPod induced stupor, totally ignored the child as he managed to invade my space and jar me from my memory of all things sand. I gave the child many dirty looks, with the last one being met with his tongue pointed in my direction. I asked the father, very nicely, if he could have the child cut out the annoying behavior; but he looked at me as if I were the culprit. Sigh….
On the other hand, there are some parents that do not know how to control themselves in a public setting while traveling with children. For instance, soiled diapers should NOT, under any circumstance, be changed on the seat. There are areas designated for that, yes even on a plane. Geez……
Needless to say, I applaud Malaysia Airlines’ decision to ban kids from first class on some of their flights. And while I rarely fly first class, I believe that a premium seat deserves a premium experience. Apparently, I am not the only way who feels this way. In a survey conducted by Skytrax, 9 in 10 respondents said families with children should be seated in a separate section on flights, presumably not in first class.
If there was an airline that offered a completely kid-free alternative, that would be the airline for me. I cherish the vacations that I work so hard to afford and getting to and from my destination is a part of that experience. Usually on the flight to my destination, I am browsing magazines and planning my daily activities. On the way home, I am reliving each memory, savoring each detail of my trip as if it were Filet Mignon; and like fine dining I don’t want the experience ruined by yelling, screaming, kicking me in the back kids.
Let me be clear; I am not saying that you shouldn’t be able to travel with your children, but I am saying that I should be able to choose whether or not I want to travel with your children. One passenger from the survey previously mentioned stated “As long as the parents have raised their children properly — as far as behavior goes — there should never be a problem on a flight.” But that’s another blog…..
