Toddlers on a Plane!
Snakes?! That's nothing. Try calming down a toddler on an airplane... now that's scary!
I know this is an older news story, but I can't seem to get the scenario out of my head. According to the Associated Press, a two-year-old boy was so upset about his impending flight that he began fussing and crying, refusing to wear a seat belt. His grandparents insisted they could calm him down, but the toddler crawled under his seat and refused to come out. After a 15 minute delay, the airline staff asked them to get off the plane, much to the cheers and applause of the other passengers.
I still can't seem to decide what I would have wanted done in this situation, if I had to make the choice whether they stay or go.
As a mom, I understand the parents' struggle to calm down their son. I too have had to exit many a restaurant because of my child's behavior. But where can they take him on an airplane... outside? I have flown with my kids a couple times (once by myself), and it is extremely difficult, to say the least, to fully discipline your children when they know they are stuck there for hours at a time. You can't give them a time-out, can't send them to their room, and God forbid you spank them or someone calls Child Services. Anyone with a 2-year-old knows it is very difficult to calm a kicking and screaming child down when they are in the Tantrum Zone.
As an airline passenger, however, I also understand the passengers' frustration on being stuck on this plane. I've had to endure my seat being kicked, screeching children, and obnoxious drunk businessmen. I guess I just deal with it. It's what you expect from riding in coach, right?
2 comments:
Speaking as a passenger and not a parent, I tend to give kids a break on the plane -- to a point. I mean, I understand it can be a nerve-wracking situation, with the ears popping and the feeling of being catapulted in to the air.
But if they get to the screechy point and -- like this kid -- unable to sit in his seat? Then I think I'd feel better if they removed him from the plane, for his safety and the safety of everyone else. Just my opinion though.
Gosh, it seems like something like that could happen to anybody. I think I would've just let the kid calm down and then taken the flight as usual.
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