[James Gutierrez]

Traveller shares experience of dealing with a disruptive child and a distracted parent - what would YOU do?​

There's been this recent incident on a flight that's got people talking on social media about proper travel etiquette when it comes to kids.

It all started when a woman shared her experience on Reddit. She was seated next to a mum with a 3-year-old child, and things got a little wild from there.

According to the passenger, about 20 minutes into the flight, the young boy started standing in his seat and basically 'stomping around while screaming'.

And what made it worse was that his mum seemed completely absorbed in her phone, not paying any attention to her little one. The passenger tried to make eye contact with the mum to signal the issue, but sadly, she was ignored.

After some time, the passenger decided to take matters into her own hands and approached the mum. She tapped her on the shoulder and politely mentioned that her child's behaviour might need some attention and asked her to ask him to sit down.

But instead of understanding, the mum gave her a dirty look and told her to mind her own business. So, she went to the social forum website Reddit to ask if she was being unreasonable for telling a parent to 'watch their child'.

A woman confronted a mum about her misbehaved child during a flight. Credit: Unsplash/Paul Hanaoka.

It's interesting to see the different responses to the passenger's social media post about her experience on the flight. Many chimed in and shared their thoughts on the matter.

One user even mentioned that they would be willing to pay extra for a long-haul flight without kids, especially those lengthy 24-hour flights from Australia to America or Europe. It just goes to show how important a peaceful flight can be for some travellers.

A lot of commenters on the post showed sympathy towards the passenger and expressed frustration with parents who don't attend to their misbehaving children during flights.

One person even said, 'I have ZERO sympathies for parents who don't parent, then act offended when people don't want to listen to their screaming kid.' It's clear that some travellers believe that parents should take responsibility for their child's behaviour during a flight.

On the other hand, there were also comments from parents who understood the challenges of travelling with young children. One person shared their experience of travelling with their own kids and mentioned that they always brought entertainment for them and did their best to prevent them from disturbing others.

They acknowledged that travelling with little kids can be tough.

Key Takeaways

• A recent incident on a flight sparked debate on social media about travelling with children.
• A passenger shared on Reddit that she was seated next to a mum who ignored her 3-year-old child's disruptive behaviour during the flight.
• Comments on the post varied, with some sympathising with the passenger and criticising parents who don't attend to their misbehaving children, while others acknowledged the challenges of travelling with young kids.

Travelling can sometimes be challenging, especially when young children are involved. It's important for parents to ensure their children are content and occupied during flights to make the experience more enjoyable for everyone.

However, it's also crucial for fellow passengers to be understanding and courteous towards families with children.

In fact, some airlines have started implementing measures to address this issue. For example, Japan Airlines has introduced a 'baby map' system on their website that indicates seats that have been claimed by passengers up to two years old.

This allows other travellers to choose their seats accordingly, which could be a helpful feature for those who prefer a quieter flight. Wouldn't it be great if more airlines adopted similar features?

​

Ever wondered who the most annoying passengers on aeroplanes are? You might be surprised to learn that, according to a flight attendant, it's not misbehaving children! As someone who spends a lot of time in the air, cabin crew members have seen it all when it comes to passenger behaviour.

Want to find out who takes the top spot? Check out this article for all the juicy details!

It's always interesting to hear about other travellers' experiences flying with young children. Have you ever encountered disruptive behaviour from a child during a flight? How did you handle it? Share your stories and thoughts in the comments below!

 

[Cyberchook]

I understood that flight can hurt the little one's ears as they do not swallow to pop ears as we do. Also perhaps this mum could have been showing her screaming jumping toddler something on her phone to entertain the restless child not using it for herself as that appeared to be a reason as well. Children react when ignored it is up to the parent to try and have some distractions for the little ones when on a flight.
Babies are another story dummies help but if a baby screams, it is anywhere. Yes, I am a mother and grandmother and still cringe at the sound of the ongoing screaming of little ones. It can be a helpless position for the parents. Long-distance flying with young children is never easy.

 

[Pink lion]

I would no doubt call a flight attendant over to my seat, if it was not just a momentary thing, as everyone's allowed to vent their annoyance.

I would state in a very calm respectful voice, loud enough for the woman to hear, that there is an extremely unruly child in front of me, with her mother disinterested in how here child's behavior is continuously upsetting a large amount of people on this flight.

When I had here attention, I would continue with, "I formally request that her phone be confiscated until such time as she rectifies the situation for all concerned."

This would result in the person, causing the problem to become even more irate, and potentially involve the captain, who has the power to not only remove her phone from her, but inform police upon arrival of her blatant disregard for fellow passengers.

After quietly stating the solution to the flight attendant, I would return to quietly reading or otherwise ignoring the person until nature takes its course.

So many parents do not discipline their children, so having a carrier service legally disciplining the parents, is the next best thing.

This is my Aussie male opinion, of what I would do in such a circumstance.

 

[Jethrotull]

Travellers don’t pay to fly with screaming kids next to them.. It’s the responsibility of the parent, to ensure they take enough entertainment for their children to settle down.. imagine listening to a screaming 3 year old for 20 plus hours!!! I would report the issue to the flight attendants..

 

[termon]

We flew from Hong Kong to Brisbane with a crying child nearby. It wasn't the child that was a nuisance but the grandmother who shouted, " Wha ! wha! " for hours!

 

[Pink lion]

We flew from Hong Kong to Brisbane with a crying child nearby. It wasn't the child that was a nuisance but the grandmother who shouted, " Wha ! wha! " for hours!

What? You didn't feel like getting everyone involved with the ol 'Gloria Gaynor tune, WHA WHA WHAT a wonderful night for a romance etc in a big ol' cabin sing along?

And if anyone complained to the stewardess, express surprise at being in trouble and point to the woman and say, look, she's the one trying to get the sing along started!

(sigh) there are less and less larrikins around to control unruly behavior these days.

Mind you, we do tend to start a lot of it, but normally its only when alcohol and a great amount of merriment is involved.

 

[SGH]

Haven't we done this a couple of times this year already, I'm sure it keeps coming up.
My husband and I were on a flight from Melbourne to Brisbane and before we even took off I knew there was going to be a problem.
My husband looked at me and asked "what's up", I told him "if the person behind doesn't stop kicking the back of the seat I will call the Flight Attendant." loud enough for the row behind to hear.
The response; "he's not kicking the seat, he is climbing on the tray table". You can imagine how the rest of the flight went with these 'we do not tell our child anything negative' like say no when you are annoying other passengers, throwing thing around the cabin.
We are coming into land in Brisbane and the plane touches down on the runway and this flash runs up the aisle, we all wait in our seat as instructed and then make our way off the aircraft and there being held onto by the Flight Attendant is a child trying to get loose, my husband makes a passing comment about there is the kid who was sitting behind you, and I said why are you telling me, he said I thought maybe you might like to have him exorcised or something, I said no, I would like to grab his parents and slap them silly.
So we are off the plane from hell and I dont need to worry about any demon child, we go down to retrieve our luggage from the baggage and what do we see, the demon child is riding around on the baggage carousel. Conclusion, some people should not be allowed to breed.

 

[Pink lion]

I understood that flight can hurt the little one's ears as they do not swallow to pop ears as we do. Also perhaps this mum could have been showing her screaming jumping toddler something on her phone to entertain the restless child not using it for herself as that appeared to be a reason as well. Children react when ignored it is up to the parent to try and have some distractions for the little ones when on a flight.
Babies are another story dummies help but if a baby screams, it is anywhere. Yes, I am a mother and grandmother and still cringe at the sound of the ongoing screaming of little ones. It can be a helpless position for the parents. Long-distance flying with young children is never easy.

I guess that's why airlines they serve alcohol....

I suppose a professional sign up in the cabin that says "unruly children and passengers will be asked to go outside" wouldn't help much either ha ha ha

 

[nejohnno]

They should be put in the hold with dogs and cats, have had way too many flights disrupted by unruly brats. Stay home

 

[Jennie]

Haven't we done this a couple of times this year already, I'm sure it keeps coming up.
My husband and I were on a flight from Melbourne to Brisbane and before we even took off I knew there was going to be a problem.
My husband looked at me and asked "what's up", I told him "if the person behind doesn't stop kicking the back of the seat I will call the Flight Attendant." loud enough for the row behind to hear.
The response; "he's not kicking the seat, he is climbing on the tray table". You can imagine how the rest of the flight went with these 'we do not tell our child anything negative' like say no when you are annoying other passengers, throwing thing around the cabin.
We are coming into land in Brisbane and the plane touches down on the runway and this flash runs up the aisle, we all wait in our seat as instructed and then make our way off the aircraft and there being held onto by the Flight Attendant is a child trying to get loose, my husband makes a passing comment about there is the kid who was sitting behind you, and I said why are you telling me, he said I thought maybe you might like to have him exorcised or something, I said no, I would like to grab his parents and slap them silly.
So we are off the plane from hell and I dont need to worry about any demon child, we go down to retrieve our luggage from the baggage and what do we see, the demon child is riding around on the baggage carousel. Conclusion, some people should not be allowed to breed.

I agree, you have to have a licence to drive, and you get a dog licence, but any fool can have children. We have a couple moving in next door when their home is built. The have 3 "delightful" little boys, the parents don't believe in saying no. Definitely not looking forward to them moving in.

 

[Pink lion]

I agree, you have to have a licence to drive, and you get a dog licence, but any fool can have children. We have a couple moving in next door when their home is built. The have 3 "delightful" little boys, the parents don't believe in saying no. Definitely not looking forward to them moving in.

Hi Jennie, Nil Desperandum, Pannicus nottus!

If their parents can't or even if they don't want to discipline their boys, may I suggest giving them a book, as a welcome to the Neiborhood gift.

(Or just telling them about it)

The book is called "The True Value of Martial Arts for Self-development." What this book is about, will I feel sure, help to sort them out!

If their boys are out of control now, they'll most probably get worse and they'll be grateful soon enough that all that energy is coming out in a socially respectful way.

Excessive energy needs to be channeled, and it needs to be harnessed and disciplined, and the only way 3 young larrikins are going to accept discipline, is if they learn to appreciate the rewards that come from discipline.... It's true.

I used to be a very bratty kid and definitively a worry, going training sorted me out, like it does to everyone. Check it out on lulu.com or just google it.

It's designed for parents who don't know how to discipline their children,
Just saying.

 

[mylittletibbies]

Public transport, I have found, is worse than planes.y
I had a well dressed couple sitting opposite me on a train, fiddling with their phones while their two childreran up and down the seats, swinging from the hand holds, squealing and yelling.
The parents response "be careful, don't hurt yourselves sweeties"
Grr.
Another day had a charming young lad, about 11 or 12 who got on the train with his mother, screaming"I don't want to get on this f***ing train.
Mum sat there for the rest of the journey, doing nothing, while he continued to scream and yell "let me off this f***jng train" meanwhile kicking the doors and thumping on the windows. I must admit it took all of my self control to not shove him off at the next stop and say "now, there you are, off the f***ing train.
Fortunately someone had the foresight to ring the number shown on the train and they were removed about 6 stations down the track, but not before he told some gentleman who told him to settle down that he was going to "get my dad to punch your f***ing head in'.
I still find it hard to believe this actually happened.
What's the world coming to???

 

[Pink lion]

Public transport, I have found, is worse than planes.y
I had a well dressed couple sitting opposite me on a train, fiddling with their phones while their two childreran up and down the seats, swinging from the hand holds, squealing and yelling.
The parents response "be careful, don't hurt yourselves sweeties"
Grr.
Another day had a charming young lad, about 11 or 12 who got on the train with his mother, screaming"I don't want to get on this f***ing train.
Mum sat there for the rest of the journey, doing nothing, while he continued to scream and yell "let me off this f***jng train" meanwhile kicking the doors and thumping on the windows. I must admit it took all of my self control to not shove him off at the next stop and say "now, there you are, off the f***ing train.
Fortunately someone had the foresight to ring the number shown on the train and they were removed about 6 stations down the track, but not before he told some gentleman who told him to settle down that he was going to "get my dad to punch your f***ing head in'.
I still find it hard to believe this actually happened.
What's the world coming to???

That self-entitled little shit has probably bred by now and created even more self-entitled little shits. What holds a society together, is respect for self and respect for others and respect for the rules that govern society. How to ensure that happens is by scolding when appropriate. EVERY PARENT in NATURE KNOWS THIS! it's the bear facts to the duck facts, that mothers especially guide how their child acts, just watch the discovery channel I am no prude... it's just the fact!

 

[Jest]

Traveller shares experience of dealing with a disruptive child and a distracted parent - what would YOU do?​

There's been this recent incident on a flight that's got people talking on social media about proper travel etiquette when it comes to kids.

It all started when a woman shared her experience on Reddit. She was seated next to a mum with a 3-year-old child, and things got a little wild from there.

According to the passenger, about 20 minutes into the flight, the young boy started standing in his seat and basically 'stomping around while screaming'.

And what made it worse was that his mum seemed completely absorbed in her phone, not paying any attention to her little one. The passenger tried to make eye contact with the mum to signal the issue, but sadly, she was ignored.

After some time, the passenger decided to take matters into her own hands and approached the mum. She tapped her on the shoulder and politely mentioned that her child's behaviour might need some attention and asked her to ask him to sit down.

But instead of understanding, the mum gave her a dirty look and told her to mind her own business. So, she went to the social forum website Reddit to ask if she was being unreasonable for telling a parent to 'watch their child'.

View attachment 17465

A woman confronted a mum about her misbehaved child during a flight. Credit: Unsplash/Paul Hanaoka.

It's interesting to see the different responses to the passenger's social media post about her experience on the flight. Many chimed in and shared their thoughts on the matter.

One user even mentioned that they would be willing to pay extra for a long-haul flight without kids, especially those lengthy 24-hour flights from Australia to America or Europe. It just goes to show how important a peaceful flight can be for some travellers.

A lot of commenters on the post showed sympathy towards the passenger and expressed frustration with parents who don't attend to their misbehaving children during flights.

One person even said, 'I have ZERO sympathies for parents who don't parent, then act offended when people don't want to listen to their screaming kid.' It's clear that some travellers believe that parents should take responsibility for their child's behaviour during a flight.

On the other hand, there were also comments from parents who understood the challenges of travelling with young children. One person shared their experience of travelling with their own kids and mentioned that they always brought entertainment for them and did their best to prevent them from disturbing others.

They acknowledged that travelling with little kids can be tough.

Key Takeaways

• A recent incident on a flight sparked debate on social media about travelling with children.
• A passenger shared on Reddit that she was seated next to a mum who ignored her 3-year-old child's disruptive behaviour during the flight.
• Comments on the post varied, with some sympathising with the passenger and criticising parents who don't attend to their misbehaving children, while others acknowledged the challenges of travelling with young kids.

Travelling can sometimes be challenging, especially when young children are involved. It's important for parents to ensure their children are content and occupied during flights to make the experience more enjoyable for everyone.

However, it's also crucial for fellow passengers to be understanding and courteous towards families with children.

In fact, some airlines have started implementing measures to address this issue. For example, Japan Airlines has introduced a 'baby map' system on their website that indicates seats that have been claimed by passengers up to two years old.

This allows other travellers to choose their seats accordingly, which could be a helpful feature for those who prefer a quieter flight. Wouldn't it be great if more airlines adopted similar features?

​

Ever wondered who the most annoying passengers on aeroplanes are? You might be surprised to learn that, according to a flight attendant, it's not misbehaving children! As someone who spends a lot of time in the air, cabin crew members have seen it all when it comes to passenger behaviour.

Want to find out who takes the top spot? Check out this article for all the juicy details!

It's always interesting to hear about other travellers' experiences flying with young children. Have you ever encountered disruptive behaviour from a child during a flight? How did you handle it? Share your stories and thoughts in the comments below!

the mothers today have a hearing difficulty. talking to a 2 year old is an impossible task. This should be a policy of the airlines. you have one screaming child and hundred plus passengers. Not on in my book. I would be saying something to the mother like, how we brought our kids up. I flew to Greece from Brisbane to Melbourne then to Bangkok and finally Greece. The culprits on that flight were the Greeks, so loud. Guess what I am 1.8th Greek but I was not laughing.

 

[Jest]

I would no doubt call a flight attendant over to my seat, if it was not just a momentary thing, as everyone's allowed to vent their annoyance.

I would state in a very calm respectful voice, loud enough for the woman to hear, that there is an extremely unruly child in front of me, with her mother disinterested in how here child's behavior is continuously upsetting a large amount of people on this flight.

When I had here attention, I would continue with, "I formally request that her phone be confiscated until such time as she rectifies the situation for all concerned."

This would result in the person, causing the problem to become even more irate, and potentially involve the captain, who has the power to not only remove her phone from her, but inform police upon arrival of her blatant disregard for fellow passengers.

After quietly stating the solution to the flight attendant, I would return to quietly reading or otherwise ignoring the person until nature takes its course.

So many parents do not discipline their children, so having a carrier service legally disciplining the parents, is the next best thing.

This is my Aussie male opinion, of what I would do in such a circumstance.

i bet you wouldn't.

 

[Jest]

Hi Jennie, Nil Desperandum, Pannicus nottus!

If their parents can't or even if they don't want to discipline their boys, may I suggest giving them a book, as a welcome to the Neiborhood gift.

(Or just telling them about it)

The book is called "The True Value of Martial Arts for Self-development." What this book is about, will I feel sure, help to sort them out!

If their boys are out of control now, they'll most probably get worse and they'll be grateful soon enough that all that energy is coming out in a socially respectful way.

Excessive energy needs to be channeled, and it needs to be harnessed and disciplined, and the only way 3 young larrikins are going to accept discipline, is if they learn to appreciate the rewards that come from discipline.... It's true.

I used to be a very bratty kid and definitively a worry, going training sorted me out, like it does to everyone. Check it out on lulu.com or just google it.

It's designed for parents who don't know how to discipline their children,
Just saying.

one would need a lot of books as there are a lot of uncouth kids about.

 

[Pink lion]

i bet you wouldn't.

Oh yes, I would. I was a deck hand on an evening tourist party boat on my day off from working as a carpenter on a tourist island. when I noticed a big burly guy about 6'3'' punch a guy in the face that bumped his drink and then pushed two women hard to the ground that complained, and then laughed about it. I noticed that we were passing very close to a nearby island, so I approached from behind and suggested that he calm down or he would be ejected from the vessel. He turned and swung, I ducked and it sent him over the side as we passed a nearby island. I walked and told the skipper about it who looked and saw him swimming and he simply said thanks mate. I acted in Jest, he departed in haste. Problem solved. true story.