This is the last one you can comment on for January.
What do you think of this idea? Would you pay a bit extra so that you would not have to sit next to a screaming child? Have you had any particularly bad (or good) travel experiences concerning kids? Is this a new form of elitism? Essentially, is separating yourself from the more dirty unpleasant masses what first class travel is all about? (They used to have first class cars on the metro in Paris, and the only difference was who you had to sit with.) Should travelers be more tolerant, or should parents be more strict?
The annoying screaming of children on a full airplane is a phenomenon that is familiar to all of us. However can we really change that? Or rather is it really appropriate to ask for something like child free flights? Sure enough, I empathize with the angry childless travelers, but what can the parents actually do to prevent their kids from creating a chaotic mess? Well the answer is quite simple, nothing. As the article suggested, kids scream. And there's not a thing that's going to change that. When you were little you screamed your head off as well.
ReplyDeleteShould the families rather stay home and not go anywhere just because they have a child? I don't think so. They have every right to be on that plane as any other passenger on board. That is why I liked the idea of the website JetWithKids.com. I think it could be really helpful in situations like these because airlines are not going to simply stop admitting children on board. It seems that the only possible way left to deal with it, is to at least try and keep your child calm.
Firstly, I have to say that I’m one of many people that would really welcome such a thing as family-only sections or completely child-free flights. At least on the most important and frequent routes such as Vienna - London or Frankfurt – New York. I travel a lot, usually during summer holidays and I on most of my flights was a screaming or kicking child. I remember maybe two or three flights when there was none. I have to agree with the article that in most cases parents didn’t even try to calm the children down.
ReplyDeleteI want to stress the fact that child’s scream is not more, but also not less annoying for me on a plane or, for example in a theatre. I think it is normal that parents don’t take their young children to watch a horror movie and my opinion is that parents have to learn that they should not take their children on board of a plane as well. At least they should minimize these occasions to minimum. But if, for example all children under six years old will be prohibited from planes then one major problem may arise. According to the article, what will you do if you have to travel with your too young child on someone’s funeral or on a family vacation if airplane travel is your only option? Because of this I think that the idea of child-free flights is inappropriate. There are many situations when a child has to travel on a plane and we have to respect it.
However, I think that the airlines should restrict the last few rows of a plane for families. I agree with the article that these family-only sections will give advantages to the parents as well as to the childless passengers. Parents will have the freedom to freely chat with kids, watch cartoons or laugh out loud and the kids will be allowed to cry if they want to without annoying other passengers. Even though I want this idea to become reality I think that it is very unlikely. As is written in the article, the air travel market is in a crisis and working hard to become profitable again. The airlines just can’t afford to make any restrictions for parents traveling with kids. They need every customer they can get.
As I expected, the problem with annoying, noisy kids on board is more of a hassle (and only for a small amount of people) than a serious dilemma to be solved. Mr. Castelveter and Mrs. Clowers share all my opinions on this topic. To be more specific, it seems to me like if some people had nothing better to do than to whine about their discomfort during flights, when they are seated next to a small kid. However, even if I find it unnecessary to focus on solving this problem, I did find a comprising solution on my own, which could benefit all sides involved.
ReplyDeleteMrs. Clowers considered traveling with noise-canceling headphones. Not a bad idea at all, but why should I spend money on headphones, when I already spent money on buying a flight ticket, which includes terms and conditions that are signed by everyone in order to provide everybody’s comfort during the flight. Even though I can’t tell for sure that these t & c include a paragraph mentioning the passenger’s comfort, I strongly believe they do. And since a screaming, crying kid can affect this comfort in a negative way, I purpose every airline should present itself with the boast to lend “ready to be used” noise-canceling headphones.
Nevertheless, I’d like to come back to Mr. Casteleveter’s statement, which puts a nice conclusion to this topic. Mr. Castelveter points out that separating passengers based on age puts the airlines on a slippery slope, for it may lead to a separation of obese, elder or any kind of different people. In my opinion this is a very accurate observation and an illustration of the right attitude one should have, when dealing with topic.
Branislav Skocek IB3
I think that this is a problem not only with infants but also with older children. On a flight from Luxembourg, me and my dad were seated a few seats from an "energetic" young boy. We spent the whole flight (thankfully only 1 and a half hours) listening to him yell and argue with his mother. The point i'm trying to make is that it's not necessarily the fault of the child, it's the upbringing by his parents that is wrong.
ReplyDeleteIt's generally know that young people and children today are getting increasingly disrespectful to older people including their parents. There has been many times my grandmother said that if she had said the same thing that i had said to my parents then she would have gotten slapped by her mother. I don't condone hitting children, but it seems that parents these days rely on giving the child anything it desires to quiet it down.
This is definitely one of the reasons why people hate travelling with small children. The parents fail to teach the kids manners and then cannot control them once they get older. The parents learn to live with the constant crying and whining but people on the plane who are not “used to it” will get frustrated. As an answer to the topic, I think that there should be a kind of separation of children on planes from the people that do not wish to be disturbed. Maybe place kids to one area of the plane (although not exclusively because too many kids in one place can result in even more chaos) and have the businessmen and other people sit on the other side, with people who don’t mind in the middle. This way there won’t be any discrimination with children-free flights. Although some sleeping pills and a rubber hammer could work too…
I never had a bad experience with screaming kids on an airplane. I was probably lucky every time, because I simply can’t imagine to be trapped next to a baby screaming into my ears for the whole time of the flight.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I agree that special sections for families with kids can be a solution to this problem, however, it is also very expensive for the airline and as mentioned in the text, there are plenty of other problems accompanying this solution. I am not saying that airlines haven’t been separating groups of people according to the money they paid. First class sections are common in many airlines. But there is a slight difference, because first class sections are profitable for the companies. Kids-free sections on the other hand, have to be cheaper and yet the companies have to put a lot of money into this project. The profit might therefore be lower or none.
Second, I think this problem should be a responsibility of the parent of the child and each parent should do some research on how to deal with screaming kids. Of course you can’t ensure that every parent is going to be this responsible, so if the airlines want to make their customers satisfied, they should make brochures for families with small kids with advice how to deal with screaming children.
Another solution to this problem could be providing better headphones or earplugs for the customers, so that they can’t hear any other sound. This could also be a solution for people – including me – who can’t fall asleep on a plane, because of loud engines.
Maybe I will change my mind after sitting next to a screaming toddler for nine hours, but right now I don’t see a reason why companies should create child-free flights, when there are cheaper solutions.
Me, personally, I would welcome such a thing as family sections where people with kids would have their seats. I have attended a lot of flights and I must say there is nothing worse than a kid screaming and kicking your seat when you are trying to fall asleep. I went on long trips to Vietnam and it seems to me like those kids never get tired. I would like to travel without having a kid sitting behind me but the first class tickets are so expensive. So I think there are three solutions to this problem.
ReplyDeleteFirst possible solution is creating a special section where families with kids for example, 10 and under, would stay. People that would like to travel without screaming kids around them would pay extra. It shouldn’t be much but so the airlines can cover the installation of the new section. Also, people with kids under 10, that would like to travel in the non-children section would have to pay extra and somehow ensure that their kid is not going to be a menace, otherwise they might get penalized.
Second possibility is to make kids stay home or travel by another means of transport. I am not saying that they should ban all kids but maybe toddlers and pre-scholars. I think travelling by a plane is not very healthy for them and there is no need to make others miserable either. I could see a problem with emergency flights like they have to attend somebody’s funeral or visit someone who is overseas and very important. If so, parents should pay extra and maybe sign a paper that they kids will behave otherwise they might be further penalizations from the airlines.
Third and the worst possibility to all of us without kids is to put up with it. There will be kids on the plane no matter what we do. One day we will have a kid of our own and we might need to go somewhere and the plane is our only choice. A lot of people had withstood kids on the plane before and there is no reason why we shouldn’t be able to. I understand that it might be difficult but as one have put it: “Life is hard and then you die.”
I must say that it still surprises me how some people can be so intolerant. What an extreme grudge they have to hold against the little beings when they are seriously considering child-free flights. In my opinion those people have no heart at all, because if they were able to feel a thing they would be glad to be enriched by all the creative ideas that children come up with and would laugh at the jokes and funny things kids tend to say. And if they were at least slightly empathetic they could imagine what it is like for little children to go on a plane and how they have to be excited and afraid at the same time. Of course such feelings are revealed in form of tears and crying but that has to be taken into account when one wants to travel by plane.
ReplyDeleteIt seems ridiculous that people are unable to communicate and solve such situations by less dramatic means. Everything one has to do is to ask the parents to calm their child down or simply have earplugs or headphones ready with fully charged Ipod. Even though we are selfish beings by nature and our own comfort is the most important thing for us, we should learn how to allow also the others to have their comfort. Just like it was said in the article, it is important to stay calm and mind your own business. I can imagine that it can get annoying but that’s what life is like. It’s never easy and at least we have a chance to practice our meditation skills. Moreover we can still join the screaming kid and turn it all into one big drama show which could be hilarious.
However I also agree that parents should be able or at least do their best to deal with their own kids. Parents should learn how to handle them in tough conditions such as crowded little spaces and take it as a challenge from which the outcomes would be only beneficial for their kids as they would know how to behave in various environments, planes being one of those more challenging ones. I support the idea that children should be exposed to all life situations so they could more easily catch up on life itself. Parents should be present to take the lead in educating them and showing them how to behave. I am not saying parents should yell at their offspring and tell them off after each cry but instead should try to preoccupy them with a game and pay more attention to them so they would prevent the situations from happening. By separating from the rest of the plane (as also parents wished to be separated) they would make it too easy for themselves by not accepting the challenge of becoming a better father/mother.
Alex
Maria, are you really sure that parents can actually do nothing to prevent their children from annoying and frenzy cry during the flight? You, however, contradicted yourself a little at the end of your comment as you mentioned that there was the only possible way and that was to try to keep a child calm. In that point, in my opinion its parental responsibility for how their child behaves. Parent should know how to keep their child calm, he should be innovative and creative to come up with variety of games and activities, for example drawing, that would keep a child busy. Plus, even though I am not really tilted to consider this suggestion as a solution, there are so many technologies like IPads, or portable DVD players, which can distract children from trying their parents’ patience limit. Of course this could be probably only applied to slightly older children but I guess those are those curious little beings who cause the flight unbearable.
ReplyDelete@ Dud
ReplyDeleteIt is true that parents cannot stop their children from crying, however, I experienced such situation and I can tell you that it is really annoying when a child behind you screams and you can do nothing about it. Therefore I suggest it would be better to make on-flight family sections and the other passengers would be protected from such discomfort. Imagine, you were on a 9-hour flight from London to New York, you are tired after all the procedures and you just want to rest a little, but the kid behind you would not stop crying!
However, I also think that banning babies from flight is unfair. If a family wants to go on holiday, then they can’t, or they are forced to go by car, which is even more complicated and very uncomfortable. I checked the JetWithKids website and I actually found it useful, there are some really good tips what to do when the kid starts crying, what to do while waiting, etc. But this website needs to be more advertised, so more parents would find it useful.
So, it seems that it would be unfair either to restrain children from flying or to leave other people at discomfort.
@ Mai
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you that sitting next to a screaming child, especially during a long flight, is extremely unpleasant. I also think the best solution is to create family sections for families with young kids. As you said, the flight tickets will cost more because the airline has to cover the expenses associated with providing such family section. However, because a lot of people travel on one plane the total cost will be divided into a large number of people so in the end the increase in price of one flight ticket will be fairly small. I also agree with you that banning all children from flights is a bad idea because even a child has to travel by plane sometimes. But I am not sure about your idea of penalization of parents with naughty kids. I can hardly imagine that something like this would actually work in real life. First thing is that someone would have to report to some official that the child acted inappropriately. Secondly, what would be the punishment for the family? They will be put on some kind of blacklist or they will have to pay a fine? If so, what will be the amount of the fine and how it will be calculated? There are many problems associated with such penalizations and I think that no airline will penalize their customers as their primary aim is to have as many customers as possible. Otherwise I can totally identify with your opinion on this topic.
@MARIA
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your opinion on children in planes. Although I have never experienced such a flight with annoying child right behind me, I have lots of experiences travelling by bus with really annoying children. I think that the majority of children are quite hyperactive and they do not know how to stay calm. Therefore I agree with you that we can do nothing to stop children being childish.
In your second paragraph, you said that children have right to on a plane as any other passenger. I think it is true. Based on your opinion, I think that every passenger should have right to cry or scream while on board. Since we live in free country we all have the right to do so. Therefore the problem is not the screaming children but the silent adults. So there are two ways of making a flight with children more comfort. First, as you said, to try and keep your child calm. Second, to try and keep your mouth screaming. Anyway, if children can do it, we can do it too, even louder. xD
Tomáš Langer
@Mai
ReplyDeleteYou said in your second possibility that airlines should ban toddlers and pre-school children from flights completely. I personally think that this would be a very narrow minded and thoughtless act. Me and my family flew back from the US when my sister was 3 months old. You claim that children her age should travel by other means because a plane may not be healthy and pleasant for them. What do you suppose the alternative to this "unpleasant" way of travel is? Maybe we could have gone a week by boat across the Atlantic and then another few days by car or bus to Slovakia. At least other people would not be bothered by the occasional child's cry right?
@Mai
ReplyDeleteIn your first paragraph you mentioned that you would welcome family sections on planes. Well as much as everyone would like that, it’s not so easy. Especially when talking about smaller European planes. Where to make such a section? There’s so little space and when you divide it into sections there can be complications. Less people are going to be addmitted on the plane because there is less space (when we think about it there’s not really that much families with toddlers travelling by planes). So the family section could remain almost emty while the normal one would be full. I also think that this would cost airplane companies additional money that they might not want to waste on such an aleatory thing. However I must agree that when talking about longer flights on the more spacious planes, this might be a considerable option.
You also mentioned that you want to ban toddlers and pre-cholars from the flights but I think that’s not a good solution. I’ve already written that they have every right to be on that plane, just as you do. Imagine that you would have a child of your own and that you would love to travel. Would you just stay home and do nothing for the sake of some strangers on a plane, that you don’t even know?
Maria@
ReplyDeleteMaria, I would like to react on the major issue that arose with your comment. You said a parent can do nothing about his child screaming, but I don’t think that is true. It is parents’ responsibility to teach their children couth manners in public. Therefore they should warn their children not to romp all over the place once they get on the airplane. If the children ignore this warning, it is still the parents’ responsibility to calm them down. They might even have to be a bit creative and get their attention with a game or some interesting story. However a normal, good raising, rational thinking and experienced parent shouldn’t have problems with making his child calm down, even if in the case of airplanes it might take a bit longer. Finally, I would like to recommend you too read over what you have written since at the end of your second paragraph you actually contradict yourself and oppose to your previous controversial argument.
Branislav Skocek IB3