Family kicked off of plane due to crying toddler

[Andy1369]

Wow, I can't believe some of the replies here...

She's just a kid - 3 years old. She was probably scared of flying, or she didn't want to feel like a caged bird in her seat.

I can't believe some of you are actually thinking that she deserves a smack, or that her parents are f'ked up. It's AirTRAN which was f'ked up, people... they were really mean to her family, and kicked them off... just because that little girl was crying. She won't get into her seat - okay - maybe she could have been scolded more and told to do what she was told, but COME ON! She's just a kid, for heaven's sake... I'm sure we ALL did some kind of thing at that age - that's why it's called the terrible three's.

No wonder our world is getting sadder and sadder...people are becoming way too desensitivized.

[AdverseDeviant]

id beat her.

[spenser.d]

Wow, I can't believe some of the replies here...

She's just a kid - 3 years old. She was probably scared of flying, or she didn't want to feel like a caged bird in her seat.

I can't believe some of you are actually thinking that she deserves a smack, or that her parents are f'ked up. It's AirTRAN which was f'ked up, people... they were really mean to her family, and kicked them off... just because that little girl was crying. She won't get into her seat - okay - maybe she could have been scolded more and told to do what she was told, but COME ON! She's just a kid, for heaven's sake... I'm sure we ALL did some kind of thing at that age - that's why it's called the terrible three's.

No wonder our world is getting sadder and sadder...people are becoming way too desensitivized.

I doubt you'd be saying the same thing if you were a passenger on that plane and had to sit through a whole flight's worth of some kid's crying because their parents can control him/her.

-Spenser

[whitebread]

Airline did the right thing. Boo ****ing hoo to the parents. :rolleyes:

[Fred Derf Veteran]

Obviously, none of you ^^ have children.

I do and I would get the kid into the seat. He/she may be loud but he/she would be in that seat in one minute and not 15. Some parents are a little too worried about emotional damage.

If the kid is too young to understand expected behavior then you have to be a mommy bear and just pull them out of trouble.

[hotdog666al]

id beat her.

:devil: (Y)

[Azusa]

tl;dr

good airline

[Mike]

But Julie Kulesza said: "We weren't given an opportunity to hold her, console her or anything.

last time i checked, you dont get on the plane, and the split second after you're on it takes off, they would have had plenty of time to get the child sat down and bucked up. parents fault here

Obviously, none of you ^^ have children.

that is irrelevant, too many parents are scared of "upsetting" their children, fact is, you tell a child off, they'll cry when young, should that stop you telling them off? no!

[Fred Pocius 406]

Hope they have a fun CAR ride to where they are going. Are we there yet?????? Are we there yet?????? Are we there yet?????? Are we there yet?????? Are we there yet?????? Are we there yet?????? Are we there yet??????

[Toology]

No wonder our world is getting sadder and sadder...people are becoming way too desensitivized.

Really? Because I think it's the lack of concern for the common good that is contributes to the deterioration of "our world." In this case; the 112 other passengers hold priority over a family who can't get their child under control.

[chconline Veteran]

Parents these days don't know how to discipline their children, most will go like, "Yeah this will hurt their self esteem" or, "This will cause emotional damage", or to an extent, "Wow now it's all about the bad memories of childhood".

:no:

Just smack the kid and make them sit, like, if you aren't abusing them... they know it's good for them and you are their parents, they will obey... so get over it, we've all gone through those when we are kids and we've done bad things, and guess what... most of us here today are happy and learned their basic ways of life and how to conduct themselves. If you can't, wait till you reach the real world, then you'll realize things don't go your way and you'll get pretty screwed for that. Or if you don't, it just shows the decline of the next generation of a bunch of self centered, snobby kids.

In general, if you can't calm down your kid in 15 minutes, get off the plane, they've done the right thing :yes: And for the parents who thinks they've been humiliated, well, what kind of parents will get what kind of kids.

[SeaClearly]

This reminded me of a flight about oh 7 years ago on Delta from Tampa to Seattle with an almost four year old boy who was also crying and didn't want to buckle up before takeoff. This was in first class so I along with a few others weren't going to deal with that much longer after spending over a grand for our tickets. Well to make a long story short both parents got this boy in his seat and got him quiet a good ten minutes before we needed to take off. The father spanked him once and said in a very mean voice I won't tell you again. He was in that seat so fast and after the plane took off the father said he was very good and got him a snack and a drink. That is IMO the best way to be a parent is you spank once and make sure they know you mean business but if they do what you say you reward them. Now I believe you only reward the child in settings where its vital the child does what the parent asks such as in a public place and of course on an airplane. Also as another user said even with a flight that was on time the parents have more than enough time to settle their children down before take off. I mean if parents don't know they have about 15 minutes before take off to get everything set they deserve to be thrown off the flight period. Sorry this family had plenty of time to avoid this and its either one of two things that happened and I'll list them below.

1. Parents didn't do their jobs and waited until the last minute to get on the ball and as such they deserved what they got.

2. If the child acted up right smack before take off without being a problem before that I'd side with the parents but the article doesn't even hint that this was the case.

Oh and on my old flight the parents and son had to fly no matter what the cost and first class tickets were the only tickets available at the time they booked the flight.

[Peter McGrath]

This is amusing yet sad at the same time.

You can no more control children than you can predict the weather.

If you can't control your children then you (and they) should not be on the plane - Simple.

Just because you are an ineffective parent, doesn't mean WE have to put up with your shortcomings and all the discomfort YOU cause as a result.

[Panacik]

Adios, snot nose little brat.

It's about time people stop putting up with that crap....I wouldn't want to be on that airline with a brat!

I wouldn't have refunded their money or offered them a trip. I would have kicked them off and said see you later.

it's the parents fault. they couldn't get their child to sit down and buckled up so the already delayed flight could take off. It was done out of fairness to the other passengers on the plane. I could see why this was done however, the airline should have acted in a more professional manner before it got blown out of proportion.

From what i read they where not given the opportunity to settle their child. They where told one minute to settle the child and then asked to elave a couple seconds later from what the artical shows?

I dont have children and dont like flying with screaming crying children as mucha s the next person, but i still feel they should be treated fairely. If i had a child that was acting this way, i would expect them to treat us with respect and give us ample opportunity to settle the child.

If this happened to me i know i would be fuming. Children and families have as much rights to fly as anyone else.

[Mike]

From what i read they where not given the opportunity to settle their child. They where told one minute to settle the child and then asked to elave a couple seconds later from what the artical shows?

if they didnt have the opportunity to settle the child, what were they doing while she was climbing over the seats hitting them? after getting on a plane theres a good 5 or 10mins while everyone finds their seat, puts hand luggage away, gets settled etc, plenty of time to sort a child out

[snyper]

if they didnt have the opportunity to settle the child, what were they doing while she was climbing over the seats hitting them? after getting on a plane theres a good 5 or 10mins while everyone finds their seat, puts hand luggage away, gets settled etc, plenty of time to sort a child out

[Umbrello]

I would've kicked them off mid-flight. That'll teach 'em. :)

[nazgul1]

Wow, I can't believe some of the replies here...

She's just a kid - 3 years old. She was probably scared of flying, or she didn't want to feel like a caged bird in her seat.

I can't believe some of you are actually thinking that she deserves a smack, or that her parents are f'ked up. It's AirTRAN which was f'ked up, people... they were really mean to her family, and kicked them off... just because that little girl was crying. She won't get into her seat - okay - maybe she could have been scolded more and told to do what she was told, but COME ON! She's just a kid, for heaven's sake... I'm sure we ALL did some kind of thing at that age - that's why it's called the terrible three's.

No wonder our world is getting sadder and sadder...people are becoming way too desensitivized.

The thing that set me off on this particular article and film reel was the parents after the fact. After they had had time to sit back and reflect.

They basically said they wanted others to realize what kind of airline this is. Ok, fine, I do. One I'd fly on. One in which they will FOLLOW THE PROCEDURE. Would you want them to look over any pre-flight? No. Post flight? No. Any inspections pencil whipped? No. WOULD YOU WANT THEM TO OVERLOOK ANY PROCEDURE OR RULE THAT COMPROMISES THE SAFETY OF YOUR CHILD???

I ask again, WOULD YOU WANT THEM TO OVERLOOK ANY PROCEDURE OR RULE THAT COMPROMISES THE SAFETY OF YOUR CHILD???

Answer that to yourself honestly. Answer it to your kids. Your wife. This forum. Did you answer yes or no?

Ok now that you have your answer, are you qualified to make FAA policy? Are you qualified to make an airline's policy? No, you can have an opinion, like I do, and you can't make policy and my opinion is they know best as they have years of data and experience so I'm going to do what they say. IF I DON'T DO WHAT THEY SAY I'LL BE ESCORTED OFF THE PLANE. And I should be. There certainly won't be a hearing to change the rules taking place in the aisle while I stress my point that I ought to be able to hold my child.

Now, read this partial quote from the Flight Standards Information Bulletin for Air Transportation. I capitalized a few words:

-------------------------------------

APPENDIX 2.

Appendix 2 addresses NTSB Recommendation A-96-84.

1. BACKGROUND. During a recent NTSB accident

investigation, it was determined that one child more than 24

months old was listed as a lap child, DESPITE REGULATIONS THAT REQUIRE ALL PASSENGERS MORE THAN 24 MONTHS OLD TO BE RESTRAINED DURING TAKEOFFS AND LANDINGS. The Safety Board

has long been concerned about the inadequacy and enforcement

of this regulation, and in the last several years, HAS IDENTIFIED AT LEAST SIX ACCIDENTS AND ONE ENFORCEMENT ACTION IN WHICH CHILDREN MORE THAN TWO YEARS OLD WERE UNRESTRAINED, were

unrestrained because they were HELD IN SOMEONE'S LAP. The

ages of these children ranged from 26 months to 5 years old.

2. POLICY. Present regulations allow parents/guardians of

children under two years of age the option of holding these

children in the lap. CHILDREN OVER TWO YEARS OF AGE MUST BE RESTRAINED IN AN APPROVED RESTRAINT DEVICE. This restraint

device may be an adult passenger seat/seat belt, or an

approved child restraint system. As pointed out in the

background to the NTSB recommendation, the problem appears

to be that some parents/guardians want to hold children who

are more than two years old in their lap. THIS IS NOT AN ACCEPTABLE PROCEDURE. In order, to preclude this

occurrence, many airlines ask the age of the lap-held child

when it is presented to be placed on the load manifest. In

addition, many airlines instruct crewmembers to ask parents

the age of lap held children. These procedures complement

each other and are recommended.

---------------------------

So, tell me what you would have done if you had not been able to have your child take your seat?

These parents made a spectacle of themselves on national TV. In practically one sentence they told of how bad their daughter was being and said they could not understand why they were thrown off the plane. I'm sorry but how stupid is that in the face of the rules they must follow?

Our world is becomming sadder and sadder not only becase we are desensitized but becasue people DON'T TAKE RESPONSIBILITY.

I'm tired of people making excuses. I'm tired of people blaming others for their problems. I'm tired of people getting others to take responsibility for something that is theirs to fix. The buck stops with the parents in this situation. They failed. And then they want sypmathy? I'm not going to give it to them.

[Ferret]

Good on the airline for kicking them off... It was also good of them to offer their money back (Even though the airline lost money because the seat's were then empty), but they certainly shouldn't have also offered the free tickets.

The parent's had an ample amount of time to restrain the child, but refused to do so through poor parenting skill's !

[Mouldy Punk]

If the parent can't control or discipline the kid then tough ######. Why should 112 other passengers suffer because some bratty little kid won't sit in it's seat - which by the way is for the safety of said child.

If the plane took off regardless of the kid and the kid fell off it's parent's lap and banged it's head, the airline would have got sued or something ridiculously stupid.

[cyoung1616]

I'd have tore that little butt up like last years turnip patch.

Cody

[Dysphoria]

If you can't control your children then you (and they) should not be on the plane - Simple.

Just because you are an ineffective parent, doesn't mean WE have to put up with your shortcomings and all the discomfort YOU cause as a result.

Exactly my thoughts.. I salute you!

[qhbabs]

Obviously, none of you ^^ have children.