Hello, broadcasting live from a typically great (as always) transatlantic Air France business class flight… and I have a question!
In this post:
Children yelling at the top of their lungs, parents do nothing
Many people become unreasonably annoyed with kids (especially infants and toddlers) on flights. Kids can sometimes be challenging to manage and can definitely be bothersome to those around them, but they’re part of society. Airplanes serve as a mode of transportation, so as unpleasant as it may be, one should anticipate that kids will occasionally scream during flights.
While we haven’t traveled much yet with our younger son, we’ve had a few flights with our older son, Miles, where I simply wanted to hide out of embarrassment. The reality is, as parents we put in our best effort, especially on flights. Sometimes it’s not perfect, but we attempt.
I recall traveling with Miles across the Atlantic when he was two, and just thinking to myself, “ugh, I really don’t need to go through that again anytime soon.”
But that leads me to the daytime transatlantic flight we’re currently on. There’s a family of six situated near us in business class, with four kids and two parents. The children seem to range in age from four to about 12. I should note that the dad appears completely disengaged — he’s sitting in a window seat, and I doubt he has interacted with the kids even once.
One particular child has been screaming on and off throughout the entire flight (the others aren’t saints, but in comparison…). And I mean S-C-R-E-A-M-I-N-G. Not crying out of discomfort or anything, but shouting at the top of her lungs due to a lack of manners (or something similar) and lack of parental intervention. Whatever the loudest volume you can think of, that’s how loudly she’s yelling. And let’s not forget the constant climbing on seats.
The parents are apathetic. Maybe once every 10 minutes the mom would just go “shhh” once, but that’s it. Otherwise, she has basically been left alone to yell at everyone, including her siblings, and neither parent seems to care in the slightest.
It’s frustrating when parents don’t even make an effort!
At what point do you voice concerns about kids on planes?
As I always state, you should never directly confront other passengers on an aircraft, as that can escalate quickly. So if you have an issue, you should address it to the crew, as they are in a position to manage such a situation without it escalating unnecessarily.
Moreover, quite frankly, we’re a gay couple traveling with a child, and let’s just say that the family doesn’t exude welcoming vibes, and they appear to be from a “sanctioned” country that isn’t particularly known for being LGBTQ-friendly. They may not be homophobic, but I’m being more cautious than I would be at a Taylor Swift concert (not that I’d actually be at a Taylor Swift concert).
Anyway, we endured this for hours. Finally, at about the midway point of the flight, our son was sound asleep (we’ve convinced him it’s an overnight flight, and that the rule on the plane is that everyone must sleep), and then this girl launches into one of her shouting fits for no reason at all, and the parents do nothing.
So Ford eventually went to the galley and politely mentioned it to the crew. I understand this puts the crew in an awkward position, and I feel bad for them, but I also believe it’s the least of the evils. To the crew’s credit, they managed it incredibly well.
They approached the parents, and the mother’s response was simply “we will give her something now.” Ummm, I’m not sure what that means, but you could also just spend some time with your child and try to engage her.
While things improved somewhat, initially, it wasn’t a significant change. Fortunately, the crew literally stood in the cabin for a while, hovering near the child’s seat, and politely told her that she needed to quiet down. I think she took it a bit more seriously when it came from strangers (given that her mother never told her anything beyond “shhh”), but they really persisted. They also kept informing the parents that they needed to take action. That’s how it should be done.
So this raises the question — at what point is it acceptable to complain about the behavior of other passengers? After five minutes? After five hours? Never? Obviously, it’s a delicate balance with kids. You can’t help if an infant cries occasionally, but when the parents plainly don’t even attempt, it’s hard not to get frustrated.
Bottom line
It’s been a while since I’ve encountered such poorly behaved children as I have on my current flight.