Posted on 03/10/2012 8:32:14 AM PST by JoeProBono
BOSTON, -- A family returning from a trip to Turks and Caicos said it cost them $2,000 when they were kicked off their flight to Boston due to their daughter's tantrum.
Colette Vieau said she and her husband were on a JetBlue plane preparing for takeoff in February with daughters Natalie, 2, and Cecilia, 3, when the younger girl threw a tantrum and refused to sit down, the New York Daily News reported Friday.
"We were holding them down with all of our might, seat belt on. And I said, 'We have them seated. Can we go now?' (The flight attendant) said the pilot's made a decision to turn the plane around," Vieau said.
She said the plane returned to the gate and her family was forced to spend the night in a hotel and book a new flight, costing them $2,000.
"We did what we were asked to do. We weren't belligerent, drunk, angry or screaming. We were just having a hard time struggling with our children," Vieau said.
JetBlue released a statement saying the flight "had customers that did not comply with crew member instructions for a prolonged time period. The captain elected to remove the customers involved for the safety of all customers and crew members on board."
there was a very funny “America’s Funniest Videos” where the little girl did the same thing and Mom was catching it all on camera.
Don't assume facts not in evidence nor put words in my ... err, keyboard. It's quite a leap of faith from advocating control of an unruly child to abortion. There are many parents in here who can (and do) control their children very well and my hat is off to them for raising their kids right. Those parents (and kids) would be fine to fly with. It's the parents who can't, don't or won't control their kids that are the problem, and for that reason, the crew did exactly the right thing. That's what I mean.
Joe, for whatever it’s worth, I’d like to share an experience on here. It might help other people. However, let me first say that as another poster so aptly stated on this thread, sometimes you have to give up (i.e. wait) certain opportunities until your children are older. People can live without flying.
I was 17 the first time I ever flew on a plane. We flew Cleveland to Los Angeles. I think it was a direct flight. The plane was very big and there was this wonderful recreational area with tables and seats, where I ended up spending time playing cards with my dad and brothers. I no longer recall the craft or airline.
Upon descent, I started experiencing terrible pain in my ears and along my jawline & side of my head. Excruciating. The stewardess brought me gum, but none of the usual “tricks” worked. I thought my head would explode. I sobbed in agony while my poor father did his best to comfort me. Meanwhile, I looked around and saw everyone else smiling and normal; and realized I was the only one experiencing this horror. It took a couple of days for my ears to “pop” and return to normal.
I was terrified to return home and - you guessed it - same deal going back. From then on, I dreaded flying, but I did fly a few more times, always experiencing this same situation; of course, none were ever as bad as the CLE-LA flight.
Sometime in 1988, I met a brilliant doctor through my work. I told him of my experience and he talked to me about how they pressurize the cabins and that some airlines were cheap and didn’t pressurize as well, etc. etc. He told me to take antihistamines before flying. He said I was experiencing what a person who would have a bad cold might experience while flying. Anyway, the end of the story is that I have taken Sudafed before every flight I have ever done since then - I take them about 45 minutes b/f the take-off and throughout the flight. They don’t help if I need to sleep, but it sure beats wanting to rip your hair out. I have had some discomfort on a few trips and literally nothing on more. I can’t imagine what my life would be had my friend not told me of this remedy, since I have traveled all over the world.
The reason I share this story is I have often wondered if some of the small children I have seen do not experience what I have, but they are too little to tell their parents.
I’m not saying this is the case of the toddler having a tantrum,since a 2 year old can talk and show that they are in pain, but I’ve seen babies screaming bloody murder and just cringe wondering if the poor thing has my malady. One never knows.
Good points, Yaelle. Of course, I don’t excuse people who think their kid’s problem is sacrosanct over the needs of others either.
Not a bad idea ... I know that some kids are given mild tranquilizers prior to dentist appointments. No reason why a mild sedative couldn't be given before a stressful airline flight.
Good. If the kid isn’t old enough to fly peacefully, stay home. I don’t need to suffer because your brat is a jerk.
We can just imagine granny had her own problems. You may have lucked out!
You are a saint.
It sounds like you have some unique physiology that make equalizing your ears difficult. Attempting a valsalva maneuver (pinching your nose closed and trying to exhale against it) with your chin tilted up and head leaned away from the offending ear can sometimes help. It straightens the eustachian tube out a bit.
but lets go after the little ones...
the reason we have such a declining birth rate is because children are not valued, they are often despised....
a 2 yr is a baby...a baby btw who had to have a ticket to sit in her own seat...
maybe the parents should have just lied and said she was under 2 so they could hold her on their lap....
down with children...keep them in cages...yeah, that's the ticket...
its called "family time" and its nice to see...
maybe you would have rather they hire a baby sitter for 2 weeks?....then you would condemn them for that...or maybe they should have just drugged the kids,right?.....
lets just face it...conservatives too apparently are anti family in many ways...my kids okay, but not anyone elses...its just the continuation of the anti child anti human attitude of society..
hey...no one likes screaming children....but its a fact of life and you would think adults would understand that...
just like we understand that old people are slow, maybe smelly, hard of hearing, etc...
accept life...accept people....
ha ha... loved that.
While that’s not a bad idea, I’m content with the “fix” my doctor friend gave me. As for offending ear, it’s BOTH.
I'm pretty sure that also goes back to stewardesses on trains, so I'm told.
Do that in each direction and you can probably pop both ears immediately.
Next you’re going to tell me, the guy riding shotgun on a stagecoach, had to be an EMT. :-D
I was just thinking: Yeah, I really want to take toddlers with me on my vacation to a tropical paradise.
Genius.
Family time is at Chucky Cheese, where the toddlers will have more fun than a long trip anyway. Vacations to tropical paradises are to give mommy and daddy a chance to make a brother or sister for the little darlings.
Let's not get hysterical now.
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