She was three. Isn't that small enough to pick up? It seems to me that these were the kind of parents who are afraid of traumatizing the little darling and find it preferable to let her sit in the aisle and scream. Were they from the Upper West Side of Manhattan, by any chance?
You mean...actually touch the child and physically restrain her!!?? Heaven forbid!
One must try to reason with the little darling. Can't have any physical control or restraint harming the child's psyche.