I love the parenting threads...
Posted on 07/12/2007 9:10:39 AM PDT by Abathar
GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. -- A Georgia mother said she wants answers and action after she and her baby were kicked off a plane.
Kate Penland said she was glad to board the plane in Houston to visit her father in Oklahoma after an 11-hour delay. But she said a rude and aggressive flight attendant caused her to get to Oklahoma a day late.
Penland thinks her 19-month-old son, Garren, has a bubbly personality. But Penland said when they were aboard a Continental Express plane, a flight attendant became annoyed by Garren's personality when he kept saying three words.
"As we started taxiing, he started saying, 'Bye, bye plane,'" said Penland. "At the end of her speech, she leaned over the gentleman beside me and said, 'It's not funny anymore. You need to shut your baby up.'"
In disbelief, Penland asked the woman if she was kidding. It was then, Penland said, the flight attendant went too far.
"She then said, 'You know, it's called baby Benadryl.' And I said, 'Well, I'm not going to drug my child so you have a pleasant flight,'" Penland said.
Penland said when the other passengers began speaking up on her behalf, the flight attendant got angrier and soon announced they were turning around and that Penland and Garren were going to be taken off the plane.
"I was crying, I was upset and I was thinking, 'What am I going to do? I don't have anything with me. I don't have any more diapers for the baby, no juice, no milk," said Penland.
The mother said she later learned the flight attendant told the pilot that she had threatened her. Penland said that never happened.
Express Jet Airlines released a statement that said, "We received Ms. Penland's letter expressing her concerns and intend to investigate its contents."
A fellow passenger told Atlanta TV station WSB that none of the other passengers had problems with Garren and that Penland never threatened the flight attendant. Penland said she is considering legal action.
>>Family lore has it that my grandparents used to dip the kids’ pacifier (or whatever they had before a Nuk) in bourbon.<<
Hey, it’s not family lore in my house.
Irish Creme on a binkie when teething works wonders!!!!!
On the trip out to San Francisco my two year old threw up because he was frightened. On the home trip I was prepared with wipes, change of clothes for him, ready to grab the air-sickness bag as soon as I sat down - he threw up in the aisle. On both of us.
So I changed him, and my husband tried to get to our luggage to get me a clean shirt. Steward told him to sit down. Husband explained. Steward said no way. Husband offered to give me his T-shirt. Steward threatened to throw us off plane. Not getting thrown off plane when travelling with three young children, so sat there cleaning my blouse with wipes, and reeking.
Plane overcrowded, announcement offering bonuses to passengers willing to take next flight. Man next to us left.
Plane took off. Eventually got clean shirt. Hate flying; and still p-—— at that steward.
Mrs VS
Heck, I'd give you a medal. You done right.
i’m with ya on this one. children who cannot behave in public do not belong there. there’s a reason why i work in a bar, not a family restaurant. i don’t want to deal with screaming, crying, food throwing, crayon crushing brats.
Oh, and this was pre-9/11, and we were not imminently taxiing.
Mrs VS
Thanks!
It’s all common courtesy.
If you are annoyed with my kids, please be nice and tell me. Sometimes I zone and don’t see what they are doing, sometimes what they are doing hasn’t “clicked” yet. But I will put in an effort and apologize for their behavior, even if I think someone is overreacting. It’s a great lesson for my kids to care about the feelings of others.
They are seven and nine now and most times are polite little ladies.
Do you really think that the kid was just saying those words or maybe that he was shrieking those words.
I’ve had to ask for ear plugs on a plane because of toddlers whose loud shrieks were giving me a head ache. What is cute to the parent is not always cute to other people. The toddler on my plane was standing on the food tray and jumping into his mother’s lap, while she held his hands, and shrieking at the top of his lungs each time. Once or twice was ok, but after awhile, it was terribly annoying.
I agree if the kid was just speaking in a normal baby voice, but I doubt if that was the situation. I guess we will have to wait to find out.
They died with Braniff. The best airline ever.
Yeah, but I’m sure that wasn’t the default plan. If they had had range of infant medications we have today, they probably wouldn’t have done it then either. Used correctly, they’re great. Used as go-to sedatives is a no-no.
Hungry, tired, uncomfortable, bored, scared, sick: that’s pretty much it as far as crying babies go. Pick one and try something. It ain’t hard.
My parents did things to me that would land them in jail and me in foster care today. There’s a lot of truth to that “I survived groing up in the 60’s” Schtik.
Given the description of the situation by other passengers, I would infer that the child was saying the words in a normal voice rather than shrieking the words. To assume the child was shrieking is about as kneejerk a reaction as assuming the flight attendant was just pissed off that the child was not listening attentively to her safety speech about the location of exits, floatation devices and emergency oxygen supply.
Just don't fly Air France and everything should be ok.
I love the parenting threads...
Well, your knee jerk defense of the mother and baby could also be interpreted as an unsubstantiated condemnation of the stewardess.
If the baby was speaking in a normal tone of voice, it would have been inaudible to anyone during take off, including the stewardess. Maybe the stewardess was standing right next to the kid while she was trying to give her safety instructions and was having a hard time getting through it.
Who knows, but I think that there is more to this little story than a child hating stewardess.
Why are you always so critical of other posters’ opinions?
So drugging your children into unconsciousness, for your convenience, before they've even misbehaved, is "taking responsibility." Geez. What a twisted world this is, where people would interpret this as responsible parenting.
Yeah I kind of got my diaper in a bunch with the whole ambien, valium thing. That was tongue in cheek. The part about the incorrect fear based response was not though.
I have a son and a daughter, six and two, so my tolerance for smack talk based on fantasy is low.
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