Posted on 01/28/2007 1:31:45 PM PST by Mr. Brightside
Coping with a child's tantrum on a plane
By BETH J. HARPAZ, AP Travel Editor
4:55 PM ET
NEW YORK - How do you avoid becoming the family that got kicked off an airplane after their crying 3-year-old refused to take her seat?
Experts say rewarding kids for cooperation, distracting them with simple games and telling them in advance what's going to happen can help. But at the end of the day, you may just have to take control, restrain the child, and comply with the rules.
The family, Julie and Gerry Kulesza and their daughter Elly, was headed home to Boston on Jan. 14 from Fort Myers, Fla., when they were told they had to leave the plane because Elly wouldn't get in her seat.
FAA rules require children age 2 and older to have their own seats with buckled seat belts before takeoff. The airline, Air Tran, said the flight had already been delayed 15 minutes when the family was told to disembark. Air Tran reimbursed the family the cost of their tickets and offered them three roundtrip tickets anywhere the airline flies as compensation.
Here are four tips for getting children to behave on airplanes.
_Bring the child's car seat along. The Federal Aviation Administration says children are safest on planes when strapped into their car seats, and "young kids are often more comfortable in a familiar seat," said Eileen Ogintz, whose columns appear online at http://www.takingthekids.com. Seeing their own car seat on the plane may also make them more willing to climb in and buckle up, just like they do in the family car.
_Bring small items you can use as entertainment, distraction and rewards.
"We'll stop in the magazine store and get one of those silly little books where the kids get a magic pen," said Pauline Frommer, the travel guidebook writer and daughter of travel guru Arthur Frommer. In addition, she buys gum as a special treat for her daughters to have in flight, and brings pipe cleaners along to play with.
Holly Hughes, author of "500 Places to Take Your Kids Before They Grow Up," suggests reading a story or even strapping a doll in the seat belt first. "Everyone around you is anxious and kids are likely to pick up on that anxiety," she said. "Distraction is a big thing."
Michele Perry, director of communications for TripAdvisor and mother of a 3-year-old, says if toys don't work, "I have a Plan B, which I'm not proud of but it works: A lollipop."
_If the child is old enough to understand, explain in advance what's going to happen and stress the importance of following the rules. "Explain that the pilot and flight attendants need their help when preparing for take off," Ogintz said.
"The whole idea is the preparation before. Explain what's going to happen and make it something to look forward to," said Nancy Shankman. Her grown son, Peter Shankman, began traveling with his family at a very young age; today he runs AirTroductions.com, a Web site that allows people to choose their seat mates before boarding.
_Finally, if rewards, explanations and distraction don't work, you may have to calmly say, "These are the rules, you have no choice," and restrain the child.
"I do feel that preparation for any kind of adventure is important," said Nancy Shankman, "but if that didn't work, I would have just strapped the kid in the seat."
Peter Shankman said that the opinion of about half of the moms weighing in on the subject on the AirTroductions Web site was, "'We would have had that kid down.' They blamed the parents." The other half felt badly for the parents, he said.
"A lot of this comes down to parenting," Perry said. At the end of the day, "I know I can get my daughter buckled in that seat."
Steve Loucks, a spokesman for Carlson Wagonlit Travel, the travel agency, said parents need to realize that, "in the post-9/11 world, there's no room for error on airplanes. Unruly passengers, regardless of who they are, whether it's an elderly person or a young child, can be grounds for turning the plane around and letting them off. ... If ever there were a place where you need to make sure your children were behaving, this is the place."
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If the kid's used to being belted in in the family car (SUV), then riding the plane is likely no problem.
If the kid's used to being belted in in the family car (SUV), then riding the plane is likely no problem.
___________________________________________________________
There you go assuming... ;-)
Sweet! I'm going to teach my kid how to throw temper tantrums.
""A lot of this comes down to parenting," Perry said. At the end of the day, "I know I can get my daughter buckled in that seat.""
Parenting??? How dare he say that!!!
If I were an Air Marshal, I wouild have tazered the parents.
It's worked so far.
As for parents letting their kids run amok, we are trying to install a LOT more discipline in our kids than they apparently believe in. Yes, I know this child had ear problems, but the parents should have planned for that and given the child something to help her deal with it.
Expecting the airlines to just rework their entire schedule is just ridiculous. Filing a lawsuit after the airlines had already tried to make a "peace offering" when they didn't really need to is just idiotic. Yet more reason to have a "loser pays" system for civil cases.
Looks like the parents were rewarded for having a spoiled child.
Pathetic parents.
Girl Kicked Off Plane After Tantrum
Posted by don'tspeak4me
On News/Activism 01/23/2007 7:35:25 PM PST · 165 replies · 3,045+ views
Associated Press ^ | Jan 23, 2007 | JimEllis
Toddler's temper ousts family from plane
Posted by presidio9
On News/Activism 01/23/2007 10:25:48 AM PST · 187 replies · 3,062+ views
Associated Press via Yahoo News ^ | January 23, 2007 | Jim Ellis
Crying Child and Her Parents Removed From Flight
Posted by Fawn
On News/Activism 01/23/2007 10:26:18 AM PST · 185 replies · 3,303+ views
ABC NEWS ^ | January 23, 2007 | ABC News
3-year-old unnerves airline [Girl taken off flight for crying too much]
Posted by MotleyGirl70
On General/Chat 01/22/2007 10:51:57 AM PST · 179 replies · 3,251+ views
Telegram.com ^ | 01/21/07 | Dianne Williamson
A two word suggestion that sometimes works wonders: Spock pinch.
I mean, WTF?? Why couldn't the father take the lone seat and the kid sit next to mom? How hard was that?
1. Discipline your children
2. Train your children.
3. Teach your children.
4. Be a mentor and an example for your children to follow.
If you can't remember all 4, just remember #1 (Actually, 2-3 DEFINE #1.)
Russ
An article I read when the story broke suggested that the parents were sitting together and the child was in a row in front of them. To me this is just asking for trouble.
Incidentally, some people who were present in the terminal before the family boarded say the girl was acting wild and out of control in the waiting area too. And the child's behavior on GMA also makes it hard to believe she's "usually well behaved", as the parents claim.
Still, the Munich leg is going to suck. I am going to need the patch. ;)
You've got to be frigging kidding me! Shame on the parents for not taking that SIMPLE step! And shame on the lone guy in their row that wouldn't offer to change places with the kid.
What a bunch of morons.
The airline ought to start a class-action counter-suit with a bunch of the passengers on the plane for their inconvenience.
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