Northwest Worker Sentenced for Incident - Spiked Toddler's Juice With Xanax

AP ^ | November 12, 2003 | AP

[Damocles]

	Posted on Wed, Nov. 12, 2003
	Northwest Worker Sentenced for Incident Associated Press DETROIT - A Northwest Airlines flight attendant who spiked a toddler's apple juice with an anti-anxiety drug to stop her crying was sentenced Wednesday to four months of home confinement. Daniel Cunningham, 39, of Ann Arbor, pleaded guilty in May to federal charges that included assault and distribution of a controlled substance on an aircraft. The incident was discovered by the 19-month-old girl's mother, who took the juice off the Amsterdam-to-Detroit flight last August after noticing that it was bitter and foamy and had blue and white specks floating in it. Turner had it analyzed by a laboratory, which confirmed the presence of Xanax, which is prescribed for panic attacks and anxiety, the FBI said. The drug can cause drowsiness and lightheadedness. The girl suffered no serious injury. Cunningham was fired by Northwest. Federal sentencing guidelines called for zero to four months' in prison.

---

© 2003 AP Wire and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.fortwayne.com

[Conservababe]

So, how do you make your NINETEEN MONTH old sit still and shut up when confined in a small space? Do you sedate your child?

[ItsOurTimeNow]

Excellent post!

BUMP with enthusiasm.

[KantianBurke]

A quantifier should be added to this discussion. If I'm on a train or any enclosed space for long periods of time i.e. an airplane cabin, a crying child isn't horrible PER SE. Its the Mother's reaction to the behavior that determines whether its tolerable or not. If I see a woman trying her hardest to keep her child quiet or at the very least laughing (odd how happy people get when they hear a baby laugh) then I sympathize and don't mind at all. If on the other hand, the woman is just ignoring the kid I get pissed. Its about common courtesy in public. Something the young and the young who just had kids are not taught very often.

[StolarStorm]

You don't take them on a plane if they can't handle it without wigging out. It's child abuse to inflict the confinement of a plane on a hyperactive child and it certainly is abusive to all the other passengers.

[Bon mots]

Babies crying? I don't hear it.

[KantianBurke]

Wasn't the sounds of crying infants blasted into the Waco compound during the siege?

[wtc911]

FP, your attitude reminds me of NYC in the 80s & 90s when the world's most self-absorbed people (yuppie dinks) created an atmosphere that actually had restaurants putting a no kids policy in place. Our attitude was F***-em....come to our city from somewhere else then try to tell us where we can take our kids?

The funny part is now these same transplants listened to their clocks and now you can't go into a restaurant on the UWS without bumping into a truckload of $400.00 strollers.

Kids and babies are part of what makes life what it is. You want parents to drug their babies so you won't be inconvenienced? How prescious. If you can't deal with the occassional inconvenience take the bus.

XNS...your tag line is posted on our refrigerator.

[Conservababe]

A nineteen month old child is not necessarily hyperactive....they are just normal and restless when confined.

But, I do see what you are saying, dearie...don't take a two month old child on a plane, either, because they may cry and annoy you.

[StolarStorm]

"don't take a two month old child on a plane, either, because they may cry and annoy you. "

Yes, thank you for your consideration for other people.

[Conservababe]

My best friend had to fly to her mother's funeral last month...with her two month old son.

I am sure you would have perferred that she put the child in a cage and be transported, sedated like an animal, in the cargo section of the plane.

[StolarStorm]

I think a cage would be a tad bit excessive, but you may be on to something. I find it funny that many parents do not seem to think it's a problem when their precious kids run wild, yet will denounce adults for their behavior around children.

Imagine if you will, that you've decided to take little Billy to Vegas with you and seated around you are a group of people drinking and having a good time. A few 4 letter words reach the ear of little Billy, and now you are in tizzy because those slobs don't have more consideration. How rude! Yet for some odd reason, you don't consider it rude when little Billy throws his milk at the passenger in front of him, or when his screeching drives everyone batty, or when he kicks the seat in front of him for the 100th time.

When the exasperated FA finally asks little Billy to hush and stop kicking, you tear her a new one for daring to discipline YOUR child! How inconsiderate of her!

Later, little Billy is taking his nappy (very important of course), yet the rowdy bunch around you continues to talk loudly. How rude of them for showing NO consideration to you and little Billy who really needs his sleep after all that energy he burned up earlier when he was throwing crayons around the cabin. Some people! Don't they know that little Billy is the most important person in the world!

I know you aren't a parent like the one presented here, you wouldn't be on FR if you were, but I've run into this type countless times. These types of people really should keep their kid off the plane until they learn to control themselves.

[Conservababe]

If you are a parent, I feel so deeply sorry for your children.

If you have no children yet, I hope you consider getting sterilized.

[StolarStorm]

I can't have kids so you have nothing to worry about. However, rather than just throw out peronal attacks perhaps you could address the point I made about parents not showing consideration for others, yet demanding consideration.

[x-navy seal]

FYI...I run my household like a boot camp. My wife tells me that sometimes I am too strict. If I tell my kids to jump, they want to know how high!

About two months ago, I took the family to Disney World -- and we flew. My two-year old was napping (very important of course) when the plane started its descent, and her ears started to pop. My wife tried everything to ease her pain, and after about 3 or 4 minutes, she stopped crying. The person who was across the aisle had the most disgusted look on his face. He was totally put out that she had made him uncomfortable for 3 minutes, yet he said nothing. Had my wife been alone with the daughters, it may have been a different story. After the plane landed I said (in a friendly manner) "I am sorry my daughter was crying". He still said nothing. I suppose he felt intimidated, partially because I was a little upset that I had to apologize for 3 minutes of my daughters crying after they were so well behaved for rest of the 4-hour flight. Or maybe it's the fact that I'm 6'3" and weigh 240 (I really am a teddy bear at heart).

For those who can't bear to hear a crying baby - I will apologize in advance - I will be traveling by air again, and my well behaved children may not be well behaved the entire time.

[FreePaul]

If parents want to drug their children within safe and legal limits I won't interfere. I do want them to control their children so they don't become a problem for others. As I asked in an earlier post, who will make excuses for these unruly children when they are teenagers? Probably the same parents who let them get that way and want to know "why somebody doesn't do something?"

I had a close friend whose wife was one of those who not only wouldn't correct or discipline her children but who would throw a fit if anyone else, including their father, made any attempt to correct them. They were a terrible nuisance when they came over. The brats would get in everything unless my wife and I kept an eye on them. One Sunday the came to visit from Church. I had to get up constantly to find out what they were doing. They finally found my grill on the porch and were playing with the burned charcoal. I left them alone. After a few minutes the mother finally realized that I wasn't looking after her kids. She jumped up and ran out to the porch and found two charcoal coated children. She threw a fit but finally realized who was at fault. We didn't have much problem with the children or the mother after that. The boys grew up to be great adults after their mother figured out that she had to take a part in their lives.

[pesto]

First off, I think you're thinking of out of control toddlers and older children, children capable of "throwing milk and kicking seats". Yes, parents not reigning them in on flights can be annoying. But infants and babies aren't crying to annoy you. Perhaps there ears hurt, perhaps they're off their schedules or they just have to cry like babies sometimes do..When I hear babies cry on planes, I don't get mad, I just feel sorry for the parents because not only do they have to try and quiet down the baby, but most likely they feel bad for making people like you upset..Oh, and if I have a choice of sitting next to a colicky baby or a drunk guy on his way to Vegas, I'll take the baby..

[FreePaul]

Under the circumstances you describe I can't understand why anyone would be upset. The child reacted normally to discomfort, the mother did what was necessary to take care of the problem and the "disturbance" was of a very limited duration. The subject of this thread seems to be children who carry on for a very long time and parents who either can't or won't do anything about it. As someone posted earlier a parent who is really trying to comfort or control a child with a problem deserves sympathy.

[-YYZ-]

"So, how do you make your NINETEEN MONTH old sit still and shut up when confined in a small space? Do you sedate your child?"

Don't be silly. You bind and gag them </sarcasm>

[frodolives]

Or hope you fly over Idaho- it's a duct tape state. Sarcasm off.

I must ask why on earth do babies and infants need to fly in the first place? What's a two-month old going to do at a funeral? Why must a ninteen month old be flown to Amsterdam, for goodness sakes? If they "need" to be seen by adult relatives, let the adults do the traveling. Let kids be kids, not minature grown ups.

[sinclair]

Johnny Walker Black Label works best for ME. I don't get bothered by too much after the 3rd one.