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I've had enough of screaming children on planes

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Going on a holiday is supposed to be relaxing and enjoyable.  However, it does not feel that way when you are going to the airport and at the check in desk there are screaming children running about when you are trying check in for your flight.  Also when you are doing all the necessary procedures such as luggage weighing and going through security it can be quite stressful because you have a lot to do before you can go into the departure zone to catch your flight.  Screaming children and crying babies only add to all this, especially if you're own kids.

Also with young children you have to keep an eye on them at all times because they can wander away in a busy airport and disappear into the crowd.  The waiting sections in departures are always full of screaming children running amok.  This is not a creche!  In fact, can't airports make creches for young children?  It would be easier on the children and their parents as well.  You don't have to go far to hear a bawling kid in the waiting lounge at Heathrow or Gatwick.  Why are parents taking their kids on holiday when they should be in school?  Also why are parents travelling with newborns?  It is stressful enough to travel with such a young child and it would be easier to do it so when the child is a lot older.  Even in the waiting sections they should make a creche for the kids so that they are not running amok and that we don't have to put up with their screaming.  You pray that you are not sitting next to them.  Also why does first and business class lounges have to have little children in them?  To be honest they are happier to be at home than holiday abroad to some exotic destination.

A child watching a plane take off If the airport is not stressful enough then the flight can be equally as bad.  I have had a couple of recent flight experiences where I have had to put up with annoying little kids who just don't shut up for the entire flight.  What is more annoying is that it was only ONE kid doing this, it was enough to make me want to parachute out of the plane!  The parents never say 'Use your 'inside voice' to these kids do they?  They just let them yap for the whole duration of the flight.  Whether it is two hours or 22 hours, listening to a noisy child is unpleasant during a flight.  I don't know why there are small kids on first and business class flights.  It is not a right to fly first class, it is a privilege, which should mean no little kids ruining it for others!  I don't mind paying extra money to be away from children on the plane because I want to have a pleasant flight.  If trains have quiet cabins then why can't planes have the same thing?

Air travel is not green because so many people have to use planes to travel to far off destinations.  I think to make it more environmentally friendly the number of passengers going on flights should be restricted.  I believe that airlines should not allow children under 7 years old on board any plane.  This would help keep numbers of passengers travelling abroad down.  Also I think it should be made a criminal offence if parents let their young child travel on holiday during term time when they should be at school.  Air travel needn't be stressful, so either ban kids or make 'family sections' or 'family flights', that way people can enjoy their journey wherever they are going.

By: Angry Autistic Female


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Angry Parent is an Asshole

Angry Parent is an Asshole

Angry Parent

You are WRONG. For many people who don't get a vacation very often they consider getting there is also supposed to be a part of the fun. What gall you have to tell people that getting there is merely "travel".
05/05/21 Angry Parent is an Asshole
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Chuppa chup

Chuppa chup

Must admit I love children but there are parts od this gripe I can relate to!!
Having one child myself who is senior school age, I am past the stage of crying toddler tantrums, or so I thought until a recent trip abroad! I was forced to endure a 9 hour flight with two screaming crying children, aged about 4-5. Ussually I can relate if it's a 10 minute thing, but to have to suffer this noise all the way there and all the way home again (another 9 hours!!) not to mention the whole time we were away. I just couldn't seem to escape this horrible noise of constant tantrums! Ontop of this, the parents just sat there and let her children get it out of their system! For the love of god feed your child, change them, give them a drink, do something other than inflict that horrible screaching noise on others for hours and hours! It certianly put me off having anymore children that's for sure.
With reference to the part about making it a criminal offence to take children out of school, that's a little obsurd. My child goes on numerous school trips throughout the year, atleast two or three camping trips, all with the school and all in term time. So if I wish to take my son on a family holiday without being ripped off then where is the problem? What is the difference between the school taking my son on a week long trip and myself taking him? So long as the child has excellent grades and excellent attendance throughout the rest of the year I see no issue with this.
22/07/16 Chuppa chup
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grumpyoldwoman

grumpyoldwoman

Hi Kenny,

I've been looking in every couple of days but not felt sufficiently motivated to post until today. Mind you, cyclists and immigration do wind me up!
04/09/15 grumpyoldwoman
1
Kenny

Kenny

Welcome back grumpyoldwoman! I agree btw.

New site still a work in progress, but it's a work in progress every day now!
04/09/15 Kenny
1
grumpyoldwoman

grumpyoldwoman

"You can't ban a section of society from travelling on planes." Why not?

Well behaved children are fine; I have grandchildren who I love dearly. They wouldn't be allowed to scream incessantly in public and weren't taken on a plane until old enough to understand that they had to keep fairly quiet and stay in their seats. Our children were brought up in the same way.

Travelling in term time doesn't help! There are still plenty of parents who take their kids out of school to go on holiday and in any case it's mostly the pre-schoolers who cause the problems. Why do parents of babies feel that they MUST have a holiday abroad however young the baby is? Very hot climates aren't good for babies; they would probably be more comfortable somewhere cooler. I suppose nowadays people see a holiday abroad every year as a necessity; whether they can afford it or not.

I do remember what it was like to be a child; I certainly wouldn't have been allowed to scream for hours. Back then a week in a caravan by the sea was the norm for holidays.

AND, have you ever sat on a plane for 4 hours with someone constantly kicking the back of your seat or grabbing hold of the top of your seat to get out of their seat every 10 minutes?
04/09/15 grumpyoldwoman
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Richard

Richard

You can't ban a section of society from travelling on planes. Also, it is not good for your mental health to be so intolerant of children. They are part of our society, whether you like it or not. I suggest you travel at times other than during school holidays or you could just withdraw from society altogether OR you could just be more sympathetic/tolerant of others and try to remember what it was like to be a child yourself.
03/09/15 Richard
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Annoyed parent

Annoyed parent

Are you willing to pay for parents to put their kids in these airport crèches? No? Didn't think so. What working family can afford childcare on top of extremily high living costs. My child would not be looked after by strangers anyway, thank you.
You don't like screaming kids? Do you think their parents are enjoying their kids being noisy or something? No, didn't think so.
You really have no idea how stressful it is for parent. Yes children make noise on the flight, they will be cranky and probably fed up or scared. I know for a fact telling my child to quieten down will only make them louder and telling off will send them into a tantrum, would u prefer that?
Us parents, just like you, need to travel and most of the time must take our kids, why make it harder with your annoying stares or comments that u don't think we hear.
Did you know complaining about them ruining your holiday sounds stupid when you are talking about an airport, that's not part of the holiday...that's the travel to get there.
Your username is angry autistic female. I have come across many noisy autistic people, especially on airplanes, who have made noises the entire flight. I was not once annoyed or anything, I accepted it and continued with my life. How would you feel if someone said we should ban autistic people on flights? It's down right offensive isn't it. so don't suggest we ban people under a certain age. What if they are doing an emergency visit to a dying relative abroad and want their children to see that relative for the last time before they die?
It's actually illegal to take kids out of school to go on holiday so that point pretty much ends there.
But yes I agree if someone is disrupting the experience of extra pricey first class, no matter their age or whatever other criteria, they should be asked to go to second class as people are paying for the experience in first class.
As for kids running and screaming at the airport, they are using up their energy so they sleep on the plane.
Family flights or sections are a good idea though. I'm sick of hearing snarky remarks from others like "can't you shut that child up". Why don't you people shut up?
Were you never a child once? Have a heart.
09/06/14 Annoyed parent
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Nick

Nick

Hang on a minute - I all of a sudden realize that this might be part of the airline's nasty little trick in order to force you to upgrade to premium economy class!
17/10/13 Nick
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LancashireLass

LancashireLass

Hi, Victora Meldrew, I'm sorry to hear about your flight from hell and I really sympathise with you. I agree with you that the airlines should bring in a policy where families (and all not rights included) should be stashed away at one end of the flight whilst us peace loving adults who love nothing more than to sit back and enjoy the flight,( that has, i may add, been has been paid for by your own money and not by the tax payers) and read either your book or Kindle throughout the duration of the flight without any disruption from squawking kids. Not that I condone any violence whatsoever I do think in this case ripping off the ignorant mothers head may well be a start then followed by booting the boisterous brat out through the window at 38.000 feet, sort makes you feel like justice has been served. But on a serious note the airline should have done more to help and treated the parents with anti social behaviour, afterall if someone is hideously drunk and disrupting the flight something would have been done about it. Also here's foods for thought all these out of control kids are own the same flight heading in the same direction god forbid that they are sharing the same hotel as you, unless like us opted for an adult only hotel.
16/10/13 LancashireLass
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Nick

Nick

That's what you'll get when Britain has so many dole scroungers on child benefit who can afford to go on holidays abroad - courtesy of hard-working taxpayers.
08/10/13 Nick
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miserablemoainggit

miserablemoainggit

I find that indulging in fantasy helps, particularly ripping off the parents heads, or throwing them and their little sh**s out of the plane, whilst picturing their screaming faces as they fall to earth, helps a great deal.

Sounds very extreme! Of course it does. However, when trapped in what is essentially a metal cage, with no means of escape, then it is amazing what the mind will indulge with in terms of imagination, and the feeling of relief that can occur. It is something akin to fantasising about winning the lotto when having had a particularly bad day at work - very therapeutic when one imagines what one says or does to one's boss.

Children's behaviour on planes is an extension of the way society has placed children on a pedestal, and removed the 'adult only' spaces that we once enjoyed. Children are to be seen and heard, and heard, and heard every more loudly, as their pig-ignorant, idiotic and overly-indulgent parents sit by and watch their centres of the universe behave as they see fit.

Any why is this stupid website indulging in American spellings, rather than British! Arrrrrggghhh!
08/10/13 miserablemoainggit
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boblet

boblet

The problem I have with your gripe VM is that you do not appear to have said anything at the time, to the people who were driving your blood pressure up. why is that?
07/10/13 boblet
0
grumpyoldwoman

grumpyoldwoman

Victoria, you have my sympathy, you really do.

The only other thing you could have tried is playing up your high blood pressure and pretending to be feeling really ill; the only thing that would make you feel better is some peace and quiet. If none was available you're afraid you may need a doctor, and so on........

Oh, and write to Easyjet and tell them you'll never fly with them again, of course!

Good luck on your next holiday.
07/10/13 grumpyoldwoman
5
Victoria Meldrew

Victoria Meldrew

I had a flight from hell recently,flying from Newcastle to Malaga. A small boy, about three or four year old was in the middle seat in front of me, with a man and woman who I presumed were his parents.
The shouting and screaming started before take off, and continued even after landing.
He didn't just scream, he kicked and threw things about, all the time this unearthly high pitched screaming which was deafening and went through me like a dentist's drill.
Not once was he told off or told to be quiet , nor did the cabin crew intervene, (easyjet)
One by one people around moved away to empty seats, but when I asked to move I was told there weren't any more empty seats, so I was forced to endure this frightful behaviour for more than three and a half hours.
I realised during the flight that the "child's" grandmother and mother were in the opposite row of seats, and far from being embarrassed , they seemed to find it very amusing, leaning across and encouraging him then looking back towards us and laughing. Incredible!!!!
I was so angry and stressed at their total ignorance in allowing him to behave like this, and very annoyed by the cabin crew, who totally ignored both his behaviour and my distress.
My blood pressure was dangerously high by the time I reached my destination, and I can honestly say it ruined my holiday.
I can't understand why people bring these kids away, the older ones should be in school anyway.
We try to avoid school holidays when going on holiday, by it seems that no matter when we fly we are surrounded by noisy badly behaved children.
I'm with Jeremy Clarkson on this, they should travel in the hold!!
Why can't airlines put every one with kids at one end of the plane together, and let the rest of us fly in peace? (Yes, I have had children but they were never allowed to misbehave like this)
07/10/13 Victoria Meldrew
4
Lancashire Lass

Lancashire Lass

Airports should have a child free zone, somewhere where you can go to get away from the squawking hoard. Also there should be an adult only flight option, or a section on the plane where you can have to option to buy a seat where you can guarantee not having the back of your seat unceremoniously booted at random intervals, I mean you can buy extra leg room so why not a squark free seat as well.
10/07/13 Lancashire Lass
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