My airline bends over backwards to make sure that children are well catered for on our flights.... all children, regardless of whether they're flying alone or not, receive backpacks, cuddly toy, colouring book and pens, activity book and puppet on the flight.... again, regardless of whether it's a quick hour in the air or 16 hours.
We even have polaroid cameras on board specifically to take photos of children on baord so that they can have a momento of their flight- all free, all given willingly.
The majority of the children are relatively well behaved, and can be sweet to fly with, and like LHR and some of the other posters on this thread, when we get time, we do our best to make life easier for the parents, especially on the aforementioned 16 hours!- we take the babies to the galley for a while, look at clouds out the window with the toddlers, read to them, draw with them, try and give the parents- and surrounding passengers- a break for an hour or so.
However, because we provide so much for children- we even have free nappies, baby bottles, baby milk, baby powder, bibs, spoons, the works, all available, parents just expect it. The above is there for parents when they run out, have forgotten something or genuinely need it. It is not there for greedy people to demand a bag full of free stuff because they cannot be bothered to use their own nappies, didn't think to bring any milk for their baby for a 10 hour flight.
The only thing we want in return is that when we ask the parents to do something, ie, strap the child in for landing etc, it is done.
I have had so many parents refuse to strap their child in because "he doesn't want to". This is not a baby who could be taken on the parents lap, but an 8 or 9 yr old who is running up and down the aisles as we land.
Quite frequently, I have mothers who tell me they cannot tell their toddling son what to do because he is a boy, and she cannot tell boys what to do (only has authority over the girls).
If you are being emotionally bullied/blackmailed/guilt-tripped by your own 3yr old, then what will that child be like at 18, when he has had a life of everything being handed to him on a plate?!
"The look" is only useful when it has been combined with good manners, and good parenting since birth. Most parents on our flights have well behaved children, and if they're acting up, a quick biscuit and juice with the crew at the back can usually solve the problem. To those parents however who take no interest in their children and are bringing them up to be as lazy, rude and spoilt as themselves......
