Kids & Infants - dedicated cabin?

[Leftofcentre2009]

Now for a bit of healthy debate -

Picture this - 2hr flight to Spain on a scheduled carrier. My wife and I sat together in a row. Parents with an infant sat in the row behind, another group of adults with infant on lap in row infront.

After takeoff, I don my headphones and try fall asleep to some light music. My wife decides to read. Within 20minutes I am just dozing off, however am abruptly awoken by infant behind slapping the top of my head. It appears he/she is having a tantrum of some kind and the (non English) parents are struggling to assert control. The next 90 minutes are filled with our seats being jolted by infant and parents.

Shortly after that, the infant in front starts to scream and cry hysterically. He/she does so for the remainder of the flight.

What exactly can and do I do? - Remain calm and glance politely for the benefit of all.

I wonder what other passengers with and without children think about grouping children and infants together, rather than sporadically across the aircraft?

I do have kids of my own so I know how things can be a struggle. That said, I would like to hope I would not allow my children to cause a nuisance to others.

[Paraffin Budgie]

Personally I think that kids should be given special seats on the wings so that they can enjoy the view.

[farci]

I do have kids of my own so I know how things can be a struggle. That said, I would like to hope I would not allow my children to cause a nuisance to others.
Although I agree with Paraffin that wing walking might be a useful skill for two-year old kids to learn, you hit the nail on the head.

It's not the kids' fault. There are other threads on this board about this subject but I'm too lazy to search them

[Hotel Tango]

Too many kids with ADHD these days who have parents who don't know how to deal with them. They then make matters even worse by giving them crisps, sweets and gallons of sugary fizzy drinks prior to departure!

[ExXB]

Parenting is the most important job in the world, to which they are offered little, if any, training.

In the old days with nuclear families, parents learned from their parents. Now - perhaps some post-natal classes, if you are lucky.

[Avitor]

All aircraft should have an ejection capsule. :8

[Hartington]

Agree with everything about modern parenting. When ours were about 5/7 they had their first transatlantic (mid '80s) and we carefully briefed (can't think of a better word) them about how boring it might be and how they should behave. We took plenty of books (the younger one still needed support when reading but the older one was independent). We also had a walkman and appropriate tapes and a few small toys. Dare I say it, all was well.

I think there is a child free cabin - Premium Economy. It's not guaranteed but in my experience it seems to be true.

[Grant]

This subject has been done to death. The same comments will be posted, either "my kids were perfect", "it's the parents fault", "kids should be banned" etc etc etc
Two hours is just a short haul flight anyway.

[GrahamO]

Two hours is just a short haul flight anyway.

Not if someones spawn is slapping your head for two hours it isn't :rolleyes:

[parabellum]

Dog Boxes in the pressurised hold, similar age groups to be lumped together. Boxes to be brought out to the carousel for parents to claim and clean.

[Leftofcentre2009]

2 hours may not be very long on the flight scale.

hardly fair that somebody elses children should disrupt it for you when you've paid several hundred pounds for the privilege of a legacy carrier though is it. Cant really explain why but id expect this on a loco.

This subject has been done to death

useful contributory 2nd post from you there. Thanks for the comments :D

[Octopussy2]

Ah, you've hit the nail on the head - if only the parents had had the sense to inform their infant s/he was on a legacy carrier, not a LoCo, doubtless s/he would have desisted at once :ugh:

[Leftofcentre2009]

Or rather price the riff raff out of the legacy carrier and onto the local bus :E

Did i just say that ? :eek:

[Eboy]

I think grouping families with young children together is a reasonable idea. In the U.S. some restaurants will seat families together so that any disruption, if not eliminated, is at least contained. Some families might take comfort that there is a "kids section" they can sit in, and not be so anxious about traveling.

Sounds like you kept your cool. Good for you.

[PAXboy]

Separate cabins?? Never gonna happen. Next?

Parents control their childern better? Some will, some won't. Next?

Last Sunday, on approach the child behind me who had behaved well during the short sector started kicking the back of my seat in excitement. I waited for his mother to notice. She didn't. I turned round and made a polite but firm request. He did. Next?

[Tray Surfer]

Last week, a child ran through the curtain into the galley and slap bang into the side of the catering trolly I had just got out to start setting up in the galley for the second meal service... The parent came screaming and ranting into the galley having a go at me... Because, of course, it was all my fault.

[PAXboy]

Sometimes there are times you must want CCTV in the galley, Tray Surfer, to prove to the clutzy parents. On the other hand, there will be some times when you DON'T want CCTV in there... :ooh:

[ExXB]

I recall when they introduced smoking sections in aircraft (I was a smoker then) so we all had to sit in the back. With all us addicts puffing away it became intolerable, even for us die-hards (pun intended).

Now putting all the kids (and their parents) in one section is going to have similar effects.

And on the locos how do you know if the kid is a kid? Some have infant's fares but I don't think any have children's fares. YALM- Yet Another Logistical Nightmare.

[Aksai Oiler]

...and if you have paid the premium to sit in Club with your kids? I'd be quite happy to tell you all to sod off, I'll sit wherever I want too. I've had the dis fortune to sit next to plenty of adults whom act like kids, on both sides of the curtain. I took my daughter to London last year, she was 4 and was as good as gold the whole trip. A separate Cabin or demoting families with kids to locos only is discrimination and I'm sure if it happened would become illegal very quickly under EU law

[ExXB]

What exactly can and do I do?

Simple - earplugs and/or noise reducing headphones. I use both as the headphones don't really cut down infant noises.

[Octopussy2]

Just to clarify, the reason my comments now make no sense is because the original poster has deleted the part in the original post where s/he said something along the lines of "I might have expected it in on a LoCo but this was full-service".

[mixture]

Kids & Infants - dedicated cabin?

I thought that's what checked luggage was for. Put them in there in plastic boxes with vents on, just like dogs and cats. :E

[Sunnyjohn]

To attempt a modicum of sense on this thread:
Problems of recalcitrant children (or kids if you must - I thought they were young goats but what do I know . . .) will arise on all forms of transport and in any public situation. On most other forms of transport it is usually possible to move; on aircraft, not so easy. One solution already mentioned is headphones but this doesn't get over the kicking and having one's hair plastered with goo. If this is a problem you encounter regularly (and we fly regularly between Spain and the UK and haven't done so) you could provide yourself with some small items of entertainment value to children (kids), such as books, toys, a flight-enabled mobile device with cartoons on it, and offer to entertain the children (kids). Of course, by doing so, you would be opening yourselves up to child (kid) molestation, but it's just a thought . . .

[Heathrow Harry]

perhaps just dress like Jimmy Saville or Gary Glitter................. :\:\

[25F]

When booking with EZY you specify number of adults, under-16s, under-2s.

[LadyL2013]

I would welcome this.

Not sure how much an airline should charge/how they would go about it, but it would be nice to have a flight without kids screaming or children kicking the back of the seat.

Having said that I've also had flights with badly mannered adults too!

Not sure how they could stop the noise from radiating around the plane though, a baby's cry is pretty loud.

[25F]

I have argued in other threads that sensible lo-cos allow families with small children on first - so that others can avoid sitting near them, and for other reasons.

[ExXB]

That sensible loco now assigns seats, making it difficult to choose to sit away from children. If they want to go first, let them pay for it.

[25F]

Yes, they do assign seats, and for various reasons on the last occasion we didn't check in online until a day or two beforehand, leaving us with 18C, 18D, 19C, 19D (or similar). Seeing that this wasn't a sensible arrangement for two adults and two small kids, the chaps in 19A and 19B swapped seats.

As I've said before, I don't want to get on first. I want to be able to supervise my children safely and cause as little inconvenience to others as possible. If the best way of doing that was to board last I would happily do so.