The other day I was browsing through a few posts on the NYTimes Motherlode blog and came accross a ridiculous story about a 67-year-old woman who sued Qantas airlines for losing her hearing, claiming it was a result of a screaming child and airline crew negligence. The woman experienced hearing loss and wore hearing aids prior to boarding the flight. They reached a settlement but it is “sealed.” This case sounds almost as fishy as the one where that woman sued McDonald’s for burning herself on their hot coffee…What does it take to fly with children, to prevent upsetting other travelers on board and avoid any possible situation like that on Qantas? Stewards encourage parents with screaming children to take them in back and give them medication, to put them to sleep, doing whatever they can to make everyone else comfortable. Parents often blog about how it’s unfair for parents to criticize other parents openly, whether in line at the grocery store or on a plane. Sitting on a plane, there is no escape from those dagger eyes, which all parents know too well. It’s not even like you can discipline your child in public the way you would at home; on an airplane, there is no time-out chair, no corner to squat in. It’s probably best to come up with a small set of travel-specific discipline techniques, like taking away toys, refusing rewards like snacks or candies, etc.New security measures make it incredibly difficult for parents and children alike to fly safely and comfortably; in a world where liquids are restricted to a certain size, I wonder just when markers or other liquid-based toys will also be confiscated. Like any trip, you pack the whole art kit, games, electronics, anything and everything to help your child enjoy his/herself. Further, with airfare increasing ever so frequently, paying for an additional seat is just not cost effective. The question, then, becomes as much about safety as it does about finances. At what point do you just hop in the car and turn it into a good ol’ fashioned road trip?What do you do to calm your kids when traveling? Is there a trick to keeping your kids relaxed without turning to medication or bribery?
Related posts:
- Love Your Children!
- Bullied in the past, Bright futures ahead.
- Young children and the internet – uses and safety
- The”Only Child Myth”through the eyes of an only child
- Wisconsin 5th graders score big on stock market–hypothetically
