As I’m sure most parents have now heard, Southwest Airlines flight attendants kicked a cranky two-year old child off their plane last week. Mother and son were flying together from Amarillo, Texas to San Jose, California, and the toddler started shouting and crying before the plane took off.
Pamela Root’s 2-year-old son was screaming for the Southwest Airlines plane to “Go! Plane! Go!”
“I want Daddy!” Adam shouted. Over and over again.
Despite her embarrassment, the stay-at-home San Jose mom remained confident that once the plane took off and she fed him, Adam would calm down and take a nap–just as he had on the half-dozen other plane rides with Mom.
The flight crew wasn’t willing to find out.
Many parents have expressed outrage over this. But, I’m a little surprised at this mother. She couldn’t give the kid a few small snacks to keep him quiet before takeoff? He’s hungry, in a strange space, and screaming, and she decides not to give him anything. Huh? I’m assuming they were not the only two passengers on the plane. Did the mother not care at all about anyone else around them? I’m not saying the airline should have kicked them off the flight, but come on, lady. When it was obvious her son wasn’t calming down, her common sense should have kicked in. Giving him something small may have distracted him and prevented the whole episode. Instead, she was asked to de-plane and then had to spend additional funds for an unexpected night in Texas.
Traveling with kids is exhausting and challenging. I have taken many flights with my two small girls and most have gone well. However, I’ve had others that were a bit rough. On every single flight, though, I have done absolutely everything in my power to keep my kids entertained and quiet. That included snacks and treats I wouldn’t normally let them have, more videos than they normally watch in one day, schlepping books and toys, and breaking out my own entertainment repertoire that involved everything short of standing on my head. It’s not always perfect, but I gave it my all.
Yes, it is our right as parents to bring our children with us on trips. But, it’s also our responsibility to minimize any disruption to the other passengers. It seems pretty rude to expect everyone else on board to wait it out while the parent does nothing.
Let’s hear what you think. How do you keep your kids happy during travels?
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