Ginnifer Goodwin of Once Upon a Time is pregnant with her second baby, with her husband and co-star, Josh Dallas. I would assume that she’s due around May, since the announcement was made last November. Goodwin voices one of the lead characters in the upcoming animated movie, Zootopia. She talked to US Magazine at the premiere about the challenges of being pregnant and raising a two year-old. It sounds like she considers air travel to be difficult, but not because her son is unruly on the plane, but because she feels judged by other passengers:
Once Upon a Time actress Ginnifer Goodwin and her costar husband, Josh Dallas, aren’t exempt from toddler-shaming when they travel with their 20-month-old, Oliver.
“People will look at us and they’ll roll their eyes when we go on an airplane,” the actress told Us Weekly on Wednesday, February 17, at the L.A. premiere of her new animated Disney film, Zootopia. “We’re like, just wait. We’ve got a pretty cool kid.”
[Goodwin] admitted she was thinking of her son while she walked the red carpet with Kristen Bell, Katie Lowes and Shakira. “He’s amazing,” she gushed. “I miss him right this second.”
Goodwin, who is having a baby boy, also said she’s been feeling tired. “Someone just told me that being pregnant is like, you put your body through what it is to run a marathon every day,” she told Us. “That made me feel a little better about being winded while chasing a 2-year-old around!”
“He does at least 50 percent of all the parenting, and I really don’t know how people do it when they don’t have a partner who’s not supportive,” she revealed. “It’s so hard. It’s beautiful. But it’s hard!”
Honestly I don’t get annoyed at babies crying on planes, I get annoyed at parents who think the rules don’t apply to them. I travel frequently, and I had an eight hour plane ride last month next to a couple with one baby. Almost the entire flight either the mom or the dad was in the aisle so that the baby could have a seat to herself. The baby was about five months old and could have been on someone’s lap, but they took up the aisle and were constantly getting stuff in and out of the overhead bin. No amount of side-eyeing or telling the woman I could wait to get out until she sat down would actually get her to sit down. So people don’t just side eye babies because they cry and fuss on the plane, which is completely understandable.
I traveled all the time when my son was an infant, I get it that it’s hard, but it’s hard for everyone else too. Plus, I would assume Goodwin flies business class. People pay thousands of dollars for that, they don’t want to deal with parents messing around. I’m not saying Goodwin does this, she’s probably a respectful traveler, especially if she notices people judging her. No amount of judging could get that mom to sit down for five minutes. I should have told the flight attendant.
photo credit: WENN.com
I’m fine with babies and I’m pleased to help parents by holding them if they need to stretch their legs or freshen up. I hate young squirmy children on long flights. I understand that they are bored, but they kick my seat, spill juice on me, and sometimes pull my hair, while the parents sleep and pretend not to notice. Once a family of three had two seats together and one a bit further, next to me, and they put their kid next to me presumably so I would have to babysit their kid. I had to complain so they eventually switched.
It’s not the kids, it’s the parents, always.
Oh yes ITA, its always the parents. Kids will be kids. Its not just on plane’s, experienced it on all modes of public transport and even walking down the street. I was almost run over by a 10 yr old on one of those scooters who wasn’t watching or caring where she was going and the parents were walking behind not caring that their daughter was at risk of either hitting someone or ending up under a bus. They were too busy talking and window shopping, generally doing their own thing.
If the parent appears to be trying to calm the child, even if it’s not working, I have a lot more sympathy/understanding. It’s not the that child is acting like a child, it’s that there are parents who seem to think they don’t even have to attempt to calm/control their child in airplanes/stores/restaurants, etc.
And sometimes children acting like children on a plane is funny. Several years ago there was a family sitting in the row behind me, the young girl directly behind me. The parents made sure she was pretty well behaved (no seat kicking), but we hit a little bit of turbulence. The girl wasn’t scared at all, instead she was going ‘wheeee!!!!’. The adults around her, including me, started laughing.
A good friend has 3 boys close in age. When they’d go to Hawaii, she’d sit in another part of the plane, and her husband who has a good sense of humor and is quite personable would manage the boys. He’d start out by buying drinks for all the passengers seated near them.
Ha, that’s awesome. Good Parenting: getting everyone within earshot of your children drunk.
Yup, unpaid babysitter here on a flight from Hawaii to Salt Lake City. The child was delightful, though, so it wasn’t so bad. Could have been a lot worse. They were a large family on the last leg of a flight from Samoa.
“It’s not the kids, it’s the parents, always.”
So true. I was on a flight one time with a bunch of kids that were younger than 10 and they were on a field trip. All of the parents, the “chaperones”, sat together and chatted and ignored the kids. The kids were insane. They were running around, screaming. I had my feet stepped on. I tried to “go to my happy place” and used a sleep mask. I had a kid grab my chair and pull it back so that he could put his face 2 inches from mine.
You can sit me net to Oliver any day. Did you see him?? What a cutie pie!
Ive been on both sides of this situation. My son would scream as we descended for landing up until he was 3 . His ears would pop, not a fun ride.
But now when a baby sitting close by starts screaming, I really don’t care. Better them than me is what I’m usually thinking. Glad my kids are older now so that I don’t have to feel stressed out about the ear popping issue on planes.
Ha, ha Dana! Me too! When any kid is throwing a tantrum or screaming, I feel like a Cheshire Cat smiling. “hey, it’s not mine!”
Why was her standing up bothering you? Genuinely curious.
Oh that would annoy me too. Someone hovering, probably chatting and fiddling about the whole time. I totally get it.
Me too. I also get very irrationally annoyed at a lot of things though, so there’s that. But yeah, just sit your ass down FFS.
I hate when ppl do this too … It just irritates me having someone hovering. But usually it’s older people I see doing this.
Kids don’t bother me. I am able to zone out.
I don’t get it either. I could care less if a parent walks up and down the aisle or just standa there for a bit. It beats a baby crying.
These parents that Celebitchy was talking about were not walking up and down to soothe a baby. They were giving the baby their seat. I always thought that you were suppose to stay seated with the seat belt on (even if the light was off) just in case something came up. I’ve been taking my grandchildren when they turn 8 to Disney World and I make sure they behave on the plane and everywhere else. When we are on a Disney transport and someone needs a seat (like an older person or someone with a toddler who would have a hard time standing solidly when the bus starts and stops) I make them or myself stand or I put them on my lap. Babies on a plane don’t bother me and I have entertained myself playing peek-a-boo with one or two of them.
I travel all the time and have never felt inconvenienced/annoyed by a hoverer. But if you sit next to me and try to talk the entire trip I will curse you, your children and your grandchildren.
She really is a beauty.
Ditto. I’ve never minded kids on a plane and can’t recall any times the parents were ignoring the kids, but I have had so many flights ruined by people who want to tell me their boring stories with no regard for the book on my lap or, worse, try to sell me things. I also had a woman in front of me fart the entire way to Europe. That wasn’t fun.
It would bother me. The aisles are supposed to be kept clear as much as possible in case of an emergency. They are shared space, not extra room for people to just hang out and make a nuisance of themselves. Plus if the plane had hit a sudden patch of turbulence, an unrestrained adult standing in the aisle could easily fall and injure him/herself or other passengers.
Also, if they wanted a separate seat for their baby, the parents should have bought a seat and strapped in a baby carrier. It drives me absolutely bonkers that I have to pay up to $125 each way to travel with my perfectly well behaved and quiet 15 lb. Cavalier King Charles Spaniel in a carrier that by God better fully fit under the seat in front of me while parents can travel with a 30 lb. toddler hellion for free as long as s/he more or less sits on a lap.
A child is not a dog, and strapping a baby in does not make it stop crying.
@Betsy-Personally, I’d rather have somebody with a cute, quiet puppy sitting next to me than someone with a wailing baby. Just saying.
That being said, as much as I want to punch a wall when I hear baby screams, I try to remind myself that it’s no joy for their parents either. A little empathy and understanding goes a long way in those kinds of situations.
Cute, quiet puppy, yes definitely preferable. I was on a red-eye last summer and someone had a dog who yipped every 10 minutes and they did nothing. So awful.
Wow. Full disclosure: I’m not a dog person at all, but I found your comment really insensitive. Travelling with a child is NOT optional. Travelling with a pet is almost always optional. That’s why you pay more for them.
cd3
You do have a choice on whether or not you travel longhaul for your holidays with children. My parents stayed local for our family holidays until I was 7 – old enough that a look from either parent would shut me up.
Some people have no consideration for others and parents who take babies/very young children on long flights are selfish.
I disagree.
First, most commentators are not making remarks limited to long haul flights. They are talking about flights in general.
Second, it’s pretty unimaginative to say that parents who take kids on long haul flights are “selfish” or that they shouldn’t do so. I live in Canada and my family is Polish. Should I not take my children on the long haul flight to Europe from Vancouver? Should I deny them seeing and meeting their grandparents because some random on a flight is a child-hater?
Lol. Did you seriously just complain about how crazy it makes you that your dog is not being treated like a baby?
@Helonearth
“Some people have no consideration for others and parents who take babies/very young children on long flights are selfish.”
So when I flew the only grandchild of my ill father across the world so they could meet I was being selfish?
I hate it when people travel with dogs on a plane. I have astma and an allergy for dogs, and having a dog near me can cause serious breathing difficulties. Taking medicine only helps me a little bit and for a little while, after one or two hours it stops working.
I sometimes wonder if people understand that their need to have their pets with them while traveling, can make others literally ill (allergy attacks lower the functioning of the immune system, which means that I often get a cold (or worse) after one).
I’ve been on the opposing seat of such an isle situation, and when people going to the restroom had to pass the hoverer standing next to me, I was the one who was bumped into every time. Wouldn’t have happened it said hoverer kept the isle free for the restroom traffic, meaning almost the entire seating area on that side since it was quite in the front.
It’s not that easy nowadays, you can’t just expect people to leave their kids at home! If I don’t fly internationally with my small children, my parents will never see their grandkids and I would have missed my siblings’ weddings/christenings etc… I live a 12 hour flight from home and pay upwards of $150 for the infant (lap) and 60-70% full fare for the toddler depending on airline. They don’t fly free.
For the most part I have always had great experiences and people almost always treat us so sympathetically. I don’t ignore my kids if they act up and I pack super light–no more than a compact diaper bag.
Yah, I don’t get it either. Who cares if they were standing in the aisles?
If you are sitting in the aisle seat and they are standing right next to you, it’s highly annoying for anything longer than a few minutes. Plane aisles are only about 17″ wide. Standing inches away from someone who is sitting means either your crotch or your ass is directly in their face. And if the person standing is futzing with something in the overhead bin, it means they are seconds away from potentially dropping something heavy right on your head. It makes my teeth hurt just to think about it.
I will say I was on a long haul flight from Europe (9+ hours) a while ago and my body just could not handle sitting that long. But when I stood up, it was only for a few minutes at a time.
The impression I got though was that the other passenger was sitting on the inside of the aisle, so that the other parent was standing nearest the baby or the other parent.
I agree it would be frustrating if the other passenger was sitting closest to the aisle and had someone in their face for lengthy periods… but a few min at a time would not bother me.
I’m with you on the standing and hovering thing. Because (especially if you’re long in the torso and the person is of average height) you are a lot closer in proximity to a person, and if you’re on the aisle, you have their butt right in your face. Part of the reason we tall people like to sit on the aisle is for the extra room to stretch. Cant really do it if you have some anxious person hovering at face to butt level in your airspace.
I try to live by the rule that if my child is behaving like…a child…I make sure that I’m the person most inconvenienced (like in terms of trying to deal with the situation. If he’s howling at dinner, I’ll end my dinner to take him outside, for example). If you make that clear, everyone else is pretty understanding. What I cannot stand are people who refuse to make any accommodation for their child. Like this woman at a cafe was letting her kid scream by the elevators four feet away (as a punishment). The entire cafe had to listen to him howl while she engaged in a leisurely afternoon coffee as if he weren’t there. Just, no. That is rude. Go away.
Actually I am sometimes baffled at how many people are willing to let their kids howl and scream while they stand there and do nothing. They seem to think it’s normal? my neighbour has a baby that she lets cry for half an hour on end. Don’t complain when your child gets really good at screaming for long periods of time, lady.
To your second paragraph: c’mon. “Lets her cry”? One of my kids was very prone to extended periods of crying when he was a baby. I was working like heck to get him to quit, believe me, though through the walls I’m sure my neighbors couldn’t tell that I was doing whatever I could to soothe him.
No, that’s different. I know some babies are criers. There’s a difference between having a colicky baby and then just flat up ignoring your baby. This lady is busy, I’ll give her that, but she does NOTHING when her child cries for virtually 30 minutes. That irritates me for the reason I put in my first paragraph (my neighbor parks her screaming baby outside my door at 11 PM while she casually lugs the rest of her belongings indoors or decides to do laundry outside. Don’t mind the rest of the world! We’ll just sit here. And listen. To a half hour of uninterrupted screaming. You’re busy. Sure).
I think it depends. As a parent, you cant give in to every temper tantrum of a child. If my toddler sees something at the grocery store she wants and starts to pitch a fit if i dont give it to her, im not going to give in and just give it to her. I will scold her and try to manage her, but if she continues to yell, im just going to carry on with my shopping.
You can side eye me now, but you will appreciate me not raising an entitled brat who gets whatever they want all the time. 🙂
My mom was able to shut me up with a mere stern look or a wispered “we’ll talk back at home”. That was all she needed because she was always very adamant on behaving while in the company of others. Of course, my mom is pretty much a unicorn as far as moms go, but I’m just saying, if you are actually educating your children it should not be about giving in or let the child cry on end and be a niusance to every innocent bystander.
Your kid also won’t get what he/she wants if you go home. I think what Greenieweenie is saying is that too many parents don’t want to interrupt what they want to do, like having a leisurely coffee, and instead think because they can tune out their own child that everyone else should.
@paleokifaru
A lot of kids just want to “win” or actually go home. So going home is giving them what they want. I think everyone needs to find a middle way to deal with their/others children. I don’t care with a kid screaming or throwing a tantrum for some minutes in a public space (like a supermarket or a shopping mall)…as jmho said I would prefer that since it is part of education. I think that in a small closed space the question is different and of course I appreciate that parents leave the education moment for another time.
Still, I hate (really hate) people that side eye parents that let their children (not a baby but from toddlers up) throw a tantrum without giving them any attention…That is how you do it!! If people are not stuck in a small space with them I don’t understand the problem.
@ Diana B
Not every child is the same. What works for some people doesn’t work for others. It’s always a combination of personality with education. And there are some ages where many kids will try their boundaries… If your mother’s look worked with you, you were probably a very well behaved kid 😉
[For what is worth, I have no kids but I’m a child psychologist and I did a lot of parental training…still just my opinion]
@jmho, It totally does, but if your child is pitching a fit in the Target aisle, would you then decide to go sit down at the Starbucks counter and enjoy a coffee for 20 minutes? If your child is raging hard, you would probably just aim to survive the checkout line and make it to your car and head home. I don’t have any problem with discipline, etc, but I really think there’s a valid distinction to make here: it’s on the parents to be most inconvenienced by their child, not the public. You can’t control your kids’ behavior but if they’re going to ruin people’s meals at a restaurant by howling, they should be ruining YOURS first–don’t you think? That’s just the cost of being a parent.
@paleokifaru, yes, exactly.
Aaaaaaarrrgghhhh I totally agree with all the comments about inattentive parents who let their kids howl. I absolutely roll my eyes because I’m afraid of being stuck up in the air in a tin can with a neglected, unhappy baby. On the other hand, if the baby’s ears are hurting from cabin pressure, that’s just sad. For the record, my son spent an entire trip from Ireland making faces at an adorable baby in front of him who thought he was hysterical, so baby traveling doesn’t HAVE to be torture, which I think is her point.
I have also spent a plane trip making faces at a very appreciative baby, and I’m not a child!
I’ve also spent a trip getting my seat kicked the entire time by a 3 year old whose parent would do nothing to stop it.
I’ve spent my trip last weekend getting my seat kicked the entire time by a 30 something year old woman. Really, some people have no manners, so probably they just can’t see it/don’t care if their kids do the same.
@Belle Epoch: I agree with you 1000%! You have to try and make the best of a bad situation, otherwise you’ll drive yourself (and others) crazy. I’ll never forget flying home from caring for my dying brother, miserable and scared out of my mind, and a two-year-old boy in the seat in front of me playing peekaboo. He literally made me feel human again. His dad kept apologizing, and I had to tell him over and over again that his son was my guardian angel for the flight! 🙂
When my niece was acting a fool in Subway, and old enough to know to not act a fool, my stepfather “took her to the big truck.” So my Mom, sister and I are all trying to sneak to the window to see what is happening in “the big truck” and when we got to the truck, my niece was chilling in the front seat and my stepdad was checking e-mails and stuff on his phone, everyone was all calm and quiet. He didn’t yell at her or scold her, he just removed her from the situation so that everyone else could finish their meal in peace and so that my niece could calm down. I don’t understand parents that just let it go on and on and then it is the huge production trying to get the kid out of the situation.
Sounds like that was a good thing for your stepdad to do to calm your niece down. I think that’s the kind of entourage a kid needs though. You need someone who is willing to let others eat while the kid is looked after (and bonus points when it’s not the same person stuck with kid duty Every. Single.Time.) Even though parents signed up for that kind of work, I feel bad for the parents when they are hungry or when they have to get groceries (because there is truly nothing at home) and the kid (who isn’t that hungry or in need) just decides to pitch a fit out of boredom.
On one hand, I get the whole “Let them cry thing”. Some kids think that if they cry/scream/holler it will get them what they want. If you hold strong, and ignore it, they’ll soon realize that method doesn’t work and that you mean business.
HOWEVER, I agree that if you’re in a public place like a restaurant, please find another solution, even if its going home early.
As a parent I will do anything to make the screaming and crying stop when we are in public. If we are at home, I’m willing to finish supper while my toddler howls for a few minutes. But in public? It’s really unfair to other people.
I have zero issues with kids either. I’m general the one pulling faces at them or whatever on planes. Most kids are fine. But there are parents that legit won’t keep their kid in line to stop disturbing other passengers. It happened on the last flight I was on until a flight attendant said something. There’s no excuse for letting your kid run wild.
That being said there are people that really do judge parents with kids no matter how respectful they are. We see it in restaurants too.
I will confess it right now. After having had more than one awful trip because of children, I now am one of the people thinking “pleasenotnexttome, pleasenotnexttome” when I see a family with small children coming down the aisle.
same here.
I once flew from France to La Reunion (11 hours flight) and there was a baby on board which was crying ALL THE TIME because of the cabin pressure. Poor thing. My then boyfriend talked to the (French) parents and they went on vacation (!) there.
I’m totally judgy about parents who put small babies through such an ordeal just to go on a nice vacation. As if France doesn’t have any beaches.
Ever since I’m always checking whether there are any families with small babies and if I sit next to them, I immediately ask the flight attendant for another seat. 🙂
Not sure who or were were judging her… I am pretty sure she flies business and the seats are wide enough and far enough apart that little feet can’t kick and little hands can’t reach. We have been flying with our kid since he was three, long international flights on business. No one has ever given us nasty looks, and in many ways he is a better behaved passenger than most adults. As a family we get seated together, and at best there are three seats in a row, so no one else ever has to sit next to us. I may have spilled food and coffee on a plane, but I was always super careful that he didn’t. Yes, like every other moment involving kids, it comes down to the parents: are you raising a respectful, well-mannered human being or not? And I would have n problem asking the attendant for assistance if a child got out of hand.
I admit I have been guilty of a slight eye roll if I see a family with an infant seated behind or in front of me, but only because they will cry – whether from discomfort or eventually just being a baby. No judgement whatsoever. You know who I judge? The parents that are ignoring their kids having a complete meltdown on the airport floor (any dirty floor in a busy place) and just ignore them. That gets me so mad. Not only is it disturbing to others, it is unhealthy, in-hygienic and emotionally distressful to the child. Ffs, pick her up and comfort her, wipe her tears and talk to her.
If I have a problem with a child on a plane it’s usually the parents fault, especially if they are kicking my seat are being unruly and the parents just sit there and ignore them, as for babies I understand that the pressurization of the plane hurts their ears and when they get hungry crying is how they say hey feed me, as for them walking in the aisle with the baby to calm them that’s fine, I’m more annoyed by the person that has to get up every 10 minutes to get something out of the overhead.
Sometimes it is the parents who are the problem. Took a flight from Toronto to Vancouver a few years ago . A child around two proceeded to cry and SCREAM from the moment we took off. The parents just sat there reading, no attempt to comfort the child. Finally after almost an hour a flight attendant came over and asked the parents if the child was okay. The parents said he is fine just cranky and the fight attendant replied” well the other passengers are getting cranky and will get angry if we have to divert the flight to have you taken off the plane!”
The parents made sure the child was calmed down fast! ( he wanted his teddy bear)
Those parents need to be slapped for that.
I doubt a crying child would be justification for getting a flight diverted. $$$
The flight attendant probably just said that to make them do something about it.
That flight attendant is the real MVP.
Signed, someone who had to sit next to a shrieking baby from Guam to Japan while the parents did nothing.
I would gladly pay extra for a “guaranteed childfree” flight just to avoid these types of parents.
in our dreams – ‘Child-Free’ flights.
I actually remember reading a couple years ago that one airline was considering adding a couple of child free flights, I don’t think it ever happened though.
As a mom to kids I have no problem with the idea, just like there are child free hotels. It would actually benefit both parties.
I’m never judging parents travelling with babies. I even once had to reassure a mother who was apologizing for the disturbance. Hey, it happens. However, for long distance flights, I shill the extra bucks for a night flight. Altitude, a cocktail and a glass of wine and I’m out.
Could this be, that, in her case, she flies 1st or business and the important people of this world are generally less patient or understanding than us the plebs?
I used to work with a couple who on long haul flights paid extra so they could avoid being around families and get some sleep.
Paying extra is for extra space, premium meals, priority exits, better service.
At no point when you buy a ticket, the list of perks includes a “will not be exposed to child and families “.
Families with financial means exist too and they are also ready to pay sometimes. So, the “I paid more, why do I have to be in presence of children” mentality totally escapes me. The strategy can work but a childless environment isn’t owed to you just because you paid.
We flew from Canada to London in business when our baby was 4 mos old. She was in a bassinet attached to the plane wall (not sure if they still have those) and the flight attendant kept standing up from his jump seat and letting slam against the other side of the wall she was attached to, thus waking her. He would then get mad at us that she started crying and suggest we take her into coach until she stopped. I thought my dh was going to throttle the steward because it was his incessant up and down that kept waking her and start the crying on the overnight flight. Now with pods I’m not sure if babies are even allowed in business??
i’m patient with kids and they rarely bother me. adults are far more annoying, and i have zero patience with them.
Ditto 🙂
This. I once was seated next to my perfectly behaving four-year-old and behind the biggest *sshole ever. Thought it was ok to recline his seat so he could be more comfortable. Daytime flight from Barcelona to Amsterdam. Now if you feel flights are cramped in the US, please come and enjoy Vueling. I’m five seven and my knees are against the seat in front. He felt he was too tall to keep his seat upright. When he stood up he was my height. Four hours of his awful aftershave and music made me pretty pissy.
I fly on biz a fair amount and have kids and would never ever judge a parent who is engaged with their kid . I will not even judge you if you are too exhausted to effectively deal with your child. Been there done that, it’s not fun to see someone cringe when you walk down the aisle.
Sorry, but as a frequent business traveler (who can’t fly business class), I would rather eat dirt that sit near a screaming baby for hours. If you are trying to get some work done or plan something in your head, you can forget it. It doesn’t matter if the parents are at fault or whether the baby is just being a baby, the rest of the passengers are suffering too.
Yes! The screaming baby always get a seat near me. Sweet Jesus!
Buy a pair of the bose noise-eliminating headphones. I got them for my hubby and he says they are the best gift ever! They are expensive but worth every penny if you travel frequently for work.
I guess I’m not particularly judgmental of the parents. Or the kids. It just makes me angry when my seat is kicked repeatedly or my hair is pulled or the child is screaming because I have paid for my seat. And if an adult was doing that to me, they would be kicked off the flight. I think there should be a zone or section for people flying with children like there used to be a smoking section. And a zone for the rest of us.
I had a seat kicker behind me on a cross-country flight and the parents did nothing. And then two days later I started showing signs of chicken pox. So on the flight I was totally contagious. Sweet revenge perhaps but I felt totally guilty.
I would be more likely to presume you got the pox from a brat.
Once I had a kid sitting behind me who was violently kicking his sister with both feet on the seats (he was sitting sideways and kicking alternating feet bam, bam ,bam, bam!). I had to stand up, turn around, and give the mother a look. I just couldn’t sit by while that girl was being beaten. Yes, it was her brother, but it sounded and looked really painful! After my look the mom passively said, “stop, son”.
I was on a bus once when my daughter was about 18 months, and I was pregnant with number two, and she was losing it. Being on the highway, I wasn’t allowed to walk her up and down the aisle for safety reasons, so was doing my best to comfort her in our seats. She was inconsolable and I was getting there too, when I hear some jackass in the back yell that someone should throw her out the window to get some quiet! I was mortified, hot, pregnant and hormonal, and just broke down into sobs with that. No one expressed understanding, offered to help or did anything but glare at me, and I have never traveled by bus again. Even the bus driver was a douche. Since then, I have a lot of sympathy for parents that try.
Wow, that sounds awful. There are a lot of insensitive, selfish people out there. Sorry that happened to you.
Sometimes good kids have bad days, and if a parent is trying to calm and soothe them and address the situation, I can’t imagine someone thinking it’s OK to tell you to throw your child out a window.
I have been in that situation too. Nobody ever said anything but I know how it feels to be trying everything and nothing works and everyone’s glaring at you. I have all the sympathy for people who TRY…I think that’s all we can ask from parents. The ones buried in their phones pretending their kids don’t exist? Ugh.
I would have helped you, JENN, and I’m so sorry that happened to you.
Yes, a Once post (sort of)!
Can we get some Colin O’Donoghue here, too now and then? With some Jennifer Morrison to round it out? Lana Parilla would make a lovely addition too.
Colin O’Donoghue – Mmm yes please.
I think most people can recognize when a baby /toddler suffers and when the child is simply whithout guidance. Only last week out little one was bored in a restaurant. He went to play under the table, hit his head and started wailing. My husband took him out for a walk and in 5 min. they were back. No problem, no side eyes. More often than not it’s how the parents interact with their children that raises brows, not the children per se.
We are flying in April with our what will then be 6 month old, 3 year old, 12 year old and 13 year old. I’m terrified. I may pass Xanax out to those sitting around us.
We’re flying in March with our 2 year old wild child. He’s a screamer. I’m nervous as hell. That kid will probably have the best flight ever b/c I’m going manned with lollipops and chocolates. Worst case scenario he’ll be eating candy for two hours, but as long as he keeps quiet. Despite discipline, some kids are just incredibly independent and toddlers are difficult.
ETA: I can control him from touching others (hair pulling, etc), but the tantrums can be uncontrollable, but I try, I swear.
Last flight we took, we went to the dollar store beforehand and stocked up on cheap toys, coloring / crafts, puzzles and a few treats. We then wrapped all the items before the flight. We doled these out incrementally over the 5.5 hour flight to our 3 y.o. Not only did the unwrapping and surprise factor keep his little hands busy, but he was entertained and quiet for hours with the new toys he had never seen before. Also, it stopped him from eating candy for 5 hours straight as while he was playing with his new horde, I could feed him bites of proper food that he was too distracted to notice.
Great idea, cd3!
We take one of our smartphones and put several (compressed) episodes of my son’s favorite shows on it. Flightmode, headphones and you’re set for a few hours.
Not sure if giving a captive child sugar is the right idea …
I think I have to say something to parents here. I think *all* of us have sympathy for parents when a child is not feeling well, hungry, or just flat out being two years old.
But it’s the parents who bring their kids on a flight — with NOTHING to entertain them, no snacks, no games, no nothing and then sit there with their noise cancelling headphones when their kids are all fired up that give the rest of you a bad name.
I always offer to help if someone is obviously trying. It’s the parents who will let their kids kick your seat for hours, do nothing about it, and then get mad at you if you give Junior a stern look who are the problem and the reason I whisper “pleasenotnexttome” if I see you coming down the aisle.
Thank-you for this comment. I think it’s very well put. And trust me as a parent of a 3yo and 6yo, a little sympathy and assistance from a stranger goes A LONG way! One flight we took awhile ago, when my kids were much younger, a lady across the aisle kindly offered to read a book to my 4 yo so I could take the 1 yo baby to the bathroom to change him without taking the 4 yo with me. I swear to God, I almost professed my love to her. It only took 5 min of effort on her part, but I was such a kind gesture.
Thank you, cd3. And if we ever meet on a plane, I’m happy to entertain your kids and give you a break for a few minutes every now and then! 🙂
Entertainment and snacks are key. My mom bought a giant activity/coloring book that I would only get to have on airplanes. That kept me busy for years worth of flights, literally. She’d help me do the puzzles, I’d color the pictures, and since it was The Plane Book the novelty never wore off. I remember being sad when we’d finally finished the last puzzle/activity in the book. I think I was 12 at the time, and I could barely read when she first got it. We flew at least once a year so that’s saying something.
So whatever entertains your kid, consider getting a special version of it just for the plane.
That’s such a cool idea, Wren. And I bet u have many cherished memories of the times you and your mom colored and solved puzzles together in that book 🙂
Good luck :/ im really glad that my husband and I don’t really have a need to board an airplane with our baby. It sounds insanely stressful. We live about 10 hours drive my family and 20 hours from his. Just thinking about getting the kid and all of the stuff through security stresses me out, so I just don’t plan on doing it for awhile yet. But, I have a friend with a 1 year old and they’ve taken him to 4 countries already just for pleasure trips. So to each their own!
Thanks everyone for the suggestions and sympathy!
I do think alot of parents feel like they can bend the rules because they have children. No just on flights but everywhere. I’m not sure where this entitlement came from but having a baby isn’t so special anymore. There are 7 billion of us, nobody cares that you have a baby with you.
It’s because we’ve privileged both childhood and motherhood to ridiculous degrees over the last forty years. My older cousin recently became a grandmother for the first time and she was howling with laughter after spending a couple weeks with her daughter and new granddaughter. She couldn’t believe how precious my cousin was about being a new mother and having a baby. She was like, “Women have been having babies for hundreds of thousands of years, it’s not that special.”
Realitycheck’s comment x 10000000
You only say this because you have not met my two precious snowflakes yet. I get it.
I fly regularly, and the amount of people who don’t book seats together (it costs like an extra $10 on most airlines), arrive as late as possible and then expect a bunch of people to switch seats so they can sit with their children is shocking. I’ve had two mothers try and sit their child in the extra space between business class seats, because they were too cheap to buy the kid a seat and they didn’t want them on their lap the whole the time.
Hating on parents who bring their baby on a plane is just ridiculous, but that doesn’t mean it’s not annoying to hear a baby cry for hours (that would make you super-human in my book).
Adults who can’t keep their arms in their own seat because they’ve brought their whole office/school curriculum on the plain are even more annoying tho… Good to know you’re so f*cking important you deserve to take up a quarter of my seat too, unless I feel like getting poked by your elbow for hours.
+1
+2
I will admit to inwardly rolling my eyes or maybe, very quietly, saying to my flying companion “Urrrrrgh, just our luck” BUT that’s just me being grumpy when I fly. Would I prefer to not have a screaming/excitable/loud/kicking small person in my close vicinity? Of course! Would I convey that to the parent(s) of said child? Of course not.
They have just as much right to be on that plane as I do and they are probably acutely aware some people are bothered by children and in most cases are doing all they can to keep the child happy – on the rare occasions they are not and are generally ignoring a child who is running around pi**ing people off, then maybe I would say something. Maybe.
I feel bad, but I’m definitely one of those people who braces themelves when they see a baby or young child on a plane. That said, there’s only so much a parent can do. If I see them trying, I really don’t care. The effort makes a difference to me, because it’s about respect for the other passengers on the plane. My brother in law has 4 kids under 7 and his philosophy is “babies and kids cry and throw tantrums, it’s what they do.” So they don’t do anything when their kids act up on planes or anywhere else. It drives me CRAZY because it’s so inconsiderate to everyone else. I now make it a point to be careful where I bring my baby because date nights are sacred, and I would hate my crying baby to interrupt a couple taking a needed night off who paid for a sitter.
Yeah, I agree. I was seated next to a woman with a baby on my last trip, and she was trying so hard to keep him quiet, kept apologizing and giving me these petrified looks. I told her not to worry, he could sleep on the both of us since he clearly just wanted more space. And I don’t even like kids. Not a great situation, but some parents just make it harder on themselves by being entitled assholes.
If I am seated on an airplane near a child who is up until the age of 6 I am going to be pissed. there are many reasons I don’t want to have children, and one of them is that I do not want the hassle of trying to travel with one or even paying for a sitter anytime my husband and I want to do something we enjoy.
Why do you automatically get to be pissed if there are kids on a flight? Just because you don’t want to have children of your own doesn’t mean people who do have children shouldn’t be allowed out in public. Just as I tell my own children, the world doesn’t revolve around you. Sorry, but people with kids have to fly sometimes, too. I used to fly alot, and I have always found adults to be more rude and inconsiderate when traveling than kids–seat bumping, bad hygiene, elbows, talking loudly, etc. An adults should know better.
That being said, I kinda hate that there are bad parents who think their kids are special flowers who don’t need to be disciplined, and there are parents who can’t be bothered to parent. They make it harder for those of us who do try to go out on public with our children without judgment. I am a librarian, so perhaps I’m a bit more aware of judgment from others, because I often see it from library patrons who think children should be silent at all times (even tho we don’t have that kind of library). I always try to be conscientious of others wherever we go–church, restaurants, planes, etc. My husband and I took our 3 children to Disney World (from Michigan) last year, and I saw the eye rolls as we got on the plane. But, we wound up getting SO many compliments on how well behaved our kids were. I made sure they had plenty of snacks, books & activities & they were great.
I cringe when I see kids on planes but you’re absolutely right Scarlet Vixen! Adults are the real culprits when it comes to rude.
If a parent is trying to deal with a difficult child on a flight I am always sympathetic, and will even try to help, if possible. (I once spent a cross-continent flight reading Harry Potter to a little boy who wouldn’t stop crying.) But I fly a lot and my experience is generally that parents don’t try to prevent their children from being monsters on planes. They buckle in and check out and completely ignore that their hellspawn is making everyone else on the flight miserable. Also, I see this a lot: parents will sit together and stick their kids in seats next to strangers and expect the strangers to deal with their kid during the flight. I *refuse* to do this. I have refused to take my seat on more than one occasion until parents have moved to sit with their own kids. You want to travel with your kids? Great. I don’t.
Team Louisa
I fly a lot, an awful lot. I finally bought noise cancelling headphones so I don’t have to listen to anyone. I don’t have much of an issue with babies, they’re little and don’t get it. I have been known to help out the very stressed out looking parents by taking the baby from them for a few minutes to give them a break. I’ve walked the isle with a few and fed a few. Just, for the love of god, don’t let them scream without taking care of them. Babies I can handle. Bratty, misbehaved, nasty little rugrat children I cannot. I will not stand for the seat kicker or the hair puller. One kid pulled my hair from the seat behind me and I got up turned around and told his mother to keep her monster under control. This was the last straw after 3 hours of seat kicking, yelling, grabbing the back of my seat and pushing it back and forth. The mother complained to the flight attendant, said flight attendant had me moved to business class (I will love that woman forever) after explaining to the mother that she had been watching the situation and was waiting for me to say something.
I can’t help it, I cringe when toddlers and kids under 12 get on a plane. I have 2 kids of my own, I know you have to do it once in awhile, but I can’t help the jolt of terror that goes through me.
I was once in an airport waiting for a connecting flight home from Mexico. I was waiting in line for ice cream, and heard the horrific nasal drone of a surgeon I despise from home. I could not believe it. To then board the plane and find his wife sitting in front of me was even more horrifying. The very wealthy cheap skate was flying coach, and sat in the back with the older well-behaved children, but arranged his wife and extremely disobedient three-four year old in the front row right in front of me. The child was an absolute horror. He didn’t have his own seat, and chose to have a major temper tantrum right when the plane took off. He rolled around on the floor kicking and screaming. I can still picture this kid’s face. The surgeon would show up intermittently (to explain to the mother how she should be handling her child), and I’d pop on my sunglasses and pretend I was asleep. Ruined my entire flight.
Can we talk about the fact that Josh Dallas is fine as hell though?
Yeah good for her, right?
I get what she’s saying, but if her kid is so chill, there’s no need to worry about the other passengers. My toddler has always been a relatively good flyer, but that’s because I work at it. On our latest flight, I could see a middle-age businessman across the aisle giving me and my three-year-old the side-eye when we got on. And he kept looking over throughout the flight, even though I was working at keeping her occupied and quiet. At the end of the flight he complimented us on what a good flyer she was.
So yeah, I totally agree with PPs about having little tolerance for parents who don’t try to control their kids on flights. Lord knows we’ve all suffered through bratty kids on planes. But Gennifer Goodwin is facing the same thing all parents face when we fly.
Last flight we had this older man across the aisle (obviously wealthy and powerful) kept glaring at my special needs son-he can’t speak so he makes other noises to communicate or uses his IPAD to speak-don’t know why he was so annoyed by him. Our first flight with him as barely two years old had us petrified as it was long and he had a tendency to fuss but he went right to sleep from the motion of the plane and the humming of the engines. We’ve never had issues on other flights with him-he usually becomes the favorite passenger of the flight attendants and pilots-last flight he left with a plane replica and an info card on it. I cannot recall any flights ruined or disrupted by any babies or children-I guess I’ve been lucky.
That man across the aisle is a tw@t.
My 3yo nephew was bitten on the NOSE by a girl in his class because they were both grabbing for the same toy. He was the 4th victim, though the first to be bit on the NOSE.
Her mom approached my sister-in-law to apologise, but was offended that my SIL was still upset, didn’t immediately melt at her gracious apology and instead insisted that it was not okay for her son to bitten at all, let alone on the freaking NOSE.
“It’s a phase, all kids go through it! It’s normal!” Said the Mother of the Year. My SIL refused to back down.
So said mother of the chomping snowflake turned up at the school the next day with printouts from the internet explaining that indeed, biting is a phase that all children go through so everyone can be enlightened and chill.
Some people really shouldn’t have children.
Ahhhh good ol’ confirmation bias. Let me dig up any article on the interwebz that validates my point (dismissing all those that don’t) and shove it down people’s throats so I don’t have to teach my kid not to freaking BITE people.
Agreed, assholes make horrible parents. And likely breed a whole new generation of assholes.
I have two young children and even I roll my eyes when I see a couple with young children sit near me on an airplane. It’s just painful, I dont hate you, and the poor kids can’t help themselves… its just painful. But you know what really gets on my nerves? That person in front of you who insists on reclining their seat the entire time. I WILL do everything in my power to make sure your seat gets bumped, kicked and nudged as much as possible.
@shewolf: this x 1quizzillion. I have to wonder if some of the very special snowflakes who think children should NEVER be on a flight with them are the same ones reclining into the knees of my 6’4″ bf. Or side eyeing me and my pretty well-trained little guy… As they guzzle booze and talk loudly during the whole flight. Guess we all have our issues.
Flying can be so unpleasant that are a whole list of people that I would prefer not sit near me. I love dogs but on a recent flight, I had to smell dog shit for 3 hours–I’d rather sit next to a crying baby any day. Small children who sit behind you and continuously kick the back of your seat is something I can live without or the person who sits in front of you and completely reclines his/her seat. Babies are delightful by comparison to a lot of options.
I feel the same way about babies and kids on planes that I do about them in restaurants. They need their own sections away from everyone else where they can be as loud and chaotic as they need to be.
I actually think lap babies should be eliminated. Should have to pay for a seat and strap the baby into a car seat. Those lap babies are not safe at all.
My daughter is really good on planes but we still got the looks from passengers. Some guy saw me breastfeeding our daughter and immediately asked for a seat change haha. She was covered with a scarf and immediately fell asleep for the entire flight.
I agree about the baby safety. If anything happens they turn into little projectiles.
Actually now that you mention it, that is a valid safety concern. My co-worker was recently on a flight that hit several air pockets. She said the first one woke her out of a sleep, and during the second air pocket, her arms flew over her head. The plane had to divert and take some passengers off for medical attention: a child being held in her mother’s lap, and one of the air flight attendants flew up and hit the roof. Don’t think they were seriously injured, but they could have been.
Yeah it will anger lots of people who don’t want to pay for seats for babies. But i think it’s best for the babies to be strapped in. These bad turbulence stories perfectly explain why.
The problem is little kids will not stay strapped in. They want to move around. I flew to Europe with my 2.5 y.o. daughter to visit family. She screamed bloody murder every time I had to strap her in for turbulence and tried to get out of it. It was an absolute nightmare.
My daughter is nearly 3 so i understand they can be difficult. But they’re not allowed to be out and walking around the car, why should a plane be different? I just tell her that she needs to stay strapped in and then give her books and movies to use. When it comes to safety, what she wants matters very little. I’m not trying to sound like a perfect mom but she knows that she needs to listen to us. It’s something we’ve always enforced
She didn’t want a book or even movies. Not for all 10 hours and she couldn’t sleep. Movies don’t entertain kids who are 2-3 y.o.
Oh come on, kids are annoying on a plane, they scream and cry and you’re stuck in a small enclosed space with these terrors for hours, but you can’t say anything because God forbid. We’re supposed to be tolerant and smile because they’re children. Fine if you want to take your babies along, but don’t judge others for being justifiably annoyed.
Yes, *SOME* children are annoying on planes. Not ALL children. They key words in your comment are “justifiably annoyed.” It’s not justifiable to be annoyed just by a child’s sheer presence.
Also annoying on planes: ADULTS who are loud talkers, seat bumpers, spread their piles of books papers and laptop everywhere like they own the place, throw garbage on the floor and aisles, piss on the seats in the bathroom and don’t flush, are rude to flight attendants, are rude to fellow passengers, have bad hygiene, have bad manners, get drunk and disorderly, take up the entire overhead compartment and floor space with their bags that they refuse to check, recline their seat into your lap while you’re trying to drink a coffee, etc etc etc. I’ve even been on a 12 hour flight from LA to Sydney where a lady spent hours clipping, filing and painting her nails in the seat by me!!
Let’s not demonize ALL children while at least half of the adults on a flight are just as bad or worse… And BTW adults should know better.
You make a good point.
Also, your second paragraph reminded me why I HATE flying. I guess being in close proximity with a large group of strangers for an extended period of time is always a recipe for discomfort.
You’re absolutely right. Adults are often way worse than children on flights.
The nail clipping thing – happens on all odds of public transport. Humans can be more disgusting than some animals.
You really should pay more attention to nice people and well behaved children. They are the ones who don’t draw attention to themselves. Usually they form the majority of people surrounding you, so it shouldn’t be that hard.
No kids and I cringe when I see babies and kids on a flight. Of course parents and kids have a right to be on the same plane but I’m always waiting for the meltdown. Just human nature.
I’ve raised two sons on the spectrum and one of the most effective behavioral modification (BM) techniques is to not give in to tantrums or violence. In the beginning, my instinct was to comfort them, scoop them up and get out of wherever we were. This only reinforced the behavior and it happened again and again whenever they wanted to leave. Once I was trained in BM and one of the boys acted up, we stopped what we were doing and waited it out. As long as he was not hurting anyone or himself, I let him scream and kick the floor until he was ready to continue. Oh my, and the comments I’d get! I would often ask if they understood BM. Some did, most didn’t, and a few even asked for the number to the school to learn it themselves. My boys also learned, very quickly, when they were told to do something, they better do it or mom was going to get up off the bench and hand over hand, make them do it. Without anger, without reaction. It was not easy, but it worked. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen parents at playgrounds, restaurants, etc. issue empty and ugly threats to children. I’d rather hear the kid screaming. After BM training, I could take my children, one who was severely autistic, anywhere and both my boys are polite and well behaved to this day. So leave your judgments at the door of whatever public facility you are using and show some compassion. There may be things going on you cannot fathom.
And the psychological and physical effects – for example, migraines that knock a person out for a day – that your child’s tantrum cause for some people are apparently beyond your ability to fathom.
Not all kids are hellions and not all adults are perfect angels. Let’s face it: some people are less considerate than others. This goes for children, adults, and parents alike. It’s unfair to side-eye someone, roll your eyes, or be annoyed just by the sheer presence of a child or baby.
I get really annoyed by this. My kid is almost 10, but looks 5 or 6, and people are so rude. We’re pretty strict on behavior and always have been, but the annoyed looks happen as soon as we arrive. I just wonder when it became socially acceptable to be annoyed by the mere presence of a small person.
I’m not sure if this is a new thing but as a mom, thank you for blurring out the face of their baby boy! I noticed it on Adele’s post, also. Of course I would love to see a sweet baby face but as a mom, I would be very upset if people were taking pictures of my child and posting it all over the world. The baby isn’t a celebrity! Is this a new thing? Or am I just noticing it? Either way-good job!! I get mad enough when my MIL blasts my baby’s face all over damn Facebook without asking me for permission. I haven’t traveled with my infant yet. I’m not looking forward to the stress of not knowing how he will do on our flight this summer!!!! He will about 9 months old. I’m terrified!
As a mom too, I wholeheartedly agree. TBH, can’t understand why there is a market for photos of celebrities’ babies anyway. Yeah, I get the interest in the celebrity, – you’ve seen their movies, you admire their work, you like their style, etc., etc., but who cares what their kids look like ffs?
Yes! I thought the same thing. Good job CB.
I’ve yet to see a rude glance, but as my wife says “You’re 6’3″ and look like a football player” so maybe that’s the reason. Heh heh heh..
Seriously, though. Babies and kids don’t bother me. Adults who don’t know how to lower the volume on their headphones are way worse, or the ones who don’t know how Southwest works and pitch a fit because they are in boarding group C and don’t get an aisle or window seat and complaint to the flight attendants about it.
My husband and I were flying home from Italy one year on a red eye (before we had our son) and there was a husband and wife that were just loud and obnoxious. The best was when he didn’t understand why he couldn’t watch his movie on his laptop without headphones!!! Everyone else is trying to sleep and he’s complaining loudly to the flight attendant and his wife! It boggles the mind. I’ve never had a problem with babies or kids on a flight but I’ve had plenty of adult problems. I also find the movie theater experience to be frustrating. My husband kept getting kicked by a kid and he asked me why wasn’t the parent stopping them. I told him that the parent was sitting behind me and kicking me constantly so that’s why! SMH
When we finally flew to Disneyworld when my son was 3 I had a surprise backpack with kid headphones to watch movies and cartoons and activity books, coloring books, sticker books, etc. We also paid extra to get the front seats so he wouldn’t accidentally kick anyone in front of him. He was so well behaved all the flight attendants loved him and gave him little souvenirs.
I am assuming she travels business class. I can imagine all these businessmen and other rich people who paid 10K for a ticket being stuck with a toddler who acts as a toddler and not a miniature adult. No more sleep they were counting on. These people are not happy … I can’t say I blame them.
And some of the kids are spoiled. Also some of the rich parents in the business class don’t want to bother with controlling their children because at home they have nannies for that.
Either way I find people are far more understanding of parents who are engaged with their misbehaving kids and try to control them instead of simply ignoring them. A plane with 500 people on it is not a place to be disciplining your child.
Its almost always the parents that are the problem, not the kid, i agree. Kids sre going to act like kids, its the parents job to make it as smooth as possible for everyone, others passengers included. If theyre doing their best, i have no problem with a little disruption, its when the parents just seem to say “f**k it, we’re on a plane/train, (s)hes going to scream and there is nothing i can do”. Ive flown to asia several times with my kids and i truly do my best to keep them as calm and quiet as possible.
It’s the territory that comes with having small children in public. Build a bridge. Having kids is almost always a choice.
We did A LOT of traveling when I was a child (Army Brat) and my mom always made sure we had things to keep us entertained and small snacks for when we got hungry. I also learned “the knock it off now look” pretty early on. I think keeping the kids occupied on a long flight is really the key to keeping the trip as peaceful and stress free as possible. When I’m travelling now, as long as the parents are making an effort comfort their child, I’m fine with the crying-kids will be kids. It happens.
when I see parents bringing a baby on a plane…you know that its not like they are going on some great vacation where they will do nothing but lie in the sun, etc. I am not a parent but I am always sympathetic..and it seems that Gennifer Goodwin is taking the opportunity to complain about her life. Big mistake for a celebrity who does seem to have a lot of great things going for her. Not really interested in the fact that when she flies first class the mostly white males in first class don’t want to hear a baby cry. Well..whaddya gonna do. You think she would fly in coach? Not a chance.
I read a story about a mom who when traveling with her baby made little gift bags for the people in her row as well as those in the rows in front and behind her–little things like cookies, an apple, ear plugs, etc. She apologized in advance if her baby disturbed them when she passed out the bags. She said no one ever gave her nasty looks and many offered to help her. Sounds like a smart mom.
Infant Tylenol was always my friend when my daughter was a baby. One dose given half an hour before a flight and she was totally knocked out for the duration of the flight. When she got older, I had lots of toys and coloring books within immediate reach. So yes, I took the necessary steps so I would not be one of THOSE parents.
I admit I sideeye kids on the plane sometimes, but not so much out of judgement of them being bad as just…they’re kids in a confined, uncomfortable space. It’s natural that some get upset by it, which means we all have hear it. Your kid might be pretty cool, but if he gets jolted out of a nap by a landing announcement and throws an hour long screaming fit, we all have to deal with it. (Which is what happened on my last airplane trip. *sigh*)
Kids are people. They fly on planes when their parents go places.
Just because they’re little doesn’t mean you shouldn’t show them the same compassion as you do the old lady who talks the whole flight or the guy who gets up every 30 minutes or the person who brings too many carry ons. You’re in a metal tube for a few hours and then you never have to see them again. deal with it like a grown up.