Kids on the Back of the Plane

There's good and bad. No one should ever give you dirty looks over a crying kid. I know it happens and I did it as a young adult with no children, but it's wrong. The second time we went to Disney was a nightmare because of poorly behaved people. So, hopefully this doesn't happen in that situation. It should be up to the parents to watch, but sometimes the parents are just as bad :(. I guess flight staff need to watch then???

I think it would be nice to have as an option, but certainly not something that should be mandatory.

I don't think it is right to segregate people on a plane or anywhere else. Have we gone back in time? Are people with children second class citizens?

My daughter has been flying since she was one and we have never really had an issue. She usually sleeps or watches a movie. I pay just as much as the next person for my tickets and I should be able to sit where I choose (or pay for). I will also pay extra to take the business class seats if they are still available and should not be turned down because I have a child with me.

No there should not be a family section on a plane. If a child is crying next to you, then put in your ear plugs. If a child is kicking the back of your seat, then ask the parents to make him stop. If the child is turned around in the seat in front of you and is throwing things at you, ask the parents to make him stop.

How is a screaming child any different than the extremely overperfumed person, or the bozo w/the flu who coughs the whole flight, or the loudtalker on the phone I get stuck sitting next to?

If there is a designated family section then there should be an infirmary section and an over perfumed section and a section w/soundproof walls.

People just need to accept the fact that there are other human beings roaming the same earth and using the same planes.

idk it is more likely your kid will be grumpy when they are around other kids crying screaming and misbehaving all in one area. I think instead there should be signs on the backs of the seats...(the same with movie seats) Dear parents if you or your child rests their feet on the back of this seat and then readjust it will not only feel like you are kicking the person in front of you in th back but any seat connected to it, so please remind your child no feet on the backs of seats=)

Eh....not sure.

Our experiences flying with our son have always been smooth.
But had I been flying with a SCREAMING baby, I would welcome a kid-friendly area, probably.

And I don't care to be right in front of a kicking, screaming kid either.

Doubtful it is a "baby ghetto" issue though. More of a respect/politeness issue. Too many people have the attitude: "Hey--I paid for these tickets, my kid is allowed to kick, scream and cry the entire 5 hour flight!"

I agree with the concept. Both as a travelling parent, and a business flyer going solo.

As a parent, I find comfort being around other families with kids, and feel less stressed out if mine start acting up. Strength in numbers!

As a business flier, I enjoy not having to sit next to the stressed out family trying to (hopefully) keep their kids in check.

The who "baby ghetto" concept is really just those self righteous people that have no consideration for other people. IMO. Bottom line, travelling with kids takes longer and has more shuffling. Why can't we just recognize this and be OK with it?

I think it's a great idea to have a "family" or "child" section flights! I would be much more comfortable there than squeezed in with a bunch of surly-looking businessmen making comments under their breath (and my kids are great fliers -knock on wood, we've never had an issue). On the flip side, on those rare occasions I get to fly child-free these days, I don't necessarily want someone and their baby who may or may not realize that we all don't want to play with the baby for 3 hours next to me. Unless I pay for a 1st class ticket, I'm fine in the back with the rest of the kids.

Meh, I think that having a "family" section may lead some parents to believe that they don't need to be as vigilant in keeping their children in check while flying. My child is expected to behave well on flights -- and she does. Honestly I wouldn't want to be stuck in the back screamer section. I pay just as much as any other joe schmoe and I expect to be seated accordingly.

I have not heard of this. On all our flights, ever, there were kids all through the plane and I had no problems with any of them. I was amazed to find out we had at least 6 under 3 yr olds on our return flight. Barely heard them. Kids sometimes travel better than adults.

Virgin does things like get the kids' meals out first and give kids activity bags on the return flight and has kiddie channels on the TV. I would have to know more to decide if I liked it or not. Will they let you board first/last? Will they make sure families have access to restrooms with changing tables? Will you be stuck smelling the restroom because you are closer? Will you be trying to keep your kids out of the galley anytime they stood up? Will you be stuck with greater engine noise? Etc. I think more than the child being upset is the parent that does nothing. My DD started screaming on a bus once and we got a lot of sympathy but I also didn't sit by and just let her scream. Moving all families to one area won't fix the parent that lets their kid kick your seat for the duration of the flight. If that is a problem, the flight staff need to be more proactive.

What I was most irritated about was not any of the kids on board but that they wouldn't let me use my car seat and customer service apparently doesn't know reality because they offered us one of their seats and it was not available.

We had to pay for our child's seat. She was over 2. She had to sit next to a parent even if we were split up, so DH or I was next to her on all flights. She also couldn't be in an emergency exit row. Other than that, I don't see the big deal. If you want to fly in a quieter zone, pay the greater fare. Otherwise you're stuck with the lack of leg room and general populace like the rest of us. If they sequester kids, will they also take care of the guy who falls asleep on you and smells bad? Mass transit is such a microcosm. There are worse things to worry about than a child, IMO.

I now prefer flying in the back of the plane. It's easier to get up and about with the kiddos, and I'm less concerned if I have a cranky child. My first had a couple of rocky flights (not for lack of my trying to calm her) and a lot of really good ones. The problem when she was young was kicking or pushing on the seat in front of her. This is almost a compulsion with her, even in the womb (and yes, I spent most of the flight trying to prevent it from happening). We moved to a CARES harness early on to get her further away from the seat in front of her, which helped. And we volunteered on several flights to have my husband change seats with the person in front of my daughter, just in case. She's now a great flier.

Our second is sooo active, that it's tough. We do roam the aisles as much as possible, which is easier in the back of the plane.

I guess if you have perfectly well-behaved (and not particularly active) young kiddos, then sit anywhere. For now, with my not perfectly behaved children (and not for lack of effort), I prefer the back.

I have never heard of a "baby ghetto" in the back of a plane but I am a "front of the plane with upgrades" mom when traveling with my daughter. I get that children may have a hard time but as mentioned, parents need to explain that they can't kick the seat in front of them.

as a parent flying is uncomfortable for anyone. i have a 4 year old daughter and the only time she was a bad flier was when she was 15 months old and we flew to michigan and back (8 hours). she screamed most of the way there (we had to leave the house at 330a) and for 3 hours of the way home yet there was a lady i talked to in the bathroom that sat in the isle directly across from us who didnt even know we were there. i always try to sit in the back of the plane 1 because the engine blocks out a lot of sound and 2 because its close to the bathroom and i tend to get uneasy on a plane and with a child we will need potty time.

We fly frequently and I would not mind a family section. My DD is a good flier, but she is older now... when she was an infant we had a couple of hourlong screaming flights, but then again, there is not much you can do about that.

We do always pre-book our seats though to avoid getting separated - but if I knew there was a "family section", I would have no problem choosing my seats there.

My husband and I flew to San Fran in September. On the flight there, a mother with a three year old and a one year old had seats together across the isle from us. Her three year old was pulling the glasses off the lady sitting behind them. Also, throwing toys at them, jumping on her seat, and talking to the people behind them for the entire trip. They did their very best to tolerate this child but clearly, they were annoyed. All I can say is, lucky it was the two behind them and not us as I would have insisted that the flight attendants either move them or us or better yet, make them de-plane.

Parents who don't make their kids behave on flights are idiots. I traveled many times, with four little ones by myself. I would have loved to have had a "family section" to travel in. I think kids who misbehave on flights have more to do with overall poor parenting than simply being children.

Clearly, I am all for kids to the back of the plane.

I don't know, J.. I controlled my kids very well on plane trips, unlike some people I saw. We flew a lot and my kids learned what it was like. I did have one awful flight with my 2 year old one time - he finally fell asleep after being so upset - whew!

One international flight had a group of junior high kids on it. My older sons and I were in the back of the plane, and the flight attendant asked us to move farther up - the attendants wanted more room to spread out. My older son took some stuff up there and came right back, telling me it was that group of kids who were running around the concourse before boarding the plane. I put back everything we had pulled out and sat back down in our old ticketed seats. When the attendant came back and asked why we didn't move, I told her that I didn't want to sit in the middle of the junior high kids - I'd never get any sleep. She was so mad at me that she ignored us through the entire trip. (Glad someone else was willing to feed us!)

Later on, she found out how awful those kids were - one threw an empty coke can at her. They were crawling over seats and bothering everyone around them. I heard her talking about it right before we landed. I told her that I had seen how they acted before boarding the plane, and now she knew why I didn't want to sit with them. There at the end, she was a lot nicer to me.

So I guess I'd rather sit near little kids because they usually get really tired and conk out. The older ones who either aren't supervised or the parents don't care, can bother people a whole lot longer than the little ones!

Dawn

wwe travel a lot on the plane, usually once a year to the UK, 10 hours.
I would LOVE a family section, I hate the dirty darn looks you get when your kids play up, which they invariably do. I really wish they would have a little area with no seats, like a large play pen where the kids could get out of the seats and play a bit.
What we usually do is request the extra legroom seats ( although they didn't allow us to do this on the last flight) Then the kids can play on the floor.

We don't prepay for seat assignments either and the airlines have always been great at finding us seats together. Even when we had a layover but almost missed our flight because of another flight delay.

My kids kicked the back of the seat one time of the jerk sitting in front of us. They were SO rude (younger couple) that I encouraged my then 4 year old to kick a few more times during the 2.5 hour flight :).

I think it parents are having a really bad time with their kids, they may welcome a family friendly area. But my kids are great on places and I'd rather not be stuck with kids that aren't just because I have kids too.

People who don't like children are just mentally unfit for real life. I am a very frequent flyer. I agree with you about a kids section being a good idea. I wish planes had a place for kids to play.
I took my children on many international flights and cross country ones. They were well behaved but need to move so we walked the aisles when they were young. I let them walk up and back a few times when the stewardesses weren't in the aisles.