Unruly Kid Should Get His Own Plane

April 24, 2009

in Baby & Kid Stories

Last week I was returning from FLL to PHL, in coach. My boyfriend had the window and I was in the middle. Behind us was a mom and two kids, one about three (in the middle). It wasn’t long before one could tell there was definitely something wrong with this boy. He would scream, then shout, then kick my seat-back. He was actually slapping his mother. In the pattern of today’s parents, she just shushed him to absolutely no effect. Once, after he kicked really hard, I turned around and said (merely) – “Hey, dude! Knock it off!” Mom apologized and he kept right on. I am still wondering whether this was a case of being totally undisciplined, or something to do with the “autistic spectrum.” Even the FA came back a couple of times to stare hard at the kid.

I’m trying as hard as possible to be somewhat PC here, but after that flight I thought it was time that unruly (for whatever reason) people need to GET THEIR OWN AIRLINE. Why should I have to suffer (even with a fully blasting iPod) through this? I paid for my ticket, I don’t expect anything extra, but this kid was AWFUL. Other passengers even commented to me on the jetway on the way out (and I had not said anything at all after the “dude” comment).

I know this mom loved her kid (and the other one, a girl about 8, was a gem), but if you have those kind of behaviour problems, how about just stay home?

Signed, Tibbott

{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }

GothGirl88 April 10, 2009 at 12:24 am

Tibbott, kids will be kids. You don't have a right to open your yap and say anything at all. That's up to the mom. If those were my kids and you tried that "hey dude" crap, I would have smashed my fist right through your face. So in your pathetic words, "Hey, dude! Knock it off!" right back at you.

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NomdeVoyage August 27, 2013 at 2:29 am

Classy. What a fine lady you have become! I strongly suspect you must have been one of these unbearable, unruly brats – because you certainly grew up into one.

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Jess April 10, 2009 at 3:35 am

GothGirl88 – You are exactly the type of mom that makes me cringe. You don't live in a bubble and your kids aren't perfect. If they are causing distress to another passenger (kicking the seat hard repeatedly and ignoring his mother), then the passenger is within his rights to ask them to stop, just as he would address any other person. "I would have smashed my fist right through your face"?! Great example you set for your kids. Sounds like you are the type of family I point out to my kids saying "We don't want to behave like that in public, do we?" and then thank them for being such good boys.

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bear April 10, 2009 at 4:51 am

GothGirl:

You suck. Go back to Hot Topic. He has every right to "open his yap" and say whatever he likes to the mother. If this child did have autism, there is probably very little the mother could have done about it, but he was right to bring it to her attention. I work with autistic children and some of the parents are WONDERFUL with their kids, and can calm them down when they are upset. And if the kid was just a brat, the mother should have done what she could to control him. Either way, the OP was perfectly within his rights to speak up.

"…I would have smashed my fist right through your face. " Oh wow, such a tough goth girl! Go listen to your Avril Levigne albums.

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GothGirl April 10, 2009 at 5:25 am

Come on you guys, I never said I had kids (I'm 21 and don't want them anyway). I said "if they were my kids"… leave the parenting up to the parents, my god, why do people have to stick their noses in other people's business? Don't you think the mom knows how to control her son? Just enjoy the flight, I never had any problems. You people just whine, whine, whine and get uptight for nothing. Chill. And Bear, your comment "Oh wow, such a tough goth girl! Go listen to your Avril Levigne albums." …don't you try judge me, you dont even know me you pathetic jerk.

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Jess April 10, 2009 at 5:45 am

Oh, if you don't have kids and you don't plan on having any, you are COMPLETELY out of line with your fist in the face statement. There is a difference between a restless kid on an airplane and a out-of-control child (which this one obviously was). Sometimes, if you don't know what you are talking about, you should just not comment.

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Kyle March 30, 2011 at 4:16 am

Hey i agree, do you think we should raise the level of age of which a person is called a adult to 22? Cause i can see some one who just got her gummy bear stolen and is filling a lawsuit.

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Nacho April 10, 2009 at 6:03 am

Well, GothGirl, thank heavens you're not having kids. I couldn't imagine what little terrors they would be, considering your very motherly "punch-you-in-the-face" comment.

This guy was totally in his right to turn around and say something. In fact, the way he did end up saying it was a hell of a lot more tolerant than a lot of comments I hear from stranger to some kid's parent.

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GothGirl April 10, 2009 at 8:00 am

Ok people, one more time, since it's not sticking with you. If the guy had a problem with the kid kicking his seat, then he should TALK TO THE MOTHER OF THE CHILD. The kid was just being himself (most kids hate being on airplanes), he doesn't have to get snapped at by a stranger. Then the mom will deal with the kid the most effective way she knows how (from experience). And if it bothered the guy so much (he seems a bit melodramatic), then CHANGE SEATS (duh). Everyone got it now? Understand? Good.

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Onslow April 10, 2009 at 9:22 am

Sorry Gothgirl, you lose this one; the mother should have taken care of the problem before anyone had to turn around and make a comment. The comment made was mild compared to what most people would have said. No passenger should have to put up with abuse, even from (especially not from) a child. You are too young to remember the days when any adult had the right (and responsibility) to correct a misbehaving child, whether it was theirs or not. Society has broken down to the point that many people do not respect the rights of others.

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Donewithgothgirl April 10, 2009 at 9:26 am

Gothgirl get therapy, you sound violent and seem to have poor impulse control. The informal sanction from tibbet is more effective when directed at the child then the mother.

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Joe Mama April 10, 2009 at 10:15 am

"Don't you think the mom knows how to control her son?"

Apparently not, because he was being a holy terror. You are an idiot Gothgirl, because you apparently don't see any problem with allowing a child to disrupt people around them. I do leave parenting to the parents, except when they're not being parents and the kids are interfering with my life.

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bear April 10, 2009 at 10:34 am

GothGirl: argument fail.

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TheBigM April 10, 2009 at 1:13 pm

If Gothgirl DOES have kids I REALLY hope I don't end up on the same plane as her and her brood.

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Amanita April 11, 2009 at 12:27 pm

Gothgirl, If you ever DO "smash a fist" into anyone's face on a plane, I hope you enjoy the ensuing smackdown by the police when the plane lands. There is ZERO tolerance for people getting violent while airborne these days.

The problem is that apparently the mother did NOT know how to control her son, or just could not be bothered. Sadly I see too many parents like that- they either ignore their kid's behavior or want to be the kid's best friend. Either way, they fail in their duty to teach the kid how to behave, and we all suffer for it.

If the mother had done something with her son, the gentleman in the OP would not have had to say anything.

PS- I find it amusing when somebody posts flamebait like "If those were my kids and you tried that "hey dude" crap, I would have smashed my fist right through your face" and when called on it, retreats into "You don't know me, don't judge me!". Please.

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Elisa April 11, 2009 at 8:14 pm

Unbelievable. I challenge you to "just stay home" with an autistic kid for 20 or 30 years.

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Anonymous April 12, 2009 at 7:09 am

Well elisa there is always abortion which it seems you should have had since it looks like you have regrets or just give the little ankle biter skydiving lessons without a chute. Save the rest of us from having the autistic twit on the flight making us all miserable.

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SamH April 12, 2009 at 11:06 am

Nobody needs or wants to know a sociopath like you, Gothgirl.

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Hugh April 13, 2009 at 3:59 am

GothGirl, how do you enjoy a flight with your seat being kicked for hours? Grow up. Goth…what a F'ing joke. An excuse to wear makeup and halloween customes year round. Yeah, you're the authority. I hope you try that some time and get your lazy fat ass handed to you.

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rah April 13, 2009 at 1:30 pm

The fact that one kids behaves and the other doesn't, should tell you that it isn't about parenting.

If the mom was a "bad" mother, neither kid would behave. Maybe the kids ears were hurting from the flight. I have had that happen to me and the pain and discomfort is unbearable. Younger children who have shorted ear canals are very vulnerable to this problem and it is VERY painful. This probably why so many babies cry on fights, not because they are brats or tying to annoy others.

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SarJae April 16, 2009 at 7:39 am

Sounds like "rah" is the only one who caught on. The statement about the other child being well-behaved was a BIG clue! Obviously the ill-behaved child has a behavioral issue. One NOT caused by poor parenting, remember the good girl!! Anybody out there ever known a human with autism? Asberger (spelling?) is one type that has 'social issues'. Means the child has difficulty relating to people. So forced, confined interaction, like on a plane, can cause uncontrollable behaviors. A sedative is possible but can make it impossible to travel if the child is too large to carry. And who wants to 'drug' their child, anyway. Gothgirl, your comments reveal a serious lack of growth and knowledge. Try spending less time painting yourself black and acting like you are cool. You're not. When your opinion gets attacked and you counter with "you don't know me, don't judge". Girl, no one is judging you, they are commenting on facts. You revealed a lot of yourself in your letter. You should have never wrote if you can't take true responses.

I synpathize with the person getting her seat kicked; that is extremely irratating. And speaking directly to the child; the mother would have stopped the kicking if she could have, sometimes confronting the child works best. she didn't threaten or bully the child. She was correct in what she did. The situation was intolerable for the child and apparently couldn't be helped.

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NomdeVoyage August 27, 2013 at 2:49 am

" The situation was intolerable for the child "

Ah, well, there is your answer. If it is "intolerable" for the little beast, then the poor dear doesn't get to travel by plane until he learns to behave like a civilized being. Problem solved.

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Sarah April 16, 2009 at 9:53 am

If the child's ears hurt, give him something to chew or drink to relieve the pressure, or simply swallowing to make the ears "pop". Sometimes you can't calm a child, but do TRY. The effort is appreciated. On another note, you as a parent did know the pitfalls of bringing a young child on a flight, so you should be prepared to take the glares being sent your way if your child creates a ruckus.

Kicking a seat? I really don't know what disorder causes that, but sternly speaking to the child has worked in some situations. However, if the child realises that his/her parent "does not agree" with the person doing the reproaching, your seat might just get kicked 100 times harder. The parent can always put his/her hand on the child's shins and admonish him/her. Kicking a seat is unacceptable, and I see no reason to blame it on anything but lack of discipline.

Not all children have hurting ears, or suffer from Autism. Some need discipline which is sadly lacking in our society.

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Amit April 16, 2009 at 10:15 am

Just because one kid behaved and the other didn't doesn't mean the misbehaving kid had autism or something. he could just be in a bad phase or something. Regardless, the OP was completely in his rights to do that.

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rah April 16, 2009 at 3:45 pm

>If the child's ears hurt, give him something to chew or drink to relieve the pressure, or simply swallowing to make the ears "pop". <

Pretty hard to do for an infant. I have had that happen and those methods don't always work for ME let alone a child. I DO have a child with autism and our family all takes a melting strip decongestant before we board any aircraft. It helps a lot. However this cannot happen with children under age 2 because it is dangerous. I don't have a problem with the passender turning around and asking the child not to kick the chair. I have found that sometimes the kids may not obey the parent but will listen to someone else. As for kicking the seat, some kids do have hyper adhd and really need to move. When one is sitting there is just not a lot of possible movement.

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Atari May 31, 2009 at 6:39 pm

Also, the mother could be spoiling one child, while not the other.

Or one kid's nature is a little more rough, while the other child was easy to teach to be good.

It still falls back to parenting.

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Icalasari July 27, 2009 at 12:06 pm

SarJae: I can do one better. I have Aspergers

Anyways, lol @ GothGirl saying, "Don't judge me, you don't know me!"

Isn't that a goth stereotype?

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Kyle March 30, 2011 at 4:21 am

We have defeated goth girl. Question is it me or is every one against that idiot? My ticket, my seat. If he kick my seat, it equal to he kick me (cause we do feel it as well).

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