Kids,long Haul Flights And Sedatives!

[mearkat75]

im just about to take my very hyper daughter on a 16 hr flight ,[solo] did it last year but at 3 months old she was a doddle.

my question is,would you,have you ever sedated your little un on a long flight?

im not saying its the right thing or the wrong thing to do

just wanting to hear other parents views ,experiences

[nidge]

No i have'nt and no i most certainly wouldn't. I shudder even at the thought of doing it.

[soihok]

I understand your concern.

My Daughter is mentally disabled sadly , she is Autistic and due to the nature of her disabilitly she is very unpredictable.

Up to now (my wife and I) have not tried any kind of sedation for her on flights ,,,but .

We are in a position that draws our concern towards comfort of other passengers and the general saftey of my Daughter.I have seen a doctor today and have medication which she will be given . I cannot give you the details of the medicaction as you will need to approach a doctor for it.

And it starts on Saturday 8 March 2008.

We are coming(home) to Thailand.

[torrenova]

I certainly would not sedate a child but I would consider the other passengers and make sure that as far as I could, my child was able to deal with the flight. I don't think there is any right to be allowed to have a screaming child on a flight. Parents should be responsible for making sure their offspring are well behaved.

[kannon99]

A friend of mine sedated her toddler. But as some sedatives do, one side affect is the opposite reaction.... HYPER-ACTIVITY. Basically her 3yr old bounced around the plane for the whole 20+hr trip. She said it was way worse than what it would've been if she'd done nothing at all.

I've done the flight from USA to here and never needed to sedate. As long as they have enough activities or new things to keep their interest it should be OK. No one seemed to mind us carefully walking up and down the aisles to keep them busy either.

[Jandajoy]

I certainly would not sedate a child but I would consider the other passengers and make sure that as far as I could, my child was able to deal with the flight. I don't think there is any right to be allowed to have a screaming child on a flight. Parents should be responsible for making sure their offspring are well behaved.

Hmmm.....Begs the question as to wheher you have ever had kids?

Would you ban someone with tourettes?

[Momo8]

What a ridiculous idea to sedate a child.Why not just get out the stun gun and pack the child out back with the animal cargo?Lol.What do you do at home? Use the TV as a babysitter?

Unless there is a very real medical condition with no other option and under medical supervision then follow the doctor's advice.

A few books,read some stories,buy some story books with tapes,colouring in,games etc. there are lots of ideas for amusing a child on a long flight.No sweets or food additives to increase hyperactivity and plain commonsense.Kids are kids and parents make them what they are.If you start getting angry and nervous the child will pick up on it.

Try to get a window seat and for part of the flight they'll be sleeping anyway and advise the flight attendants beforehand,I'm sure they've dealt with many cases of kids on planes.

[Jandajoy]

quote name='Momo8' date='2008-03-10 19:06:55' post='1864345']

What a ridiculous idea to sedate a child.Why not just get out the stun gun and pack the child out back with the animal cargo?Lol.What do you do at home? Use the TV as a babysitter?

Unless there is a very real medical condition with no other option and under medical supervision then follow the doctor's advice.

A few books,read some stories,buy some story books with tapes,colouring in,games etc. there are lots of ideas for amusing a child on a long flight.No sweets or food additives to increase hyperactivity and plain commonsense.Kids are kids and parents make them what they are.If you start getting angry and nervous the child will pick up on it.

Try to get a window seat and for part of the flight they'll be sleeping anyway and advise the flight attendants beforehand,I'm sure they've dealt with many cases of kids on planes.

Excellent but a bit harsh. Stun guns are best kept for drunken pirates.

I agree completely with the bit about drinks, sweets and additives. Avoid all of them for 24 hours before and during the flight. You might be suprised at the change in behaviour.

Secondly, the kids will bounce off you and your state of mind - stato di anima - if you're stressed they'll be, and respond accordingly.

Small trick I 've used in the past.....

The whispering rule.... namely, "it's a rule that you're only allowed to whisper on planes" If you start it, and stick to it they'll fall into the habit. Hard to start but once it's established it can calm everyone down. You might like to practice at home before the flight.

good luck

Edited March 10, 2008 by Jandajoy

[Momo8]

Good parenting skills is what's needed (unless there is a medical condition) using sedatives is way over the top.Agree with the whispering voice or 'Indoor Voice',try 'Bring your Walking Feet' tell them stories about the trip make up stories about flying,key here is to keep the child calm.

Bring a favourite toy and other comforts for your child above all maintain your own cool.I've seen some parents on long flights getting plastered and the poor child or children getting bored that's not their fault.I've even seen one woman give a child a sip of her JD.

I don't know,I've travelled eveywhere with my little one and a little imagination,home comforts and good skills is all you need,no need to resort to sedatives.I could never imagine sedating a child but that's me.

[mearkat75]

i never said i was going to use sedatives,did you read my first post? i was asking others opnions,and no i dont use the tv as a babysitter.

[ClaytonSeymour]

If you can't control them don't take them - wait until they're a little older.

If they have a medical condition and your family practitioner advocates & provides sedation - use it.

There's nothing worse than being on a an aircraft and having to listen to the constant screams of someone elses offspring. If I don't like it myself, then why should I inflict the same misery on others?

I've already made it clear to the wife that if & when we have kids, granny and gramps wont be seeing them until I'm satisfied that we can control the discomfort they may inflict on fellow passengers. If this means waiting until they're 4 or 5 years old then so be it.

Edited March 10, 2008 by ClaytonSeymour

[samran]

my wifes trick is a new toy for roughly every hour of the trip. Just has to be small, but enough to divert their energies to something new once they are bored of the last thing. Colouring kits, play doh (if you can get it on board) story books, toy cars, teddies, etc etc etc.

Before take off, let them run around like mad at the airport to wear them out as much as possible.

[gunnyd]

A friend of mine sedated her toddler. But as some sedatives do, one side affect is the opposite reaction.... HYPER-ACTIVITY. Basically her 3yr old bounced around the plane for the whole 20+hr trip. She said it was way worse than what it would've been if she'd done nothing at all.

I've done the flight from USA to here and never needed to sedate. As long as they have enough activities or new things to keep their interest it should be OK. No one seemed to mind us carefully walking up and down the aisles to keep them busy either.

That is what is referred to as a paradoxical effect, it is prevalent in children. That is why amphetamines like Ritalin are given to children for ADD and ADHD. As for giving sedatives to a child during a long flight I would never do that. Unless a child has a legitimate medical condition that requires it than any parent that would do that should at the least feel guilty, and if child protective services in the US found out about it, they could possible lose their kids and be charged.

Just bring video games, portable DVD player, and wear them out with lots of play right before the flight.

GunnyD

[vegas]

If you can't control them don't take them - wait until they're a little older.

If they have a medical condition and your family practitioner advocates & provides sedation - use it.

There's nothing worse than being on a an aircraft and having to listen to the constant screams of someone elses offspring. If I don't like it myself, then why should I inflict the same misery on others?

I've already made it clear to the wife that if & when we have kids, granny and gramps wont be seeing them until I'm satisfied that we can control the discomfort they may inflict on fellow passengers. If this means waiting until they're 4 or 5 years old then so be it.

Typical response from someone who has no kids.

It ain't always convenient to wait until kids are 4-5 years old before travelling. What a ridiculous notion. What if granny gets sick and wants to see her grandkids before she dies? Weddings? New job OS?

I've taken 200+ flights over the last 20 years and have never had an issue with kids screaming. If it happens, then it must be very rare or I am unnaturally tolerant, which I am not.

I took my 7 month old to Australia last year and she cried a little but we didn't get one dirtly look, despite sitting on the tarmac for 2 hours thanks to Qantas.

[ClaytonSeymour]

If you can't control them don't take them - wait until they're a little older.

If they have a medical condition and your family practitioner advocates & provides sedation - use it.

There's nothing worse than being on a an aircraft and having to listen to the constant screams of someone elses offspring. If I don't like it myself, then why should I inflict the same misery on others?

I've already made it clear to the wife that if & when we have kids, granny and gramps wont be seeing them until I'm satisfied that we can control the discomfort they may inflict on fellow passengers. If this means waiting until they're 4 or 5 years old then so be it.

Typical response from someone who has no kids. I could also say that yours is a typical response from someone who has kids. If you choose to breed then you have to live with the consequences, having children means making sacrifices - I'm not prepared to make them yet, hence no children.

It ain't always convenient to wait until kids are 4-5 years old before travelling. What a ridiculous notion. What if granny gets sick and wants to see her grandkids before she dies? Weddings? New job OS? Tough. I stand by my comments, if you can't control them don't take them - that's what I'd do & I know others who have already done likewise. Of course I also know people who agree with your sentiments.

I've taken 200+ flights over the last 20 years and have never had an issue with kids screaming. If it happens, then it must be very rare or I am unnaturally tolerant, which I am not. As you've already got children I can assure you that you're much more tolerant than I am. An issue to me is probably an everyday event to you.

I took my 7 month old to Australia last year and she cried a little but we didn't get one dirtly look, despite sitting on the tarmac for 2 hours thanks to Qantas. Not getting a dirty look means nothing, I wonder what some of the other passengers were thinking to themselves?

Edited March 13, 2008 by ClaytonSeymour

[toptuan]

A touch o' Johnny Walker mixed in with the baby-bottle formula? It seemed to work at church. MUAHAHAHAHA!

[bsided69]

im just about to take my very hyper daughter on a 16 hr flight ,[solo] did it last year but at 3 months old she was a doddle.

my question is,would you,have you ever sedated your little un on a long flight?

im not saying its the right thing or the wrong thing to do

just wanting to hear other parents views ,experiences

There comes a point on a long journey where a child will be very tired. Some will just fall to sleep naturally. Some will never fall to sleep and start to get very crancky. This can be a major annoyance for many passengers who may well be having problems sleeping themselves. If you local GP says that it is safe to sedate a child with a low dose sedative it may well be a good idea to do so? This is your decision and nobody elses. Many cough mixtures for children contain some kind of sedative and many parents would not hesitate to give this to there child to releave symptons of a cold or fever.

I dont have kids and really cannot say with conviction that I would give a child of mine a sedative, but would not be swayed by other peoples opinions except my GP. This should be the person you ask this question to I think.

Good luck and safe journey to you and your family.

[vegas]

If you can't control them don't take them - wait until they're a little older.

If they have a medical condition and your family practitioner advocates & provides sedation - use it.

There's nothing worse than being on a an aircraft and having to listen to the constant screams of someone elses offspring. If I don't like it myself, then why should I inflict the same misery on others?

I've already made it clear to the wife that if & when we have kids, granny and gramps wont be seeing them until I'm satisfied that we can control the discomfort they may inflict on fellow passengers. If this means waiting until they're 4 or 5 years old then so be it.

Typical response from someone who has no kids. I could also say that yours is a typical response from someone who has kids. If you choose to breed then you have to live with the consequences, having children means making sacrifices - I'm not prepared to make them yet, hence no children.

It ain't always convenient to wait until kids are 4-5 years old before travelling. What a ridiculous notion. What if granny gets sick and wants to see her grandkids before she dies? Weddings? New job OS? Tough. I stand by my comments, if you can't control them don't take them - that's what I'd do & I know others who have already done likewise. Of course I also know people who agree with your sentiments.

I've taken 200+ flights over the last 20 years and have never had an issue with kids screaming. If it happens, then it must be very rare or I am unnaturally tolerant, which I am not. As you've already got children I can assure you that you're much more tolerant than I am. An issue to me is probably an everyday event to you.

I took my 7 month old to Australia last year and she cried a little but we didn't get one dirtly look, despite sitting on the tarmac for 2 hours thanks to Qantas. Not getting a dirty look means nothing, I wonder what some of the other passengers were thinking to themselves?

Nobody can control kids mate, <deleted> are you thinking, that they are wind up? When you are finished with them for the day, you lie them down in a cardboard box?

Choose to breed? Are you 15? Your wisdom is pure gold.

Let me re-phrase. I have taken 197 flights prior to having my daughter and I am a normal, tolerant person that understands that to populate the world we NEED to keep 'breeding'. Am I going too fast for you here? Some of this product of 'breeding' need to move from point A to point B, often quite long distances so this necessitates air travel.

If I spent my life wondering what people were thinking about me I would probably go mad. Sound familiar?

God help you if you ever choose to breed.

[Boo]

medised or infant neurofen which contains antihystamene in a bottle of warm milk helps calm my son down when/if he gets over tired. We just took another trip to LOS with him last week & never needed to use anything but I took a bottle just in case. Flying for babies can make them restless, too much going on, over stimulation, a lot of people & noise so the neuofen is for him & not any other passanger. He slept most of the flght & had a couple of cry outs whilst he was asleep but apart from that he was laughing & happy all the way. He is 10 months & tbh if you don't know how to deal with them by that age (or even by a few months imo) then travelling with them is probably not a great idea. I know my son, know how to calm him quickly (within a minute) without sedative when he is upset, know his hungry cry, bored cry, tired cry so can pre-empt any tantrums or problems etc but in case of a situation where I can't get him off to sleep quickly (like in transit or just as we are boarding/departing the plane for example & he ends up overtired then then I fall back on 2.5ml of nuerofento save him crying out for 30+minutes & it reduces it down to a few minutes instead, good for him, good for me & good for everyone else.

I also carry it for when he has a teething episode as he has cut 6 teeth in 3 months so I know how useful it is!!! That said I have only needed to use it once whilst travelling & that was on a short haul flight to spain from London, I had timed the feed & sleep for when we were on the plane but Monarch airlines decidedd to have us stand on hot tarmac for 45 minutes (all the while holiding an ever increasingly hot & annoyed baby) so by the time we got seated he was off his tree but 5 minutes with the nuerofen & a dummy & he was fast asleep.

ANyone can judge all they like but it is not harmful & saves mum & babies sanity in times of emergancy

[ClaytonSeymour]

If you can't control them don't take them - wait until they're a little older.

If they have a medical condition and your family practitioner advocates & provides sedation - use it.

There's nothing worse than being on a an aircraft and having to listen to the constant screams of someone elses offspring. If I don't like it myself, then why should I inflict the same misery on others?

I've already made it clear to the wife that if & when we have kids, granny and gramps wont be seeing them until I'm satisfied that we can control the discomfort they may inflict on fellow passengers. If this means waiting until they're 4 or 5 years old then so be it.

Typical response from someone who has no kids. I could also say that yours is a typical response from someone who has kids. If you choose to breed then you have to live with the consequences, having children means making sacrifices - I'm not prepared to make them yet, hence no children.

It ain't always convenient to wait until kids are 4-5 years old before travelling. What a ridiculous notion. What if granny gets sick and wants to see her grandkids before she dies? Weddings? New job OS? Tough. I stand by my comments, if you can't control them don't take them - that's what I'd do & I know others who have already done likewise. Of course I also know people who agree with your sentiments.

I've taken 200+ flights over the last 20 years and have never had an issue with kids screaming. If it happens, then it must be very rare or I am unnaturally tolerant, which I am not. As you've already got children I can assure you that you're much more tolerant than I am. An issue to me is probably an everyday event to you.

I took my 7 month old to Australia last year and she cried a little but we didn't get one dirtly look, despite sitting on the tarmac for 2 hours thanks to Qantas. Not getting a dirty look means nothing, I wonder what some of the other passengers were thinking to themselves?

Nobody can control kids mate Are you really sure about that? Certainly worrying if it's true., <deleted> are you thinking, that they are wind up? When you are finished with them for the day, you lie them down in a cardboard box? Your now heading down the topic of general behaviour, when the issue at hand is being able to keep them relatively quiet for long haul flight.

Choose to breed? Of course it's a choice, well perhaps that isn't always the case, but it certainly should be. Are you 15? No. Your wisdom is pure gold.

Let me re-phrase. I have taken 197 flights prior to having my daughter and I am a normal, tolerant person that understands that to populate the world we NEED to keep 'breeding'. There's actually a very good argument for us to control our breeding - the world's getting too full. Am I going too fast for you here? I'm not even in first gear yet. Some of this product of 'breeding' need to move from point A to point B, often quite long distances so this necessitates air travel. As I've said, you have to be prepared to make sacrifices, it's the responsible choice.

If I spent my life wondering what people were thinking about me I would probably go mad. Sound familiar?

God help you if you ever choose to breed. If/when I choose to breed my kids, I hope I can control my kids, discipline & education will be foremost. This statement still stands:

'if & when we have kids, granny and gramps wont be seeing them until I'm satisfied that we can control the discomfort they may inflict on fellow passengers.'

If travel really is a must & sedation is the only means to keep them quiet, go ahead, your fellow passengers will thank you for it.

[Goinghomesoon]

I'm with Boo but almost afraid to admit it, given some of the anti-doping posts above As an example I had a 4 year old that went through a period of being intensely emotional about everything, not just flying. We had an unavoidable 9 hour flight (for a funeral) and she was sedated according to our family doctor's instructions. A cop-out maybe. But my doctor reassured me that it was better for my child to have a restful flight than to associate flying with screaming and emotional upheaval which might affect her flying experience forever. I might add sedation only occurred a couple of times for this child to allow her necessary rest. I would not recommend parents rely on it as a replacement for entertainment and interaction.

I am a frequent business traveller and do not like kids screaming on planes. Being a parent has made me more tolerant but I do wonder about the logic of parents who let their kids get increasingly distressed and 'scream it out' for hours on end. What does it achieve except stressed parents and children and irate fellow passengers?

Edited March 14, 2008 by Goinghomesoon

[mearkat75]

Thankyou to Boo and Goinghomesoon for your honest and helpful posts,i know it is very easy for others to judge,but they are not the ones on a 16+ hours flight!

just because i am a mother doesn't mean i like everybody elses kids! i also get annoyed when kids play up on planes,having kids of your own doesn't make you immune to the little buggers crying fits!

[vegas]

If you can't control them don't take them - wait until they're a little older.

If they have a medical condition and your family practitioner advocates & provides sedation - use it.

There's nothing worse than being on a an aircraft and having to listen to the constant screams of someone elses offspring. If I don't like it myself, then why should I inflict the same misery on others?

I've already made it clear to the wife that if & when we have kids, granny and gramps wont be seeing them until I'm satisfied that we can control the discomfort they may inflict on fellow passengers. If this means waiting until they're 4 or 5 years old then so be it.

Typical response from someone who has no kids. I could also say that yours is a typical response from someone who has kids. If you choose to breed then you have to live with the consequences, having children means making sacrifices - I'm not prepared to make them yet, hence no children.

It ain't always convenient to wait until kids are 4-5 years old before travelling. What a ridiculous notion. What if granny gets sick and wants to see her grandkids before she dies? Weddings? New job OS? Tough. I stand by my comments, if you can't control them don't take them - that's what I'd do & I know others who have already done likewise. Of course I also know people who agree with your sentiments.

I've taken 200+ flights over the last 20 years and have never had an issue with kids screaming. If it happens, then it must be very rare or I am unnaturally tolerant, which I am not. As you've already got children I can assure you that you're much more tolerant than I am. An issue to me is probably an everyday event to you.

I took my 7 month old to Australia last year and she cried a little but we didn't get one dirtly look, despite sitting on the tarmac for 2 hours thanks to Qantas. Not getting a dirty look means nothing, I wonder what some of the other passengers were thinking to themselves?

Nobody can control kids mate Are you really sure about that? Certainly worrying if it's true., <deleted> are you thinking, that they are wind up? When you are finished with them for the day, you lie them down in a cardboard box? Your now heading down the topic of general behaviour, when the issue at hand is being able to keep them relatively quiet for long haul flight.

Choose to breed? Of course it's a choice, well perhaps that isn't always the case, but it certainly should be. Are you 15? No. Your wisdom is pure gold.

Let me re-phrase. I have taken 197 flights prior to having my daughter and I am a normal, tolerant person that understands that to populate the world we NEED to keep 'breeding'. There's actually a very good argument for us to control our breeding - the world's getting too full. Am I going too fast for you here? I'm not even in first gear yet. Some of this product of 'breeding' need to move from point A to point B, often quite long distances so this necessitates air travel. As I've said, you have to be prepared to make sacrifices, it's the responsible choice.

If I spent my life wondering what people were thinking about me I would probably go mad. Sound familiar?

God help you if you ever choose to breed. If/when I choose to breed my kids, I hope I can control my kids, discipline & education will be foremost. This statement still stands:

'if & when we have kids, granny and gramps wont be seeing them until I'm satisfied that we can control the discomfort they may inflict on fellow passengers.'

If travel really is a must & sedation is the only means to keep them quiet, go ahead, your fellow passengers will thank you for it.

Mate this is one of those moments in life that you will look back on, cringe and think 'how could I have been so gullible?'.

[gunnyd]

Just a footnote:

I don't know how I will deal with the guilt when I return home with a newborn. It's one thing to have a crying baby in coach, but I only fly Business and First class. I have the feeling that I will have Karma kicking me in the butt for all of the times I have complained and feared crying children in Business and First class. I just hope everything goes well on the trip back to the States. But I am afraid I won't get off that easily. I have it coming

[soihok]

Vegas,, I agree with your comments totally.

Also like the "NIGHT RIDER" picture.I tried to find the "TOE CUTTER" but settled on Wes and friend.

Seriously.

I am not in the habit of giving my daughter medication unless she is physically sick.

We gave her Ritalin for the flight but sadly it had an adverse effect and she was a real handful(thanks Doc).

Return flight we gave her nothing and she cried and screamed most of the flight,,,sorry fellow passengers,,,not nice.

Most of the posters that offer sensible advice here, have the right idea.

But not all kids are the same, my daughter is physically perfect but she is unable to call me Daddy and still needs to wear pampers.

She is 5

Clayton Seymour

Sorry to say that you have no idea. But for yourself.

I,m glad I,m not married to someone with ideas like yours.

Edited March 16, 2008 by soihok

[hagler]

Have just endured a 10 hour flight with a screaming kid close by the whole time. All the trailer trash mother could do was order more scotch and cokes and tell her dopey husband to look after the spawn of satan. People were getting REALLY p*ssed off and the attendants were called on more than one occaision. The kid slept for a period in the middle of the flight for about 1 hour and then woke up again and was at it full tilt within 5 minutes for the rest of the flight. It got so bad at one point after it woke up that a discrete call was obviously made by the cabin crew for a physician on board to come and look at the monster and see if it was in some kind of medical trouble. Dont know the outcome of that intervention but nothing appeared to be given to the little sh*thead and it just carried on at full tilt for the rest of the journey.

That was the WORST flight I have ever had to endure. I swear that some of the looks on the fellow passengers faces were of murder. I never want to go through that again. People were walking off that flight like they had been through a torture session and the service crew were absolutely shattered. It was ugly, very very ugly.

It really is simple; if someone, adult or child, cannot guarantee that their conduct throughout the duration of the flight will be such that it does not disturb the comfort of other passengers then they should not be allowed to board the flight. If that means that some people with children will not be able to travel unless the child is medicated then so be it.

[soihok]

You have my sympathies hagler.

It was for this reason and the saftey of my daughter that I decided to sedate her.

She is mentally disabled and we visited a doctor before we flew.

Ten hours...nightmare flight for you and the others,,and the child by the sounds of it.

But what do you do if you find it is essential to fly and you dont agree with sedation?

How about offering the offended passengers valium?

I know people that would take to it without the crying child.

By the way, was there any medical condition endured by the child and were they ok when you took off?

[soihok]

If the crew were asking for a doctor it could have been a serious medical complaint.

People do pass away on aeroplanes too.

[ClaytonSeymour]

If you can't control them don't take them - wait until they're a little older.

If they have a medical condition and your family practitioner advocates & provides sedation - use it.

There's nothing worse than being on a an aircraft and having to listen to the constant screams of someone elses offspring. If I don't like it myself, then why should I inflict the same misery on others?

I've already made it clear to the wife that if & when we have kids, granny and gramps wont be seeing them until I'm satisfied that we can control the discomfort they may inflict on fellow passengers. If this means waiting until they're 4 or 5 years old then so be it.

Typical response from someone who has no kids. I could also say that yours is a typical response from someone who has kids. If you choose to breed then you have to live with the consequences, having children means making sacrifices - I'm not prepared to make them yet, hence no children.

It ain't always convenient to wait until kids are 4-5 years old before travelling. What a ridiculous notion. What if granny gets sick and wants to see her grandkids before she dies? Weddings? New job OS? Tough. I stand by my comments, if you can't control them don't take them - that's what I'd do & I know others who have already done likewise. Of course I also know people who agree with your sentiments.

I've taken 200+ flights over the last 20 years and have never had an issue with kids screaming. If it happens, then it must be very rare or I am unnaturally tolerant, which I am not. As you've already got children I can assure you that you're much more tolerant than I am. An issue to me is probably an everyday event to you.

I took my 7 month old to Australia last year and she cried a little but we didn't get one dirtly look, despite sitting on the tarmac for 2 hours thanks to Qantas. Not getting a dirty look means nothing, I wonder what some of the other passengers were thinking to themselves?

Nobody can control kids mate Are you really sure about that? Certainly worrying if it's true., <deleted> are you thinking, that they are wind up? When you are finished with them for the day, you lie them down in a cardboard box? Your now heading down the topic of general behaviour, when the issue at hand is being able to keep them relatively quiet for long haul flight.

Choose to breed? Of course it's a choice, well perhaps that isn't always the case, but it certainly should be. Are you 15? No. Your wisdom is pure gold.

Let me re-phrase. I have taken 197 flights prior to having my daughter and I am a normal, tolerant person that understands that to populate the world we NEED to keep 'breeding'. There's actually a very good argument for us to control our breeding - the world's getting too full. Am I going too fast for you here? I'm not even in first gear yet. Some of this product of 'breeding' need to move from point A to point B, often quite long distances so this necessitates air travel. As I've said, you have to be prepared to make sacrifices, it's the responsible choice.

If I spent my life wondering what people were thinking about me I would probably go mad. Sound familiar?

God help you if you ever choose to breed. If/when I choose to breed my kids, I hope I can control my kids, discipline & education will be foremost. This statement still stands:

'if & when we have kids, granny and gramps wont be seeing them until I'm satisfied that we can control the discomfort they may inflict on fellow passengers.'

If travel really is a must & sedation is the only means to keep them quiet, go ahead, your fellow passengers will thank you for it.

Mate this is one of those moments in life that you will look back on, cringe and think 'how could I have been so gullible?'.

I seldom have time to look back - I'm too busy dealing with the present & planning the way forward.

[ClaytonSeymour]

Vegas,, I agree with your comments totally.

Also like the "NIGHT RIDER" picture.I tried to find the "TOE CUTTER" but settled on Wes and friend.

Seriously.

I am not in the habit of giving my daughter medication unless she is physically sick.

We gave her Ritalin for the flight but sadly it had an adverse effect and she was a real handful(thanks Doc).

Return flight we gave her nothing and she cried and screamed most of the flight,,,sorry fellow passengers,,,not nice.

Most of the posters that offer sensible advice here, have the right idea.

But not all kids are the same, my daughter is physically perfect but she is unable to call me Daddy and still needs to wear pampers.

She is 5

Clayton Seymour

Sorry to say that you have no idea. But for yourself.

I,m glad I,m not married to someone with ideas like yours. Well I'm glad I wasn't a passenger on either of your flights!