Believe it or not, I bet most of those parents don't want to take their child on a flight either. But they have to get from A to B too. No. They should delay their travels for extra days and/or spend a lot more money just so people who can't afford headphones won't be inconvenienced.
"Abusing drugs with a baby"? C'mon man. I've never had to do it with a kid, because I don't have any of my own, but I've traveled with several and a little dab on the gums always seems to work, in conjunction with tiring them out before you get on the plane. They don't make Flinstones chewable xanax, do they?
It is quite simple. When you are in a public institution or a mass-transit vehicle with a diverse cross-section of other people, there is a decent chance that among those people will be a small percentage of crying young kids (they're little kids after all...and many of them aren't accustomed to flying), immature teenagers and a-hole adults. That is life, get used to it and get over it. The world is not some homogeneous utopia. The universe does not revolve around you. They have just as much right to be there as you do. There are obvious solutions to deal with annoying situations without coming across as a dick to other people. Crying little kid two rows away or giggly chatterbox 20-year old woman across the aisle? Put on your headphones. Concerned about lack of legroom? Either pay more to fly first class or choose a different airline that doesn't treat its customers like cattle. The bigger problem here is that many people have an inflated sense of entitlement.
Agreed. If you think you're too good to fly coach, then don't fly coach. If a parent is trying to keep a kid quiet, I'm sure not going to hold it against them. If the parent is not even trying to keep them somewhat quiet - or is actually encouraging them to be loud - that's annoying. However, 99% of the time, the parent is actually trying to keep them quiet. I have no issue with that. I can totally sympathize, actually. We flew to Florida a few years ago when my twins were 1. They were okay, but occasionally cried (gasp! a 1-year-old cries???) The man next to me was totally cool. I kept saying "sorry" and he just smiled and said it's cool. He even helped me when I dropped something on the floor. I ended up giving him several drink coupons and he was very appreciative. He wouldn't take them at first, but I insisted.
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This has nothing to do with flying coach. More to do with flying commercial. I was recently on a flight from Houston to Lagos, Nigeria in business class, and the man sitting next to me (2-2-2 configuration) basically had his three-year old in his seating area the entire flight. His wife was in the next section over caring for their two-month old and the seat next to her was empty (I'm assuming the empty seat next to her was the three-year old's assigned seat, that he never used). This three-year old kid had a nasty, nasty cold. He was coughing, sneezing, and blowing his nose all over the place (he's three years old, of course he isn't going to cover his mouth). At one point in the flight, without asking, the dad put his kid's used silverware and drinking glass on my tray table to make room for his son to play with his toys. The Ebola scare in the region wasn't comforting either.
I don't have a problem with crying babies on a plane. I have a problem with older kids (6,7,8,9 years old) who act like complete brats and whose parents turn a blind eye. Teach your kid some ******* manners and don't ignore him when he's clearly bothering others.
Yep, infants & kids have every right to fly too... so what if they cry/fuss? Buy yourself some headphones. Older kids are a diff story, though. Teach them some manners but they will never be perfect, IMO. I'm a new parent and I wouldn't do the "sorry if my baby cries" card thingy. Screw people. :grin:
Kids yelling and screaming do get annoying but I don't complain about it. I just fly with these NASCAR quality ear muffs and I don't hear a damn thing.
Well, I disagree. One, benadryl is an allergy medication, not a pain reliever, so ethical considerations about relieving pain is are kinda irrelevant here. Two, benadryl is an allergy medication, not a sleep aid, so using it over the counter for something other than its intended use is technically an abuse. If a doctor has specifically prescribed it as a sleep aid then it's meant as a sleep aid, but if you've essentially prescribed the use as a lay-person that's a different deal. OTC directions for administration is for kids over 6. Doctors will prescribe it for younger kids, even down to a year old. But, that also comes with custom dosage instructions that you won't get OTC. Benadryl is pretty safe. And it may sometimes be effective as a sleep aid with children. I'm not saying it's necessarily wrong to do it -- I might have used it in certain situations if my kids reacted the right way to it but they didn't. But, to say there are no ethical considerations to be considered is a bridge too far for me. I think whenever you're making drug decisions for someone else, you should think carefully about the ethics of it; doubly so if the rationale is your own convenience instead of the relief of suffering.
Very well said, JuanV. Xerobull's logic is full of Fail. Basically, his logic is: Sometimes its okay to give kids Benadryl therefore it's always ok to do it? That said, there are two big problems with his assumptions: #1: I don't think a doctor would ever prescribe Benadryl is a 2-month old. (min age is 1 year, iirc. Label states 6 years.) #2: Benadryl sometimes reacts as a stimulant rather than a depressant. Xerobull likely has never actively parented children.
I tend to sympathize with parents, especially with young babies and kids who can't communicate why the pressure hurts their ears so much. It's not like parents are immune to the sound of their kids' screeching. So, this summer I had a Frankfurt to Dallas to flight and ended up sitting next to an overwhelmed single mom with two toddlers. The older toddler visibly had down syndrome and cried the entire flight. His sister couldn't have been older than 2 and cried for about 75% of the flight. Whenever the mom would stand up to get something from her bag, they'd start screeching and neither would go to sleep. That went on for about 10 hours. It was nightmarish for everybody around, but we were sympathetic because it's not like she encouraged the kids to do this. As soon as we landed in Dallas and the cabin wasn't pressurized, the young boy with down syndrome was suddenly fine and happy. His mother gave everybody in the area candy and apologized.
Heh, no- ibuprofen. You're falling into that internet trap of not closely reading what you're criticizing. 1. I implicitly posted over two, not a two-month old. 2. Common side effects don't include it being a stimulant. With both points, it goes without saying (for any good parent), that you get a doctor's approval before you administer any medication to very young children. Personally, when I used benadryl for my son flying, it was after I had consulted a doctor...many, in fact, as I worked in children's hospital when he was very young. There are a lot of obvious things that you take for granted that all parties know that don't really need to be said in casual conversation. I don't bother getting granular as that's for the weirdos that troll the D&D and love to argue. I simply just don't have time to lay down a lexicon of all of my knowledge for anyone else's context and review. I am extremely good at parenting my child, am well educated and am proactive about seeking out help and answers. And I can honestly say that giving benadryl to an uncomfortable 2 year old on a flight isn't out of the ordinary or something that I would think twice about recommending to a friend. If I was receiving this advice I would certainly take into account the credibility and education of the advice giver and weigh whether or not I even mentioned this to my doctor before I gave the medication to my child. I still contend that it's unethical to not consider medicating a child in pain, and I'm not sure how that calls my parenting into question. Do I need to have a medical diploma on the wall or a rap sheet of my parenting victories/non-kills to be credible? No.
