Screaming kids. They just don't do it for me. Unless they're blood relations or I have a vested interest in the young sprog (you know who you are), I just don't see why my eardrums need to be assaulted by the glass-shattering yelps of someone else's progeny.

And after two very noisy long-haul flights I decided to pen this little rant about kids on planes. But it seems I'm not alone… here are just a few of the dozens of responses that came whizzing in on email, not to mention all the comments made below the article.

Got more to say? Post a comment below or drop me an email…

  • What a breath of fresh air — I couldn't agree more on your comments about kids on planes. The 'scourge of the skies' is what they should be called! I don't know where parents get the idea that other travellers who pay the same fares as them enjoy being woken in the middle of a peaceful sleep by something other than turbulence. In fact, the worst is when the ratio becomes two kids to one parent... I mean give it a break!

    Never mind just noise on airplanes — parents should pay fines for every extra child over, say two, that they produce. Why should the rest of the world be forced to share the combined limited resources of this planet (which are disappearing by the day) with so many extra little people? It simply isn't fair that the rest of us with one kid (or no children) have to suffer. Trust me on this one, I come from a family of four siblings so I know what I am talking about — it's really not worth it!
    Clinton

  • Totally agree with you. We think that parents should take the responsibility. Maybe the airlines should draw up some sort of protocol guide line which should be given to every passenger — this would help the airline staff on board in executing their duties as well.

    Children usually cry because they are either scared or their ears (which is normally the case) are hurting them. Give them something to chew or drink from a bottle for little ones to keep their ears from hurting as they can chew on the teat, this also keeps them hydrated. Mothers should attend to their children, not switch off and expect passengers to help. I have paid for this seat and the surrounding space — enter at your own peril!

    In closing we too have had to listen to a child cry from the start of the flight to the end destination. My thought was actually for the poor child because I really don't think the Mother had a clue! So thank you for your article we just loved reading it and that you had the balls to put pen to paper.
    Sandy [letter edited]

  • I so agree that children on planes should be made to behave. In such a small space there should be rules for everyone. I have seen perfectly behaved children because their parents care and see that their offspring do not annoy other people unduly. On the other hand, we had a boy shouting all the way to Perth, Australia and I can tell you, it was a long flight!
    Susan

  • There is not the slightest doubt that airlines should take urgent steps to curb the awful nuisance that children cause. Travel by air is at best 'most uncomfortable' and to have squawking brats throwing tantrums merely adds to the desperate discomfort most of us feel. Small children should only be entitled to fly on specified flights and then only in a specified area (like smokers used to have). Even though the nuisance might carry across the boundary it would be reasonably tolerable if early passengers could get far away. I think the problem is desperate
    Bill

  • My sister and brother-in-law live in rural northern California, so when they visit SA they need to fly from their local airport to a larger one, then to an international hub and then up to 20 hours to SA. Altogether it's well over a day of travelling. The first time they undertook the journey the kids were 2 and 4 and, well, undisciplined. When they arrived here, I asked my brother-in-law how the flight had been for the kids. He looked a bit surprised at my question. "We're both pharmacists," he said. "They slept!" Must say, I have often considered drugging myself on those long transatlantic flights.
    Nina

Want to have your say? Post a comment below, or on the original column about kids and aeroplanes… or read more rants on page two!


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