Man Slaps Crying Two Year Old In Flight

[bluee]

You know of some way to have my 11 month old child trained to behave well in public that I haven't figured out somehow or are you being intentionally obtuse?

I've heard whisky works on the kid. Apparently calling him a ****** and slapping him does too.

I have an 11 month old child. She is very well behaved in public. I take her to restaurants, and she is great. She loves new places and people, and I have never had a problem with her, no one has ever complained. I took her to Germany last October and she never cried the entire flights. When we disembarked people commented to me that they never knew a baby was on the plane. So yes, it is possible to have a well-behaved child in public. Maybe the people who never take their kids anywhere should try taking them out more so it's not such a shock when they do go places like restaurants and airplanes. It's not that hard, at least not for my kid. She wants a bottle, snacks, a clean diaper and she's pretty happy.

 

[O-200]

Pretty much sums up this thread. If you have kids you empathize with the parents, if you don't have kids you don't get it.

BTDT
That said, I love my ANR's!

George

 

[Geico266]

I have an 11 month old child. She is very well behaved in public. I take her to restaurants, and she is great. She loves new places and people, and I have never had a problem with her, no one has ever complained. I took her to Germany last October and she never cried the entire flights. When we disembarked people commented to me that they never knew a baby was on the plane. So yes, it is possible to have a well-behaved child in public. Maybe the people who never take their kids anywhere should try taking them out more so it's not such a shock when they do go places like restaurants and airplanes. It's not that hard, at least not for my kid. She wants a bottle, snacks, a clean diaper and she's pretty happy.

Just wait til she hits 2! then 18!

Just kidding. Enjoy your kids while they are young. The damn things grow up too fast.

 

[LDJones]

I think people who find crying babies to be horribly annoying need a bit of empathy.

Babies who cry incessantly on airplanes usually are in pain from being unable to equalize. Gently massaging the temples, the joint of the jaw, under their chin, and sometimes the areas above and below their eyes or on each side of their nose, can help a lot. I've actually done this a few times for parents who were ready to try pretty much anything to get their babies to stop crying. It usually works.

Slapping and yelling at them, not so much.

-Rich

When stuck by a wailing baby on a commercial flight, I insert ear plugs, close my eyes and whisper a prayer for the kid AND their parent.

 

[LDJones]

She wants a bottle, snacks, a clean diaper and she's pretty happy.

Sums up life for most of us!

 

[KeithASanford]

Pretty much sums up this thread. If you have kids you empathize with the parents, if you don't have kids you don't get it.

There's a gray area here, though. My problem is not with kids screaming on the plane. That's an easy fix; Bose Quiet Comfort headsets. I'm more annoyed by the parents that just sit there and do nothing.

 

[Gerhardt]

It sounds like we all agree this cad was way out of line. And some of us agree that it's not fair to be locked on a flight with someone else's crying baby, but that's just part of life.

Sitting next to a crying baby is only one tiny step above the way every domestic flight was twentysome years ago....filled with cigarette smoke.

 

[weilke]

Sitting next to a crying baby is only one tiny step above the way every domestic flight was twentysome years ago....filled with cigarette smoke.

Kiddie noise doesn't affect my health the same way cigarette smoke does.

The fundamental problem it seems in this case is not so much the crying kid but rather the fact that airlines are just a bit too willing to cater to drunks. Not only should they put stricter limits on on-board beverage service, they also need to start denying boarding to people who need help to make it from the terminal bar to the boarding gate. I fly a fair amount in business class, it is interesting and sad to watch what effect 'free booze' has on peoples behaviour.

 

[PPC1052]

That's just dumb. People with kids (myself included) fall into one of two categories: 1. The type that will take their kid into a restaurant or movie theatre, without caring about those around them and 2. The type that actually care about people around them and avoid those situations wherever possible.

No doubt that's true. Of course, for obvious reasons, those of us without kids only see catagory 1 families.

 

[Everskyward]

I remember being single or even married without kids and I hated listening to a baby cry on an airplane. Now I understand there are much more important things in life than myself having a pristine quiet flight for an hour or two.

I am single with no children and I am probably more sympathetic to families with kids than some of the others here. I travel on the airlines pretty regularly and am not bothered much by other passengers including children. As someone else said, you are making trips in a few hours that would have taken weeks or longer not that long ago.

 

[JB1842]

The worse flight I've ever been on was a MAC flight from Okinawa. Full of screaming kids and the sound system on the plane was broken. No way to drown out the noise with the movie. I'm one of those "no kids yet" couple. I can only stand crying up to a certain point. On a plane, it's expected. But when you are out eating or other public place and the parents ignore their screaming kids, I take offense to that.

 

[dell30rb]

There's a gray area here, though. My problem is not with kids screaming on the plane. That's an easy fix; Bose Quiet Comfort headsets. I'm more annoyed by the parents that just sit there and do nothing.

The QC really only drowns out background noise and not that of an ear-piercing, screaming child. For that you have to crank up the jams to drown it out.

I hate flying commercial and i've only been on the tube once since I got my ppl. It was transatlantic and i'm pretty sure I would not want to do that trip in a PA28

 

[N801BH]

I don't agree with hitting or using the N word, but people are entitled to peace and quiet on a plane. They only tell the mothers side of it. maybe he was screaming the whole flight? Maybe the guy politely asked her to keep him quiet and she told him to F off??

I saw an interview with the (woman) the other day and she clearly said " he leaned over and whispered in my ear the N word"..... Surrounding pax could not hear that and it is a he said /she said complaint..... Also, not one pax witness has come forward to tell their story to the media either... The guy could have been a real ****ole.............. or the woman is looking for some fast cash..... I give it 50 /50 on who was wrong..

 

[Geico266]

Many times if I am on a flight with crying kids I will try and help. Kids are easily entertained and a new face (one as pretty as mine ) can cause a distraction for a while. Usually, the crying doesn't last that long, and the diversion is usually a clue to others to try and help also. Kids will be kids. The best parents in the world can have "one of those days" with kids. A lot of times just a calm voice and an offer to help will give the parent the reassurance to try other things to calm the kids. Not a popular choice in today's world. Most can't wait to complain on Facebook or tweet out their outrage. Old school I'm sure, but maybe some things are timeless. Offering to help a parent in need is another alternative.

Yelling, and slapping the kid generally speaking doesn't work so well.

 

[Geico266]

The worse flight I've ever been on was a MAC flight from Okinawa. Full of screaming kids and the sound system on the plane was broken. No way to drown out the noise with the movie. I'm one of those "no kids yet" couple. I can only stand crying up to a certain point. On a plane, it's expected. But when you are out eating or other public place and the parents ignore their screaming kids, I take offense to that.

Maybe you should eat at places without a "Play land".

Kidding man! I'm just kidding! I just couldn't resist! I' m a bad man!

 

[N801BH]

My last trip, on the last leg from DFW to DEN, I did just that, when the back of my seatkept getting kicked-bumped almost constantly. It seems many parents just don't seem to care about that if the kid isn't bothering them. !!!


George

I had a crying,kicking rug rat sitting behind me a few years ago on a JAC-ATL flight... about 30 minutes into the flight I got up. looked the clueless mother in the face and told her."if that thing kicks my seatback one more time, you better hit the call button for the FA faster then I do"..... Amazingly the little kid quit crying and didn't touch my seat again... Funny how you have to point out the obvious to a idiot who shouldn't reproduce..

 

[Geico266]

I had a crying,kicking rug rat sitting behind me a few years ago on a JAC-ATL flight... about 30 minutes into the flight I got up. looked the clueless mother in the face and told her."if that thing kicks my seatback one more time, you better hit the call button for the FA faster then I do"..... Amazingly the little kid quit crying and didn't touch my seat again... Funny how you have to point out the obvious to a idiot who shouldn't reproduce..

Well, this approach can work too.

 

[Maxmosbey]

By golly, if they had been raised the way I was raised,,, wait, by golly if people raised their kids the way I raised mine,,, just kidding. For my kids it just depended on the day. Most of the time they were well behaved, but sometimes they weren't. When my daughter was two we were on our way to the lake in Minnesota and she cried in the back seat for over an hour and a half. There just wasn't anything that we could do to stop her. Well, short of doing something stupid, like the guy on the plane. That's just the way it is with kids.

 

[Maxmosbey]

So just how fat do you have to be in order to be categorized as a "passenger of size"? I saw that in the article.

 

[bluee]

I had a crying,kicking rug rat sitting behind me a few years ago on a JAC-ATL flight... about 30 minutes into the flight I got up. looked the clueless mother in the face and told her."if that thing kicks my seatback one more time, you better hit the call button for the FA faster then I do"..... Amazingly the little kid quit crying and didn't touch my seat again... Funny how you have to point out the obvious to a idiot who shouldn't reproduce..

Maybe they should call you the grumpy old thing. Hope you didn't reproduce.
There are nicer ways to stop seat kicking without calling a child a "thing".

 

[EdFred]

Maybe they should call you the grumpy old thing. Hope you didn't reproduce.
There are nicer ways to stop seat kicking without calling a child a "thing".

Sometimes certain terminology is needed to get the point across.

 

[N801BH]

Maybe they should call you the grumpy old thing. Hope you didn't reproduce.
There are nicer ways to stop seat kicking without calling a child a "thing".

You apparently don't get it...................

The MOTHER was sitting right next to the "thing" while it was kicking the back of my seat and didn't do a damn thing about it........ Like it or not. she had it coming...... Sorry you don't see it my way....

 

[Florida Cracker]

For what it is worth, (and it is only one side of the story as the defendant has lawyered up and refuses to go on record, which is telling), the mother of this child said in an interview that the man appeared intoxicated when she boarded, was belligerent towards her from the start, and she spent most of the flight standing in the rear of the plane trying to comfort her child who apparently was having difficulty equalizing pressure.

I am assuming that the child is adopted as both parents are white, but that is immaterial. The fact that an obviously racist drunk decided his best action was to assault a woman, (leaning over and yelling in her ear), and a two-year old child , (striking him),indicates that he has issues. Hayden ID, his home town, is a stronghold of white supremacists and other extreme fascist organizations. I wonder if the father, who is a formidable looking guy, had been present the coward would have had the same course of action. But then most racists are cowards, and prefer the helpless and weak for targets as it supports their desire for feeling superior without risk.

It seems so obvious that a child crying that much on a plane, either has ear pain due to pressure, or another painful problem, which could be anything from colic, to hunger and more.

GUESS WHAT? You can't always have a quiet, stress free flight. Get over it and you won't find any constitutional guarantee of deserving one.

If some smart azz punk yelled into my wife's ear then hit my child, on plane, having to answer to a judge will be his least problem. If he doubled down with racist shouting, his next appt would be with his ortho, then the judge.

 

[JB1842]

Maybe you should eat at places without a "Play land".

Kidding man! I'm just kidding! I just couldn't resist! I' m a bad man!

Ouch! No playland for me. I get sick eating their food now anyways. What I hate more than crying kids are kids that stand on their seats looking at you and running around the place. I once told a waitress that if a kid came running by my table once more (the same kid doing it over and over), I was going to trip them. Who's the bad man now? Even at places like Applebees or Red Robin, you should still act civilized.

 

[EdFred]

If some smart azz punk yelled into my wife's ear then my child, on plane, having to answer to a judge will be his least problem. If he doubled down with racist shouting, his next appt would be with his ortho, then the judge.

While I wouldn't yell, I would, if you and her hadn't done anything about it for 2 hours, I am going to say something. But if you tried that with me, you'd end up face down in the aisle with a dislocated shoulder.

 

[Florida Cracker]

While I wouldn't yell, I would, if you and her hadn't done anything about it for 2 hours, I am going to say something. But if you tried that with me, you'd end up face down in the aisle with a dislocated shoulder.

There is a MILE of difference between asking for some peace and quite, asking to be moved, or giving up and hiding out in the restroom, and hitting some stranger's child, then screaming racists epitaphs .

If you pull any of those on my family, you are going down, hard and then seeing your orthodontist.

 

[EdFred]

There is a MILE of difference between asking for some peace and quite, asking to be moved, or giving up and hiding out in the restroom, and hitting some stranger's child, then screaming racists epitaphs .

If you pull any of those on my family, you are going down, hard and then seeing your orthodontist.

Be careful who you pick fights with. Some of us actually know what we are doing. I've taken guys down that outweighed me by 100lbs. Always fun to have a police officer face down on the ground under you, telling you it hurts.

 

[N801BH]

.....hitting some stranger's child, then screaming racists epitaphs .

.....

We don't know that even happened.... We have only heard one side of the story.........

 

[EdFred]

We don't know that even happened.... We have only heard one side of the story.........

I wonder what a racist epitaph is? Was there a tombstone on the flight that wasn't mentioned in the article.

 

[Rex Kramer]

I saw an interview with the (woman) the other day and she clearly said " he leaned over and whispered in my ear the N word"..... Surrounding pax could not hear that and it is a he said /she said complaint..... Also, not one pax witness has come forward to tell their story to the media either... The guy could have been a real ****ole.............. or the woman is looking for some fast cash..... I give it 50 /50 on who was wrong..

I can't imagine ANY scenario where it's ok for a stranger to slap a 2 yr old.

I travel more than I can to in the back of airplanes. Screaming kids suck. I hate it. I hate it even more when it's my child being loud. When I do travel with my kids, my wife and I go out of our way to make sure we keep our kids as quiet as possible. We fly at their nap times, make sure they have something to drink/bottle for takeoff/landing to help with the pressurization. Make sure we have something to occupy them. A new toy always helps. We always put them in a car seat. They are used to traveling in car seats and are relatively quiet when they are in them. It transfers to the plane well. That's one of the biggest issues. Try holding a child in your arms anywhere for two hours. They'll go nuts. Hell, one flight we gave out ear plugs and gift bags to surrounding passengers to help with the noise if there is any. We will do everything we can during the flight to keep our kids quiet. My 2yr old daughter has always been good. My son, still a baby, is touch and go.

I can be certain of one thing, if ANYONE harms my child, I don't care how loud my kid is being, they will most definitely not be able to walk off the airplane on their own.

 

[Florida Cracker]

I can't imagine ANY scenario where it's ok for a stranger to slap a 2 yr old.

I travel more than I can to in the back of airplanes. Screaming kids suck. I hate it. I hate it even more when it's my child being loud. When I do travel with my kids, my wife and I go out of our way to make sure we keep our kids as quiet as possible. We fly at their nap times, make sure they have something to drink/bottle for takeoff/landing to help with the pressurization. Make sure we have something to occupy them. A new toy always helps. We always put them in a car seat. They are used to traveling in car seats and are relatively quiet when they are in them. It transfers to the plane well. That's one of the biggest issues. Try holding a child in your arms anywhere for two hours. They'll go nuts. Hell, one flight we gave out ear plugs and gift bags to surrounding passengers to help with the noise if there is any. We will do everything we can during the flight to keep our kids quiet. My 2yr old daughter has always been good. My son, still a baby, is touch and go.

I can be certain of one thing, if ANYONE harms my child, I don't care how loud my kid is being, they will most definitely not be able to walk off the airplane on their own.

We never traveled with the kids, when they were small, except by car, to avoid any unpleasantness. Babies cry, throw up, make a mess of their food, ad otherwise act like babies.

It is sad when adults act like babies to prove how tough they are.

 

[RJM62]

I have an 11 month old child. She is very well behaved in public. I take her to restaurants, and she is great. She loves new places and people, and I have never had a problem with her, no one has ever complained. I took her to Germany last October and she never cried the entire flights. When we disembarked people commented to me that they never knew a baby was on the plane. So yes, it is possible to have a well-behaved child in public. Maybe the people who never take their kids anywhere should try taking them out more so it's not such a shock when they do go places like restaurants and airplanes. It's not that hard, at least not for my kid. She wants a bottle, snacks, a clean diaper and she's pretty happy.

No offense, Al, and with no insult to your parenting skills intended... but some babies are happier than others by nature. Does parenting matter? Of course. But there's also such a thing as a personality, and even babies have them.

-Rich

 

[Rex Kramer]

We never traveled with the kids, when they were small, except by car, to avoid any unpleasantness. Babies cry, throw up, make a mess of their food, ad otherwise act like babies.

It is sad when adults act like babies to prove how tough they are.

Are you implying that retaliating/stopping someone from hitting your child is acting like a baby?
(Edit: nevermind I see what you meant, apologies!)


FWIW, I have driven 2000mi round trip, with 4 days of traveling and 2 actually at the destination, to avoid having to take my kids on a flight. Sometimes flying is inevitable, however.

 

[RJM62]

Many times if I am on a flight with crying kids I will try and help. Kids are easily entertained and a new face (one as pretty as mine ) can cause a distraction for a while. Usually, the crying doesn't last that long, and the diversion is usually a clue to others to try and help also. Kids will be kids. The best parents in the world can have "one of those days" with kids. A lot of times just a calm voice and an offer to help will give the parent the reassurance to try other things to calm the kids. Not a popular choice in today's world. Most can't wait to complain on Facebook or tweet out their outrage. Old school I'm sure, but maybe some things are timeless. Offering to help a parent in need is another alternative.

Yelling, and slapping the kid generally speaking doesn't work so well.

That's my usual strategy, as well. Sometimes I think the babies are just bored. Airliners weren't designed with visual interest to infants in mind. A funny face to look at, a new lap to test out, or a gray beard to get snot all over, may be entertaining enough to calm the tyke.

It also helps to be able to tell one cry from another, which is really just basic empathy -- something that's less popular than it used to be, for some reason. There's a pretty distinctive cry that indicates pain. In an airplane, there's a reasonably good chance that that cry means that the baby is having trouble equalizing (or is experiencing some non-flight related pain, such as colic, etc.).

Jumping to the conclusion that a crying baby is just a spoiled brat is both cruel and lame. When I was a paramedic, I came across plenty of adults whose cries of pain over even slight injuries would put a baby's to shame. Again, a bit of empathy goes a long way.

-Rich

 

[alaskaflyer]

Hayden, or Hayden Lake?

 

[alaskaflyer]

Are you implying that retaliating/stopping someone from hitting your child is acting like a baby?



FWIW, I have driven 2000mi round trip, with 4 days of traveling and 2 actually at the destination, to avoid having to take my kids on a flight. Sometimes flying is inevitable, however.

Like when you don't live in the contiguous US?

 

[Swampfox201]

On our last flight our 15 year old had trouble with his ears. It was so painful he had tears running down his face. He was quite through the whole thing but if our 5 year old would of had the same pain it would of gotten loud.

I can see if a youngster is kicking someone's seat and just being a pain in the a$$ then something needs to be done but if the child is tired, crabby and their ears hurt then there is going to be noise.

 

[Maxmosbey]

Be careful who you pick fights with. Some of us actually know what we are doing. I've taken guys down that outweighed me by 100lbs. Always fun to have a police officer face down on the ground under you, telling you it hurts.

Beat up on a lot of police officers do you? That sounds interesting.

 

[EdFred]

Beat up on a lot of police officers do you? That sounds interesting.

The used to come to use for additional hand to hand training techniques. They would show us what they knew, then we would show how what they learned at the academy sucked, and then demonstrate and teach them some more effective techniques.

It was one of the few times I could legally and physically abuse the popo.

 

[SkyHog]

I have an 11 month old child. She is very well behaved in public. I take her to restaurants, and she is great. She loves new places and people, and I have never had a problem with her, no one has ever complained. I took her to Germany last October and she never cried the entire flights. When we disembarked people commented to me that they never knew a baby was on the plane. So yes, it is possible to have a well-behaved child in public. Maybe the people who never take their kids anywhere should try taking them out more so it's not such a shock when they do go places like restaurants and airplanes. It's not that hard, at least not for my kid. She wants a bottle, snacks, a clean diaper and she's pretty happy.

Fantastic - you have a very well mannered child. I'm sorry, but unless you learned some sort of pre-natal technique to affect their disposition, no parent can affect a child's behavior at 11 months aside from telling them "no" and maybe swatting their hand if they touch something they are not supposed to.

Babies can't tell you what's wrong, or why they hurt, so their only option is to cry. Sounds like your child has not had a lot of pain (gas, teething, etc.), and you should be very happy that's the case. But I can guarantee you that its not because you are a better parent than I am, certainly not at 11 months. If you want to compare notes when our children are both 3 or 4 years old, then we can talk. Right now, you're just lucky.