Negative99

Reflections on Orlando / Cancun Trip - Part 1 // Flight from Albany to Orlando

On the 3-hour flight down to Orlando there was a family with a small girl (probably about 18 months) sitting in front of us. The little girl cried loudly for about two thirds of the flight. That’s two hours! I cannot emphasize how incredibly brain-piercing a little whine machine can be when you have to sit 20 inches away! I found myself checking my watch every few minutes to see how much closer our landing was. Needless to say, the entire back of the plane (where we were) was getting angry at the constant noise.

After pondering at length, I think that some parents are really very inconsiderate when it comes to their children. Not that they are inconsiderate to their children, but they are oblivious to the offensive sounds, smells, etc. emanating from their children that they have either grown numb to (like smokers who no longer realize their clothes stink) or dismiss as expected behavior from youngsters. And then unfortunately, some parents expose others around them (on planes, in restaurants, on buses, in lines) to these offenses without care or consideration… like the world must accept it because kids will be kids.

Now I’m not talking about only a little fussing or crying. There is some level of acceptability here… some level of balance… and I think that’s the whole point. There is a standard of propriety that one must take responsibility for… whether a dog barking endlessly at 2am, or a screaming infant in a quiet restaurant.

In my opinion, if a kid is screaming inordinately loud, I don’t think parents can force others to hear it… any more than I can force someone to have to smell something highly unpleasant and nauseous, or to force feed someone something that tastes highly unpleasant. So if I have to leave my skunk at home, then kids whose screaming is ear-piercing and can’t be controlled should be left at home, too. The parents on my flight should have had to pay for everyone’s plane ticket within a 15-foot radius of their bawling spawn.

I must mention that I know some classy parents who are very cognizant of their child and will not take it to a quiet restaurant when they know it’s being fussy… and if it starts crying at the restaurant they’ll take it out. Bravo! For the rest of you, I challenge you to remember that there are those of us who haven’t gotten “used to” crying and screaming, and who can’t tune it out quite as easily as you have learned to.