Only in America? - baby thrown off plane.What do you think of this?

Question

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=local&id=5472927

I think that it is disgraceful and would certainly never take young children onto a plane especially since this flight was delayed and it is no wonder that the child was a little boisterous and chatty.

Well it's just an example of what *can* happenthese days,Suze and "lastofthewonderful..." - my reference to America was rhetorical because it happened there but it is just as likely (maybe even more so following recent terrorist attempts) here what with delays and you're not even allowed to take *water* on board!
I am concerned for my grandsons who are due to fly next week and they don't *have* to.That is my point here,Suze although I take your point if that Mother did *have* to fly.
At this point of time I think taking children on aircraft should be kept to a minimum - how can they be expected to keep quiet after being cooped up for so long - even adults would be fretting.

Here were my concerns even *before* hearing of the above -

http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AnKZt5xwhSDdFWtI2wnLd.0hBgx.?qid=20070726063447AAhCL2W


http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070728175035AAym7wR

Why wouldn't I be worried about my grandsons when they don't *have* to fly?

Answer 1

I was on my way to work one morning, in a hurry as usual. Blocking my way going 30 mph was a little old man driving a huge car with a little old lady in the passenger seat. You could barely see the top of his head. I was so aggravated thinking to myself why is he even on the road if he's not capable of driving any faster than that! I decided to stop at the store and get a snack and let him go on and get the hell out of my way. After I left the store and continued on down the road I saw the car again pulled in the parking lot of a doctor's office. There he was, on the passenger side trying to get this little old lady in a wheelchair and obviously having a difficult time. My cold mean little heart skipped a beat. I pulled off the road and into the parking lot and watched them for a minute. As he tried to manuever her to the wheelchair, he carefully pulled her dress down and with a shaky hand softly brushed the hair from her face. I got out and went over to offer my assistance. Once we got her in the chair, he turned to me and told me he was so grateful for my assistance. He explained to me that he rarely drove because he knew he was not as good as he used to be but his wife was in a lot of pain and had to see the doctor that morning and there was simply no other choice. I was, to say the least, humbled, and will never forget that lesson in tolerance I learned that day.

Answer 2

Kids love flying and can be as well behaved, on average, as adults. It is actually more dangerous to drive somewhere in your car (or in a hired caravan) than it is to fly, statistically.

There are all kinds of things in life that people don't *have to* do, but wouldn't life be boring if we limited ourselves to only what we *had to* do?

In our family, we sometimes splurge & take exciting far away vacations and we sometimes spend our vacation time camping closer to home. Some years we'll take a full two weeks away. Some years we'll just do long weekends, trying out more local destinations & saving for the bigger vacation the following year. My kids get to have a variety of childhood experiences that way.

IMHO, you should be celebrating the fact that your grandsons get to have this adventure in their lives. There will be plenty of time for more 'homey' vacations in their future. I'm sure they've already had a few & will have many more to come.

My own children have done quite well the few times that we've been on airplanes. We've made sure to do as best we can to give them one-on-one attention throughout the flight, plenty of activities, snacks, etc. And, we've done our best to consider the feelings & comfort of the other travellers, too.

What really gets me about stories like this is the adults involved who cannot show a little human kindness to others, including children, too.

In the story that you linked, the other passengers actually came to the defense of the mother & child, saying that the child was not bothering them at all, saying that the flight attendant lied and escalated the problem to bring it to it's conclusion.

Everyone has bad days. I feel sorry for that mom & child. But, I also feel sorry for that flight attendant who clearly felt the need to abuse her power and assert her authority, despite the fact that no one was doing anything wrong, really. Sounds like some people I know and read here online, sometimes, actually. :-(

People need to lighten up. We're here on earth for such a short time. Why waste any of that time finding fault with others & feeling sorry for ourselves? Wouldn't our time be better spent helping each other and trying to grow ourselves into better human beings?

Answer 3

Well obviously it's a ridiculous thing to happen. But I'm not sure I get your point - you say it's disgraceful and then say children that age shouldn't be on a plane.
What should the woman have done when the plane was delayed - put him in a car and then driven him a few thousand miles??

Answer 4

Lol, when I read you're question I though someone has thrown a baby out of a plane! Think the stewardess was out of order, based on what the story says.

Answer 5

With climate issues being so important why are they flying when they don't have to?
I don't understand people who fly when they could take other ways that would be less harmful to the planet.
Maybe they believe they will be dead when the worst of climate change hits, so it won't bother them.

Answer 6

I find this disgusting. As a military family member living in Japan, I will be spreading this story as far and wide as I possibly can... Continental will certainly be losing some business!

Answer 7

well 1st of all you are trusting that the person writting the story got all of the facts right and didnt embelish at all to tug at our heart strings (of course no reporter would ever do that!)

there are a lot more pressing things going on to worry about this kind of stuff.

oh yeah by the way babies are on planes becuase grandmas and grandpas dont always live in the same states andits easier to bring a baby to whole family than a whole family to a baby...

Answer 8

I hope they put that flight att. on the news and embarrass her as to why she thought it was ok to throw a little kid off a plane that was just being a little kid.

I also she gets in trouble for telling that mother she should drug her child for the flight..

Answer 9

Just another example of airline employees abusing the power they have gotten since 9-11.

Answer 10

Wow, that was outrageous!!!
I would have been fuming at this. After an 11 hour delay, its a wonder the child wasn't crying, but it sounds like he was happy and settled. Just cos he was talking its no reason to throw him off.
I feel a huge lawsuit coming on!!!!!