Screaming Children On Flights Aren’t That Bad So Everyone Needs To Get A Grip

I don’t think there is anything that stresses a parent of small children out more than taking those small children 30,000 feet into the air, strapping them into a seat, and expecting to them to behave like civilized adults.

I took a flight from Florida to Washington D.C. this week. It was the first time traveling with my 3-month-old. She’s pretty much a perfect baby so far, so I really wasn’t too stressed about the flight. I know from flying with my oldest child that infants are generally pretty cool travelers if they are not sick, hungry, miserable or in pain. She was none of these things – and like I said – the perfect traveler.

As luck would have it – although my child was a perfect, sleeping angel – we sat in front of a very unhappy toddler. She was pissed off as soon as her parents strapped her into her seat. She remained pissed for the entire flight.

Noooooo!

I don’t want that!

Give me fruit snacks!

Stop!

Mommy! Mommy! Mooooooooommmmmmmy!

Noooooooo!

This was pretty much the endless loop that played for the entire flight. I sat in front of her, listening to her parents whispering to her trying to get her to calm down. She never did. I know they were horrified.

By some miracle, my infant never woke up. Do you know how I dealt with having a screaming toddler behind me? I put my headphones on. Then, I took a deep breath, felt some deep empathy for her parents, and turned up those headphones. As the volume went up, the sounds of her screams disappeared. It was truly an amazing feat of technology. I’m kidding. It wasn’t an amazing feat of technology – it was a simple, easy solution.

People, if you don’t want to be bothered by screaming kids on flights, bring some effing headphones with you. That’s it. End of story. No big deal. Everyone get a grip.

(photo: ollyy/ Shutterstock)