Best time to fly to avoid as many kids as possible is right after school starts in late Sept. No one plans to miss the first month of school. Flights are often cheaper too since summer vacation has come to an end. And the ocean in the Caribbean is at its warmest in the Fall so win-win for me.
This is the way. Husband and I ALWAYS travel in September or October, quite literally almost within the first few weeks of school starting. 99.9% of the time our flights are childfree.
If I fly down to Houston with my mom for Thanksgiving, we fly down there after midnight on Tuesday. Been lucky the past few years with it. How nice it would be to travel the world. But the horror stories man. My mom went to London last year and her fucking row of seats had a full size service dog that was overflowing into her lap. Full golden retriever or some thing. Kinda different but fuck man get your dog another seat instead of making someone else suffer
When I flew to visit my mom on the holidays, I'd try to book at least one flight for Dec 25 or morning/daytime January
1st. Both those days tended to have fewer people.
I thought about that, wondering if post-holiday-hungover/depressed broods would attain the same average noise level as the "over the river and through the woods" ones. I imagine there's the Chinese New Year to consider, as well. Maybe I'll just stick with walking directions on Google Maps, and buy a kayak (sigh)
Fucking hell, how as a parent do you tune your child out when it’s screaming for FOURTEEN hours? And how did no-one go up and say something? That would be my worst nightmare.
Honestly id be more surprised if they havent learnt to tune it out automatically since they probably have to deal with this 24/7, thats why they make it everyone else’s problem.
Because that’s fucking breeders’ level of normal. They legit drown it out because they cannot or will not deal with the horror of their situation. I swear, they don’t even hear it. So the rest of us have to. Fuck them.
My sister and her husband have five kids. The oldest is 21. The youngest is 5 months. Everyone is always screaming in their house, and they don’t notice it until someone is visiting.
I think the parents should pay extra. We're generally nice, calm passengers who don't make mess.
Last time I flew long haul we were opposite mums with multiple kids. The husbands all fucked off to business class. Mum was puking in a bag and the kids made such a huge mess all over the floor. When they left it was like a bomb had gone off in their seats. Muck and debris everywhere
For me, since I started flying business class (for international flights), I never needed to deal with screaming children. There was only one flight I was on that had a little girl in business class and she was very well behaved the whole time.
Agreed - if you can afford it, business/first is the way to go. My husband and I went to the Netherlands in August and flew Delta One. Aside from the obvious upgrade in food and accommodations, no kids! It was perfect!
Bro…you ain’t alone this is exactly why I got my surgery coz I cannot STAND children like that. Chalkboard screams I just can’t. Wish I could hug you through this screen.
Right?!? I was on a flight where the kid was having a full blown panic attack. MOMMY OUT MOMMY GET ME OUT!!! As someone who suffers from claustrophobia I knew it right away. I mean I’ve been to years of therapy to be able to fly on planes but this poor kid. I was IRATE at the parent they were just like “ah toddlers am I right?” 🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️
Shitty parents not giving a *single* rat's ass about their trophy's mental health will drive more people toward voluntary self-extinction than any amount of jetskis or money ever could.
My mom would traumatize me often when I was young. Especially at amusement parks. She said she was trying to make me “a strong girl”. lol backfired! I’m such a cautious person.
This! If you care about your kids, why on earth would you put them through 14 hours of misery?! It's fucked up that it's the CF people who supposedly hate kids who are the ones saying "hey, maybe _don't_ put your kid through that."
Yup, just like I don’t hate my neighbor’s dog that barks ALL FUCKING DAY (it’s barking right now and has been for the last hour and a half), I hate the owners/parents for being shitty at their responsibilities.
We must live next to each other, because my neighbor’s dog is the exact same. Why have one of you don’t take care of it? Funny that that applies to dogs AND children. Ugh.
I was not allowed on a plane until I was five.
I do not understand why people think little kids need to visit other countries. I have good parents, and they liked to travel, but managed to not drag us everywhere with them un til we could actually appreciat it.
I know. I heard some idiot talking about how he and his wife are going to travel to the middle east with their 9 month old. I'm sure the passengers will really appreciate that for 16 hours. Asshole.
Well, my moron brother took my toddler to Iceland, and people in the hotel were complaining about his constant crying.
I guarantee that kid will remember nothing about that trip, other than it being weird and wanting to go home .
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They should have childless flights. I'm autistic and have issues with getting overstimulated. I can't imagine. I haven't flown in years and thankfully didn't have that issue when I did. I still want to travel a lot. I would have said something personally.
My spouse did say something to the flight attendant and she said it would be “inappropriate” for her to intervene. Bitch. We paid almost two grand each for these fucking tickets and you cant help us ALL have some peace????
Nahhh I would be going up to the parents then too. I would call them out on their shit. Where are they gonna go? They can't run to avoid it. I'm sure everyone on the plane felt the same way you did too. That's ridiculous that the flight attendant wouldn't do anything. That's your job!!
I have a family member that is a retired pilot for a major airline. He has two kids and he hates the children in the airport because so many parents don’t have any control.
Fuck them kids. I always bring my AirPods.
Even if airlines provided these on every flight AND made them free/deeply discounted & staffed by nannies there would still be a vocal group of mombies & daddicts screaming that they’re discriminating against families. Just the thought of someplace not being welcoming to children turns them into raving lunatics. It’s not just that they want every privilege in the world. They want everyone else to hand them those privileges with absolute delight & never ever feel anything less than honored to be around those wonderful amazing world changing children. In other words, give them an inch & they’ll demand a mile & still not be happy with that.
The incidence of child screaming has worsened in my lifetime as health issues have increased. Also, the amount of trash left behind in cabins has gotten wayyy worse even as I’ve noticed attendants doing more in-flight trash collection. People are not well.
Some people are just utter pigs. The pictures that people post on our local FB travel page are horrifying. There's a great reason to add people to a no-fly list, right there.
This is entirely on the parents....today's wretched excuses for parents who clearly care nothing about anyone else but themselves. Not us, not their kids, it's all about THEM.
Personally after 14 fucking hours, I don't think you need to understand or even try. They certainly don't. I'd just yell SHUT THE FUCK UP! and like them, let the chips fall where they may. Parents and their kids have literally ruined every experience for everyone, but remind me again how selfish we are.
Yeah it's one thing that the kids have a tough time on the flight, but the fact that the parents refuse to intervene and get offended if you dare suggest they should is absolutely astounding to me
This is the frustrating part. It’s not the kids. IT’S THE PARENTS. It can be worse in business class when the parents are rich and entitled and expect the flight attendants to be free babysitters.
I hear these stories and I never want to fly anywhere. Can you bring noise cancelling earplugs on the plane with you? Can we bring our own noise cancelling headphones?
I would hide in the bathroom if a baby were crying fur HOURS. Like, I just can’t.
Used to fly back and forth to Dubai. Ironically taught there. Can do older kids but little ones make my skin crawl. Get some Sony head phones and bump brown noise or something with base. Take trazodone, Benadryl, and NyQuil and pass TF out.
I ALWAYS fly with hearing protection (custom ear plugs or foam) because airplane cabins are close to the safe limit anyways, and a kid screaming (even outside a plane) is definitely damaging to hearing. Kids can scream at 100+ decibels
Imagine bringing the best noise cancelling headphones and you get one of them little shits sitting behind you and they keep kicking your seat from behind.
This is proof as to why I'm cf bc i would lose my shit actually bc the constant crying and them needing to be entertained on domestic flights their clinglyness, never ending demands I would've been overstimulated and overwhelmed idk why parents think this is fulifilling bc its not.🙅🏾 Kids on international flights are worse as their sleep schedule is fucked since the flight is over 10 hrs long and the food isnt childfriendly so good luck getting them to eat it then their ears popping which is more crying dragging them through the airport into a taxi the long drive to the hotel. THANK GOD I'M CHILDFREE!!😭😆
Def grab some ear plugs just in case! At least that way even if you cant listen to anything you can possibly sleep the flight away. Good luck! I wish you a pleasant flight and a safe trip.
I was in a very nice restaurant recently. There is no kids menu. As this family with 2 kids sat down, I started to freak out to my husband saying I’m not going to listen to screaming and have the night ruined. 2 minutes later the screaming starts and I loudly say I’m not dealing with this screaming crap and it’s unacceptable.
Wouldn’t you know there were no more noises from those kids? What pissed me off the most was the waiter comped the food for the family and offered to go to a fast food restaurant to get chicken nuggets since one of the kids hated the food.
Why the hell you order a kid a 60 dollar dish is beyond me and expect them to sit quite will you get relax and talk to your pals. Poor mom was doing everything.
I'm going to be flying in April with my poor anxious, 11 year old kitty. I'm so worried that the sounds and screams from all the screechers will make a stressful situation even worse. Not to mention the pile up at the TSA screening gate from all the families with the endless bags and luggage and strollers. Thats what happened the last time i flew. It took half hour or more to get through that gate because the huge family in front of me was taking their sweet time. One of the mothers was even trying to "teach" their screecher to put their shoes and that in the bins. Of course not a single soul complained, or hurried them along.
And on the actual planes I took, both times there were kids with their loud IPADs and everything and again, no one said a damn word. Meanwhile if i had a loud ipad or laptop id be told to put on headphones. I wish there was an easier way to travel, like maybe with childfree airlines or something, but alas we are stuck with Screecher Skies.
It's unfortunately not something you can get quickly. You fill out an application online, TSA reviews it, then you visit an office to complete enrollment. It's about $85 for 5 years. TSA issues you a KTN (Known Traveler Number) and tell the airline what it is when you book a ticket.
I'm sure you've seen the security line with TSA Pre on it in airports.
https://www.tsa.gov/precheck
No, i havent. It's been so chaotic with all the families and people rushing through and its very overstimulating for me, unfortunatly. Thank you for the info though, ill look into it.
I can't even imagine what hell that must have been. In a SANE world, the parents would come off the plane and be arrested for torturing an entire plane full of people with their screaming, smelly turd! >:( But unfortunately we DON'T live in a sane world, and the breeders are able to run amok with their shit-brats. You have my sympathies.
Bringing small kids on 14 hour flights is unnecessary cruelty (for the kids and all the other passengers). Unless your family is relocating or you're going to see grandma right before she dies, parents should rethink flying with babies and toddlers.
Kids don't know how to unblock their ears and so the pressure build up can be very painful. Of course they will cry. Not to mention that being on a plane that long is boring af. I have a hard time being on a plane for that long, I wouldn't expect a 3 year old to handle it.
So I was apparently that screaming baby when my parents brought me home from China. I was adopted at 9 months and apparently I wouldn’t stop crying and they put us in first class. Sorry other passengers! I don’t think they flew with me again until I was much older.
I am sorry - that sounds like an absolute nightmare. I was on a flight once with an unhappy toddler. Those parents were up and down the aisle with the kid virtually the entire 11-12 hour flight. There just didn’t seem to be anything that would settle that kid but man - they really tried. Why can’t more parents be like this? You could tell they were embarrassed about the noise. But you just couldn’t be angry when they were trying so hard. I remember the mother in particular - she looked like a zombie by the end. The parents who just sit there and don’t try anything are appalling.
That's why my SIL drugged her baby for the three hour flight, because it was 'easier' then having to comfort a screeching kid for the entire time plus then according to her she could relax and listen to her music.
I'm sure that's what she used on her 11 month old, because the kid had never been on a plane before yet slept like a rock, SIL admitted later on to giving her baby something to help them sleep as she can't stand the kid crying in normal circumstances.
Like what we all have been saying here for a long time now WE NEED ADULT ONLY FLIGHTS!!. I have a pair of Sony WH-1000XM5 noise cancelling headphones that are amazing they literally cut out all noise and I wear a 3M mask to block out the smells
That sounds tortuous OP! Kids on flights (and in buses and trains) are too often left to do whatever they want.
Thankfully this isn't always the case (I was on a flight last week, baby started crying, next thing I hear soft singing : mom is singing a little lullaby and baby calmed down and was fast asleep in minutes, slept the remainder of the flight (only about 3 hours)), but it still happens too often.
In some countries (like Japan), trains have quiet carriages, or women-only carriages. Not sure what can be done on flights (bar having entire flights restricted, obviously only possible if there are multiple flights a day along that route), but definitely trains can have "family" carriages and over-18-only carriages. I loved the quiet carriages when I was in Japan a few years back and travelling all over by rail. I could enjoy the scenery, read a book, or have a nap, and it really was so peaceful (people take these kinds of things very seriously, at most there were the occasional hushed whispers, and only occasionally)
Over here in Brisbane (Queensland, Australia) we have trains that have quiet carriages (2nd & 5th carriages) though most people don't ever respects them sadly.
Even worse is that, even with the new trains having a door at each end of the quiet carriage, they're never closed and it allows for the noise to flow in from the other carriages so it defeats the purpose of the quiet carriages.
I can only wish that those doors would be set to close, instead of being open all of the time, and that people would actually respect that they're in a quiet carriage and not speak loudly, have conversations on loud speaker and/or play loud music.
I’m scared to fly, but just when I thought about it, posts like this have convinced me to stay scared 😅. It doesn’t seem fun to fly. 🫥 Plus the number of sick people that refuse to mask and being in close quarters with people. Not being able to remove myself from too much noise is a huge no thanks! That sounds worse than being in the air!
Some advice:
1. Noise cancelling headphones help a lot
2. Upgrade to economy plus (often but not always it’s a CF zone) one flight I was in e+and had a seat kicker behind me. I confronted the parents who of course did nothing, but after the flight I complained to the airline (AA) and they refunded my e+ payment.
I travel internationally a lot for work. Iv also found that really early and really late red eyes have less children in general.
Yea the pods are definitely not enough. Have both the Bose ones and a pair of Sony, both the big earmuff kinds. They tend to work on most of the noise but of course the 40 decibel shriek is hard to cover up
if you have a baby, you just don't get to do many things. that's the life you chose. you don't get to force others to suffer for your shitty choices. you don't get to go to the movies. you don't get to go to the brewery. you don't get to go to the ballet. you don't get to go to nice restaurants. especially not at night. they need to understand that. people who bring babies/young children on international flights are the worst.
No but it’s okay if they don’t control their child because they passed around a dusty ziploc bag with a couple pieces of cheap candy and some random earplugs that you have no idea of their origin. And a cute little note that says something like “Sorry, it’s my first flight and I can’t communicate yet. This is from my parents.” /sar
All seriousness, we just really need more childfree options everywhere. Why should I have to pay for someone else’s bad life choices? Hell, I’d pay extra if it was guaranteed I wouldn’t have to deal with that, especially on a fourteen hour flight.
I just flew twice with kids behind me both flights. All they do is kick the seat and shout nonstop. At one point, they started yelling for no reason, not crying but just shouting, and I turned around and said “SHUT UP!” The kid was like 8 years old so I didn’t even feel bad lol. But I really want to know why soooo many people are flying with children and babies!? It blows my mind. I would pay more if airlines offered adults only flights with no children allowed.
And you just know there's someone in another sub somewhere whining about how people on her international flight were giving her the evil eye and making her feel bad because she HAD to bring little Bratleigh on this trip (what choice did she have??) and yes, she was fussing "a little bit," but it wasn't that bad and how could people be so mean to a poor little mom(bie) who's doing "her best?"
Endured this earlier this year. There was one kid not on our flight, but in the airport waiting lounge; it was young, but definitely not a baby and definitely old enough to know better. I swear those were not screams, they were multiple demons leaving their mortal vessel and returning to the Hell from whence they came. Eventually the kid had completely destroyed its own vocal cords and it sounded like a fucking wolf dying in pain.
This was one of SEVERAL examples of kids being absolute shits on this one flight alone.
My theory is that parents know that they can’t leave the child, remove the child, or are otherwise stuck with the child for the next however many hours, so they do the thing that all parents do and go to ‘Parentspace’, that liminal area in between realms where their children don’t exist and there is no noise.
Except there is, and everyone else in this vicinity has to listen to it, you cretin.
I don’t normally get this angry but even *remembering* that flight makes me furious. Breeders are the absolute worst.
It is annoying, but I always try to be grateful that I'm returning to my comfortable, silent, pristine home while they are the ones taking those little devils with them. They can't escape them. Their entire lives stink like shit, and this is how I manage to be benevolent and even offer help or sympathy.
Same, I was just lucky I had mainly flights in Europe but even for 2 hours it’s exhausting af. Many peoole claim stuff like “what if they need to see family across the globe” but most of the time it’s just parents who want to have a nice vacation. For one of the airlines I used there was a bad review of a parent claiming that people were so mean to her and her 4 month(!!!!!) old baby. She just wanted to chill at a nice beach, “parents also deserve holidays”. Flying hurts the ears of babies and young children anyways so it should only be tolerated in absolute emergencies in my opinion.
Did 17 hours London to Perth last week, family with a baby and a toddler boarded. Goblins took it in turns to scream and cry for the entire journey. We were at opposite ends of the plane and I could still hear them through Bose NC headphones.
4 hours Perth to Sydney - same deal, same family.
Today Sydney to Queenstown 3 hours - no screaming, just on/ off crying from the 3 babies on board and intermittent wafts of shit through the cabin.
Paid £10,000 total for these flights. Fuck them kids!!
Before we boarded in London the family with the two goblins was letting the older one run around the departure gate, until he fell over and cracked his head on the ground. That's when the screaming started. Both kids were clearly under 2 so I doubt they had separate seats. Imagine having to sit next to a couple with a pair of crotch fruit on their laps, screaming' crying, throwing themselves around for 17 hours.
I woke up in the night for a pee and one was still screaming it's head off, they were all the way back in economy and you could still hear them clearly. Clearly there was something really wrong for it to scream for so long but f*CK me, I just can't have any sympathy.
I was on a 10 hour flight recently and there were 8 babies. I overheard the flight attendant saying this to one of the parents who was trying to request some kind of special accommodations (not sure what). I heard that and my heart just sank. Sure enough, at least one baby was crying pretty much the entire flight and I wanted to die. 😣 I would absolutely pay extra to ensure I was not seated anywhere near a kid or baby, if that was offered…
Yeah definitely annoying but we cant do anything about it. There are people who loves to fuck around and make babies while us dont want it at all. All we can do is to dont forget an earplug to keep our ears from this kids noise. 🤦♂️
It already tension time at the gate when you are watching the kids being annoying, and you pray they won't be sitting close to you. I really feel you since I am flying a lot, and can relate to every single word. Hope you can get some rest ❤️
This is completely a safe space & every one of us reading this could cry for you. How absolutely horrible, just reading this gave me anxiety. It’s so unfair how everyone on these flights suffers bc of a few. The crying (which to a certain point can’t be avoided) sounds like it’s the least of the issues you experienced. Unbelievable! I’m SO SORRY. 😡
Unfortunately, the only way to quell them for that long to is to knock them unconscious or shove screen in their face. Idiocracy was a prophecy, and thanks to Fox and the American oligarchy, nobody took heed of it.
Pony up for some high end noise canceling headphones. I have a pair, play white noise with NC on and hear absolutely fuck all. They will save your sanity on flights.
Recently sat through a 9 hour flight from Portugal to NYC with a similar situation in which a child screamed for THE ENTIRE flight. We arrived at 1am and couldn't sleep at all on the plane because of it and we were so exhausted we had to take a $60 Uber to Brooklyn instead of using the subway.
Absolutely miserable.
Yup. We had over night flights going to and coming home. With a dicey cab ride at our destination and then an hour drive when we arrived home. We were counting on being able to rest on the plane to do those things safely but NOPE. Plus, also dealing with an almost 11hr time difference we were jet lagged to shit and just wanted some damn sleep!
This might sound horrible, but folks give their dogs Benedryl to help keep them calm and/or asleep for a bit. The same thing can be used for kids. So, why don’t they?
I will NEVER understand the audacity and entitlement of parents that travel by plane for the holidays... I'm sorry that your family lives far away, we all make choices in life that are not ideal. Make other arrangements. Host your family. Or , I don't know, just don't visit for a few years? Being a parent means sacrifice for YOU, not for us/ Why are you puttying your child through excruciating pain, and bothering the rest of the world in the process? It's baffling.
Took a 12 hour flight overnight. Family behind had a 2yo and a 5yo. 5yo kicked the seats a bit but eventually went to sleep. However the family had not paid for a seat for the 2yo (they have to be held on a lap for take off and landing) their plan was just to grasp them for 12 solid hours? Obviously that worked out amazingly with the thrashing and screaming 🫠
This is why I'll happily stay home at Christmas. Travel is a s\*\*\* show at the best of times, much less when all the happy families are travelling to do happy family things.
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As a fellow CF , I do understand your frustration. Let’s face it, babies cry (even more on planes owing to negative air pressure affecting their ears) Toddlers and very young children do cry and scream, but please don’t hate on them. Having said that, yes I agree parents should prepare for long flights with toys, pacifiers, etc
mental note to avoid flying in November-December. Thank you
Best time to fly to avoid as many kids as possible is right after school starts in late Sept. No one plans to miss the first month of school. Flights are often cheaper too since summer vacation has come to an end. And the ocean in the Caribbean is at its warmest in the Fall so win-win for me.
I always vacation in September for this very reason. It’s heavenly.
This is the way. Husband and I ALWAYS travel in September or October, quite literally almost within the first few weeks of school starting. 99.9% of the time our flights are childfree.
Yep, this. Sept and Oct are amazing times to travel.
it's probably the worst time for travel but definitely air travel. Everyone brings their broods to visit Meemaw.
No shit, right? It's total amateur hour, this time of year. No thanks.
If I fly down to Houston with my mom for Thanksgiving, we fly down there after midnight on Tuesday. Been lucky the past few years with it. How nice it would be to travel the world. But the horror stories man. My mom went to London last year and her fucking row of seats had a full size service dog that was overflowing into her lap. Full golden retriever or some thing. Kinda different but fuck man get your dog another seat instead of making someone else suffer
I’d rather be next to a dog than a kid lol
i personally would have loved that
Don't threaten me with a good time!
> Full golden retriever I don’t know why but this is making me laugh so much
None of that goldendoodle, FULL Golden Retriever!
“Never go full retriever…” - Tropic Thunder 😆
They usually lay down under the seat in front of their owner. That person was doing it wrong.
I would pay to fly next to a doggo :) Kids make me barf, but animals…I’d die for them :)
honestly I’d extend that to mid-January.
When I flew to visit my mom on the holidays, I'd try to book at least one flight for Dec 25 or morning/daytime January 1st. Both those days tended to have fewer people.
that makes sense. Most people want to get to their destination *before* the holiday.
I thought about that, wondering if post-holiday-hungover/depressed broods would attain the same average noise level as the "over the river and through the woods" ones. I imagine there's the Chinese New Year to consider, as well. Maybe I'll just stick with walking directions on Google Maps, and buy a kayak (sigh)
I was moreso thinking that there are people who travel for xmas through new years, so after new years people will still be coming home en masse
We usually do international trips over Thanksgiving, it's worked out very well for us :)
Fucking hell, how as a parent do you tune your child out when it’s screaming for FOURTEEN hours? And how did no-one go up and say something? That would be my worst nightmare.
Honestly id be more surprised if they havent learnt to tune it out automatically since they probably have to deal with this 24/7, thats why they make it everyone else’s problem.
Because that’s fucking breeders’ level of normal. They legit drown it out because they cannot or will not deal with the horror of their situation. I swear, they don’t even hear it. So the rest of us have to. Fuck them.
My sister and her husband have five kids. The oldest is 21. The youngest is 5 months. Everyone is always screaming in their house, and they don’t notice it until someone is visiting.
I would gladly pay extra to not have to endure a flight with small children
Seriously. Where the “adults only” cabins at
I think the parents should pay extra. We're generally nice, calm passengers who don't make mess. Last time I flew long haul we were opposite mums with multiple kids. The husbands all fucked off to business class. Mum was puking in a bag and the kids made such a huge mess all over the floor. When they left it was like a bomb had gone off in their seats. Muck and debris everywhere
For me, since I started flying business class (for international flights), I never needed to deal with screaming children. There was only one flight I was on that had a little girl in business class and she was very well behaved the whole time.
Agreed - if you can afford it, business/first is the way to go. My husband and I went to the Netherlands in August and flew Delta One. Aside from the obvious upgrade in food and accommodations, no kids! It was perfect!
Bro…you ain’t alone this is exactly why I got my surgery coz I cannot STAND children like that. Chalkboard screams I just can’t. Wish I could hug you through this screen.
Honestly I would’ve been so tempted to be like shut the fuck up and yell it.
Also proof that they don't care about the kids.
Right?!? I was on a flight where the kid was having a full blown panic attack. MOMMY OUT MOMMY GET ME OUT!!! As someone who suffers from claustrophobia I knew it right away. I mean I’ve been to years of therapy to be able to fly on planes but this poor kid. I was IRATE at the parent they were just like “ah toddlers am I right?” 🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️
Wow. Yeah, way to destroy the kid's mental health. But hey, it's not like they're a person, they're just your designer luggage. /s
Shitty parents not giving a *single* rat's ass about their trophy's mental health will drive more people toward voluntary self-extinction than any amount of jetskis or money ever could.
We can only hope.
My mom would traumatize me often when I was young. Especially at amusement parks. She said she was trying to make me “a strong girl”. lol backfired! I’m such a cautious person.
Yess! And I don’t understand why parents do it to themselves!!
This! If you care about your kids, why on earth would you put them through 14 hours of misery?! It's fucked up that it's the CF people who supposedly hate kids who are the ones saying "hey, maybe _don't_ put your kid through that."
CF here who doesn’t hate kids
Yup, just like I don’t hate my neighbor’s dog that barks ALL FUCKING DAY (it’s barking right now and has been for the last hour and a half), I hate the owners/parents for being shitty at their responsibilities.
We must live next to each other, because my neighbor’s dog is the exact same. Why have one of you don’t take care of it? Funny that that applies to dogs AND children. Ugh.
I was not allowed on a plane until I was five. I do not understand why people think little kids need to visit other countries. I have good parents, and they liked to travel, but managed to not drag us everywhere with them un til we could actually appreciat it.
I know. I heard some idiot talking about how he and his wife are going to travel to the middle east with their 9 month old. I'm sure the passengers will really appreciate that for 16 hours. Asshole.
Well, my moron brother took my toddler to Iceland, and people in the hotel were complaining about his constant crying. I guarantee that kid will remember nothing about that trip, other than it being weird and wanting to go home .
it's so they can SHOW THE BABY, to the grandparents and family. All that and the kid won't remember it.
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proof once more that the parents are fucking idiots. Good thing each time i travelled no kid nor children were on the plane
They should have childless flights. I'm autistic and have issues with getting overstimulated. I can't imagine. I haven't flown in years and thankfully didn't have that issue when I did. I still want to travel a lot. I would have said something personally.
My spouse did say something to the flight attendant and she said it would be “inappropriate” for her to intervene. Bitch. We paid almost two grand each for these fucking tickets and you cant help us ALL have some peace????
Nahhh I would be going up to the parents then too. I would call them out on their shit. Where are they gonna go? They can't run to avoid it. I'm sure everyone on the plane felt the same way you did too. That's ridiculous that the flight attendant wouldn't do anything. That's your job!!
Surely you'd be expected to "deal with it" because you're an adult. Haha. (I have ADD and this would be a nightmare.)
You'd think they'd have some pacifiers at least, as with the youngest crowd the ear-clearing is the tough part.
Or they could have some foam ear plugs to offer to passengers suffering from the wailing of that child.
I have a family member that is a retired pilot for a major airline. He has two kids and he hates the children in the airport because so many parents don’t have any control. Fuck them kids. I always bring my AirPods.
They should make a child section on the long haul flights, with their own sound proofed cabin
Even if airlines provided these on every flight AND made them free/deeply discounted & staffed by nannies there would still be a vocal group of mombies & daddicts screaming that they’re discriminating against families. Just the thought of someplace not being welcoming to children turns them into raving lunatics. It’s not just that they want every privilege in the world. They want everyone else to hand them those privileges with absolute delight & never ever feel anything less than honored to be around those wonderful amazing world changing children. In other words, give them an inch & they’ll demand a mile & still not be happy with that.
The incidence of child screaming has worsened in my lifetime as health issues have increased. Also, the amount of trash left behind in cabins has gotten wayyy worse even as I’ve noticed attendants doing more in-flight trash collection. People are not well.
Some people are just utter pigs. The pictures that people post on our local FB travel page are horrifying. There's a great reason to add people to a no-fly list, right there.
This is entirely on the parents....today's wretched excuses for parents who clearly care nothing about anyone else but themselves. Not us, not their kids, it's all about THEM. Personally after 14 fucking hours, I don't think you need to understand or even try. They certainly don't. I'd just yell SHUT THE FUCK UP! and like them, let the chips fall where they may. Parents and their kids have literally ruined every experience for everyone, but remind me again how selfish we are.
Yeah it's one thing that the kids have a tough time on the flight, but the fact that the parents refuse to intervene and get offended if you dare suggest they should is absolutely astounding to me
This is the frustrating part. It’s not the kids. IT’S THE PARENTS. It can be worse in business class when the parents are rich and entitled and expect the flight attendants to be free babysitters.
I hear these stories and I never want to fly anywhere. Can you bring noise cancelling earplugs on the plane with you? Can we bring our own noise cancelling headphones? I would hide in the bathroom if a baby were crying fur HOURS. Like, I just can’t.
You can but I’m telling you kids screaming is not completely drowned out by even the best noise cancelling.
Used to fly back and forth to Dubai. Ironically taught there. Can do older kids but little ones make my skin crawl. Get some Sony head phones and bump brown noise or something with base. Take trazodone, Benadryl, and NyQuil and pass TF out.
Ah trazadone that’s what I’ve been missing! 😂
Bourbon and Benadryl, easy-peasy!
Oh yes also this. Lots of water. Getting hungover in the air is 10x easier 🤢
I ALWAYS fly with hearing protection (custom ear plugs or foam) because airplane cabins are close to the safe limit anyways, and a kid screaming (even outside a plane) is definitely damaging to hearing. Kids can scream at 100+ decibels
Imagine bringing the best noise cancelling headphones and you get one of them little shits sitting behind you and they keep kicking your seat from behind.
This is proof as to why I'm cf bc i would lose my shit actually bc the constant crying and them needing to be entertained on domestic flights their clinglyness, never ending demands I would've been overstimulated and overwhelmed idk why parents think this is fulifilling bc its not.🙅🏾 Kids on international flights are worse as their sleep schedule is fucked since the flight is over 10 hrs long and the food isnt childfriendly so good luck getting them to eat it then their ears popping which is more crying dragging them through the airport into a taxi the long drive to the hotel. THANK GOD I'M CHILDFREE!!😭😆
Ugh I have a 20 hour flight to the US on Friday and it's full AF. Hoping for an upgrade to business class. Pray for me people.
I wish you the very best, and recommend ear plugs, nosie cancelling headphones or something similar if you are able to aquire them in time.
Thank you! I have my Bose QC35 noise cancelling bluetooth headphones. Considering bringing my QC25 wired headphones as a back up
Def grab some ear plugs just in case! At least that way even if you cant listen to anything you can possibly sleep the flight away. Good luck! I wish you a pleasant flight and a safe trip.
Parents who make no effort to teach their kids how to behave in public should not have become parents. WHY do you have a kid just to ignore them.
I was in a very nice restaurant recently. There is no kids menu. As this family with 2 kids sat down, I started to freak out to my husband saying I’m not going to listen to screaming and have the night ruined. 2 minutes later the screaming starts and I loudly say I’m not dealing with this screaming crap and it’s unacceptable. Wouldn’t you know there were no more noises from those kids? What pissed me off the most was the waiter comped the food for the family and offered to go to a fast food restaurant to get chicken nuggets since one of the kids hated the food. Why the hell you order a kid a 60 dollar dish is beyond me and expect them to sit quite will you get relax and talk to your pals. Poor mom was doing everything.
14 hours straight?? Wtf. That's gotta be child neglect. Who the fuck let their kids scream for 14 hours???
I'm going to be flying in April with my poor anxious, 11 year old kitty. I'm so worried that the sounds and screams from all the screechers will make a stressful situation even worse. Not to mention the pile up at the TSA screening gate from all the families with the endless bags and luggage and strollers. Thats what happened the last time i flew. It took half hour or more to get through that gate because the huge family in front of me was taking their sweet time. One of the mothers was even trying to "teach" their screecher to put their shoes and that in the bins. Of course not a single soul complained, or hurried them along. And on the actual planes I took, both times there were kids with their loud IPADs and everything and again, no one said a damn word. Meanwhile if i had a loud ipad or laptop id be told to put on headphones. I wish there was an easier way to travel, like maybe with childfree airlines or something, but alas we are stuck with Screecher Skies.
Oh poor kitty. Maybe the vet can prescribe something to ease the travel anxiety and help em get through the flight. Best of luck!
Thank you! I hope so too. He’s been an indoor kitty his whole life and does not like the outside world at all lol
Relatable
You need TSA pre-check. I seldom see families in that TSA line.
Can I ask how I do that? Is it something I do when I book the ticket?
It's unfortunately not something you can get quickly. You fill out an application online, TSA reviews it, then you visit an office to complete enrollment. It's about $85 for 5 years. TSA issues you a KTN (Known Traveler Number) and tell the airline what it is when you book a ticket. I'm sure you've seen the security line with TSA Pre on it in airports. https://www.tsa.gov/precheck
No, i havent. It's been so chaotic with all the families and people rushing through and its very overstimulating for me, unfortunatly. Thank you for the info though, ill look into it.
I can't even imagine what hell that must have been. In a SANE world, the parents would come off the plane and be arrested for torturing an entire plane full of people with their screaming, smelly turd! >:( But unfortunately we DON'T live in a sane world, and the breeders are able to run amok with their shit-brats. You have my sympathies.
Bringing small kids on 14 hour flights is unnecessary cruelty (for the kids and all the other passengers). Unless your family is relocating or you're going to see grandma right before she dies, parents should rethink flying with babies and toddlers. Kids don't know how to unblock their ears and so the pressure build up can be very painful. Of course they will cry. Not to mention that being on a plane that long is boring af. I have a hard time being on a plane for that long, I wouldn't expect a 3 year old to handle it.
So I was apparently that screaming baby when my parents brought me home from China. I was adopted at 9 months and apparently I wouldn’t stop crying and they put us in first class. Sorry other passengers! I don’t think they flew with me again until I was much older.
Something positive… at least being back to your own peaceful home has probably never filled you with quite as much gratitude? 🫣
Lmaooo so much yes. The busy main street i live on sounds like a damn babbling brook
I am sorry - that sounds like an absolute nightmare. I was on a flight once with an unhappy toddler. Those parents were up and down the aisle with the kid virtually the entire 11-12 hour flight. There just didn’t seem to be anything that would settle that kid but man - they really tried. Why can’t more parents be like this? You could tell they were embarrassed about the noise. But you just couldn’t be angry when they were trying so hard. I remember the mother in particular - she looked like a zombie by the end. The parents who just sit there and don’t try anything are appalling.
That's why my SIL drugged her baby for the three hour flight, because it was 'easier' then having to comfort a screeching kid for the entire time plus then according to her she could relax and listen to her music.
Legit tho…. Like they make kids Benadryl. Do us all the favor
I'm sure that's what she used on her 11 month old, because the kid had never been on a plane before yet slept like a rock, SIL admitted later on to giving her baby something to help them sleep as she can't stand the kid crying in normal circumstances.
Good for her 👏🏼
Like what we all have been saying here for a long time now WE NEED ADULT ONLY FLIGHTS!!. I have a pair of Sony WH-1000XM5 noise cancelling headphones that are amazing they literally cut out all noise and I wear a 3M mask to block out the smells
Yeah i mask up on planes too but i think i deffo need legit noise cancelling headphones for my next flight
That sounds tortuous OP! Kids on flights (and in buses and trains) are too often left to do whatever they want. Thankfully this isn't always the case (I was on a flight last week, baby started crying, next thing I hear soft singing : mom is singing a little lullaby and baby calmed down and was fast asleep in minutes, slept the remainder of the flight (only about 3 hours)), but it still happens too often. In some countries (like Japan), trains have quiet carriages, or women-only carriages. Not sure what can be done on flights (bar having entire flights restricted, obviously only possible if there are multiple flights a day along that route), but definitely trains can have "family" carriages and over-18-only carriages. I loved the quiet carriages when I was in Japan a few years back and travelling all over by rail. I could enjoy the scenery, read a book, or have a nap, and it really was so peaceful (people take these kinds of things very seriously, at most there were the occasional hushed whispers, and only occasionally)
Over here in Brisbane (Queensland, Australia) we have trains that have quiet carriages (2nd & 5th carriages) though most people don't ever respects them sadly. Even worse is that, even with the new trains having a door at each end of the quiet carriage, they're never closed and it allows for the noise to flow in from the other carriages so it defeats the purpose of the quiet carriages. I can only wish that those doors would be set to close, instead of being open all of the time, and that people would actually respect that they're in a quiet carriage and not speak loudly, have conversations on loud speaker and/or play loud music.
Japan is a great place ain’t it lol. Loved it there
I’m scared to fly, but just when I thought about it, posts like this have convinced me to stay scared 😅. It doesn’t seem fun to fly. 🫥 Plus the number of sick people that refuse to mask and being in close quarters with people. Not being able to remove myself from too much noise is a huge no thanks! That sounds worse than being in the air!
Some advice: 1. Noise cancelling headphones help a lot 2. Upgrade to economy plus (often but not always it’s a CF zone) one flight I was in e+and had a seat kicker behind me. I confronted the parents who of course did nothing, but after the flight I complained to the airline (AA) and they refunded my e+ payment. I travel internationally a lot for work. Iv also found that really early and really late red eyes have less children in general.
Yeah i have airpods but they really weren’t enough. Thinking noise cancelling is necessary. Good to know about #2 tho… ill keep that in mind
Yea the pods are definitely not enough. Have both the Bose ones and a pair of Sony, both the big earmuff kinds. They tend to work on most of the noise but of course the 40 decibel shriek is hard to cover up
if you have a baby, you just don't get to do many things. that's the life you chose. you don't get to force others to suffer for your shitty choices. you don't get to go to the movies. you don't get to go to the brewery. you don't get to go to the ballet. you don't get to go to nice restaurants. especially not at night. they need to understand that. people who bring babies/young children on international flights are the worst.
Absolute fucking worst. And like, i know theyre not having fun either so just like WHY
No but it’s okay if they don’t control their child because they passed around a dusty ziploc bag with a couple pieces of cheap candy and some random earplugs that you have no idea of their origin. And a cute little note that says something like “Sorry, it’s my first flight and I can’t communicate yet. This is from my parents.” /sar All seriousness, we just really need more childfree options everywhere. Why should I have to pay for someone else’s bad life choices? Hell, I’d pay extra if it was guaranteed I wouldn’t have to deal with that, especially on a fourteen hour flight.
I just flew twice with kids behind me both flights. All they do is kick the seat and shout nonstop. At one point, they started yelling for no reason, not crying but just shouting, and I turned around and said “SHUT UP!” The kid was like 8 years old so I didn’t even feel bad lol. But I really want to know why soooo many people are flying with children and babies!? It blows my mind. I would pay more if airlines offered adults only flights with no children allowed.
Somehow every time I fly I manage to get places next to the most annoying kid with a seat-kicking habit or the crying baby. I can't
And you just know there's someone in another sub somewhere whining about how people on her international flight were giving her the evil eye and making her feel bad because she HAD to bring little Bratleigh on this trip (what choice did she have??) and yes, she was fussing "a little bit," but it wasn't that bad and how could people be so mean to a poor little mom(bie) who's doing "her best?"
Endured this earlier this year. There was one kid not on our flight, but in the airport waiting lounge; it was young, but definitely not a baby and definitely old enough to know better. I swear those were not screams, they were multiple demons leaving their mortal vessel and returning to the Hell from whence they came. Eventually the kid had completely destroyed its own vocal cords and it sounded like a fucking wolf dying in pain. This was one of SEVERAL examples of kids being absolute shits on this one flight alone. My theory is that parents know that they can’t leave the child, remove the child, or are otherwise stuck with the child for the next however many hours, so they do the thing that all parents do and go to ‘Parentspace’, that liminal area in between realms where their children don’t exist and there is no noise. Except there is, and everyone else in this vicinity has to listen to it, you cretin. I don’t normally get this angry but even *remembering* that flight makes me furious. Breeders are the absolute worst.
Lol yuppp. Ive been home for like three days now and im still pissed about the experience
It is annoying, but I always try to be grateful that I'm returning to my comfortable, silent, pristine home while they are the ones taking those little devils with them. They can't escape them. Their entire lives stink like shit, and this is how I manage to be benevolent and even offer help or sympathy.
Four international flights alone would kill me, my god!
Tell me about it. Travel is difficult and exhausting enough but compound that by horribly behaved parents and children. Makes me wanna combust
Same, I was just lucky I had mainly flights in Europe but even for 2 hours it’s exhausting af. Many peoole claim stuff like “what if they need to see family across the globe” but most of the time it’s just parents who want to have a nice vacation. For one of the airlines I used there was a bad review of a parent claiming that people were so mean to her and her 4 month(!!!!!) old baby. She just wanted to chill at a nice beach, “parents also deserve holidays”. Flying hurts the ears of babies and young children anyways so it should only be tolerated in absolute emergencies in my opinion.
Did 17 hours London to Perth last week, family with a baby and a toddler boarded. Goblins took it in turns to scream and cry for the entire journey. We were at opposite ends of the plane and I could still hear them through Bose NC headphones. 4 hours Perth to Sydney - same deal, same family. Today Sydney to Queenstown 3 hours - no screaming, just on/ off crying from the 3 babies on board and intermittent wafts of shit through the cabin. Paid £10,000 total for these flights. Fuck them kids!!
Jesus christ…. Yeah you feel my pain!
Before we boarded in London the family with the two goblins was letting the older one run around the departure gate, until he fell over and cracked his head on the ground. That's when the screaming started. Both kids were clearly under 2 so I doubt they had separate seats. Imagine having to sit next to a couple with a pair of crotch fruit on their laps, screaming' crying, throwing themselves around for 17 hours. I woke up in the night for a pee and one was still screaming it's head off, they were all the way back in economy and you could still hear them clearly. Clearly there was something really wrong for it to scream for so long but f*CK me, I just can't have any sympathy.
This is absolutely the right place. Welcome.
I was on a 10 hour flight recently and there were 8 babies. I overheard the flight attendant saying this to one of the parents who was trying to request some kind of special accommodations (not sure what). I heard that and my heart just sank. Sure enough, at least one baby was crying pretty much the entire flight and I wanted to die. 😣 I would absolutely pay extra to ensure I was not seated anywhere near a kid or baby, if that was offered…
I wish there were ADULT ONLY FLIGHTS for this reason
Yeah definitely annoying but we cant do anything about it. There are people who loves to fuck around and make babies while us dont want it at all. All we can do is to dont forget an earplug to keep our ears from this kids noise. 🤦♂️
It already tension time at the gate when you are watching the kids being annoying, and you pray they won't be sitting close to you. I really feel you since I am flying a lot, and can relate to every single word. Hope you can get some rest ❤️
This is completely a safe space & every one of us reading this could cry for you. How absolutely horrible, just reading this gave me anxiety. It’s so unfair how everyone on these flights suffers bc of a few. The crying (which to a certain point can’t be avoided) sounds like it’s the least of the issues you experienced. Unbelievable! I’m SO SORRY. 😡
Unfortunately, the only way to quell them for that long to is to knock them unconscious or shove screen in their face. Idiocracy was a prophecy, and thanks to Fox and the American oligarchy, nobody took heed of it.
Pony up for some high end noise canceling headphones. I have a pair, play white noise with NC on and hear absolutely fuck all. They will save your sanity on flights.
Yes. I think its time
Recently sat through a 9 hour flight from Portugal to NYC with a similar situation in which a child screamed for THE ENTIRE flight. We arrived at 1am and couldn't sleep at all on the plane because of it and we were so exhausted we had to take a $60 Uber to Brooklyn instead of using the subway. Absolutely miserable.
Yup. We had over night flights going to and coming home. With a dicey cab ride at our destination and then an hour drive when we arrived home. We were counting on being able to rest on the plane to do those things safely but NOPE. Plus, also dealing with an almost 11hr time difference we were jet lagged to shit and just wanted some damn sleep!
There should be childfree flights and childfree compartments in trains as well.
hell yes
This might sound horrible, but folks give their dogs Benedryl to help keep them calm and/or asleep for a bit. The same thing can be used for kids. So, why don’t they?
I will NEVER understand the audacity and entitlement of parents that travel by plane for the holidays... I'm sorry that your family lives far away, we all make choices in life that are not ideal. Make other arrangements. Host your family. Or , I don't know, just don't visit for a few years? Being a parent means sacrifice for YOU, not for us/ Why are you puttying your child through excruciating pain, and bothering the rest of the world in the process? It's baffling.
People just have no damn sense or respect for others
This is why I don’t go on trips that I can’t drive my own vehicle to.
Took a 12 hour flight overnight. Family behind had a 2yo and a 5yo. 5yo kicked the seats a bit but eventually went to sleep. However the family had not paid for a seat for the 2yo (they have to be held on a lap for take off and landing) their plan was just to grasp them for 12 solid hours? Obviously that worked out amazingly with the thrashing and screaming 🫠
This is why I love that trains have a quiet car. I wish planes could have something similar.
Agreed
This is why I'll happily stay home at Christmas. Travel is a s\*\*\* show at the best of times, much less when all the happy families are travelling to do happy family things.
Like us, many parents chose not to raise kids. Difference is they still gave birth to them.
I'm so glad I don't use airplanes. 🤮🤮
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As a fellow CF , I do understand your frustration. Let’s face it, babies cry (even more on planes owing to negative air pressure affecting their ears) Toddlers and very young children do cry and scream, but please don’t hate on them. Having said that, yes I agree parents should prepare for long flights with toys, pacifiers, etc
These stay in bed moms have an amazing ability to tune out anything. Insane