Georgia mother Kate Penland claims she and her baby were thrown off a Continental jet because of her 19-month-old son's incessantly babbling, "Bye Bye, Plane," pre-takeoff. She says the attendant said Penland had to shut the baby up, and suggested drugging the boy with Benadryl.
We've been on both sides of this one - trying to quiet our own baby on a packed cross-country flight to see the in-laws, circa Thanksgiving 2006, and wishing some stranger's kid would stop kicking our seat, circa . . . roughly our entire life up until that moment.(Although, even when we were childless, we still preferred the yammering kids to the drunk businessmen.)
Fact is, sometimes you have to leave the house even if you have a small child, and sometimes there is nothing even the best parent can do to keep a baby totally quiet. (Benadryl makes some kids hyper, and is not recommended by pediatricians for air travel.)
So it makes sense that Penland will do to the airline what breastfeeding mothers in similar situations have done: sued some sense into them.
Reader Comments ( Page 20 of 20)
286. I agree with having seperate areas in both resturants and airplanes for chldren. I can't how many times I have had a very good meal ruined by some kid crying and screaming and pitching a royal fit while the parents ignored the behavior and continued their eating, talking, or worse yet talking on that dang cell phone....I have had to go so far as to request another table or have th emeal comped because of a child's behavior. Now the first thing I tell the person at the door is I want a table away from children. As far as airplanes are concerned most families can only afford to travel with the cheapo fares anyhow, so why not have certain flights for families with children. I mean if I am going to pay full fare for a business trip I sure the heck don't want to listen to some screaming banshee for 5.5 hrs. And my friends all wonder why I prefer red-eyes when I fly....
Sergei-Mikhail Schevchenkov at 11:51AM on Jul 19th 2007
287. Stephanie, no worries - no need to apologize - but I do appreciate your comments.
Just one clarification - I don't mind covering for a colleague when a family issue comes up - what I object to is when there is a pattern or uneven treatment for someone without children and someone with children. I don't think it is appropriate to assume that just because an individual does not have children - they can do all of the work traveling or they can facilitate the evening meeting...just looking for parity.
BTW - Maybe it's not the type of restaurant or resort but the parents and a difference in parenting now as compared to when I was a child. When I was a child (in a not so well off family) going to Red Lobster was a very big deal and I knew what my parents expectations were with regard to my behavior. So there you have it....a family that wasn't so well off finacially at a lower-end restaurant and well behaved children
d colby at 9:00PM on Jul 19th 2007
288. this loud mouth brat should have beeen wearing a dog muzzel
joseph yakimow at 12:28PM on Jul 20th 2007
289. all screaming brats should be put in the baggage department
joseph yakimow at 12:30PM on Jul 20th 2007
290. 186 passengers have the right to a quiet flight and not let one spoiled screaming brat spoil if for the rest of the passengers for 4 hours of screaming please.
joseph yakimow at 1:18PM on Jul 20th 2007
291. To joseph Yakimow
You are just another ignorant piece of trash, You must be a child molester, a rapist, a serial killer or some other kind of freak. why dont you quit hideing on the internet and show your stupid face. Then we will see how much you have to say.
mack H at 5:09PM on Jul 20th 2007
292. To all you wonderful child loveing people,thank you for defending our children, our most precious commodity and standing up for this lady and her son. To bad we have the child haters we have in this country. Also have any of you noticed that not one of the passengers on that plane had a complaint about that lady and her son? All i have heard from any of them is that the child wasnt being unruly or unsuually loud and the lady wasn,t rude or threatening to the flight attendent. This makes me think that most of these child haters on this blog are just a bunch of sick uneducated freaks probably abused or neglected by their parents while they were growing up, probably some of them child abuseing perverts themselves. I doubt verry much if most of them have ever been on a plane,just a bunch of sickos who get their kicks being rude and showing their ignorance , what do you think?
I started flying continental airlines in 1966 My first trip to Tokio since then i have used continentale very time i have flown when i could get a flight with them. I am makeing them a promice that as long as that attendent is still with them and utill they make satisfactory settlement and appoligy to this lady i will stay home beforei will fly with them again. I cant believe this airline has changed this much, i think they have just got some lousy help that they can correct. I also would like to ask all you decent people to do the same as i ,write them call them e mail them, force them to correct this mess.
mack H at 3:12PM on Jul 21st 2007
293. I applaud Continental and hope they realize that there are more customers than they realize that will be MORE likely to use their airline because of this incident. I seem to find that parents of bratty children have simply tuned them out and are so used to their loud whiny voices that they are immune to the effect they have on the rest of the patrons. Maybe thats why they are so quick to defend the "innocent children" instead of accepting responsibility. I agree, if you can't control your kid, then don't bring them where they will ruin it for the rest of us- the world does NOT revolve around your kid and he/shre doesn't deserve special treatment. I think if more venues/businesses had "child-free" policies, they'd see profits soar.
Bridget at 11:57PM on Jul 21st 2007
294. Phoenix, you are a disgusting pig to be wishing a plane crash on anyone. You're typical of the selfish, arrogant parents who think the entire world must revolve around their children and I'm sorry you're children will be warped by being raised by a psychopath like you. I suspect you're also a racist because you had to include your race in your screen name, as if anyone cares. Didn't any of you breeders know that the mother got belligerent with the FA when she suggested Benedryl? That's probably what got her kicked off.
Dr. Zoidberg at 4:12AM on Aug 1st 2007
295. By the way, putting the families in a separate section isn't segregation because having kids is something they CHOSE to do. And when you CHOOSE to have kids, there are certain consequences and sacrifices.
Dr. Zoidberg at 4:20AM on Aug 1st 2007
296. I have two small children of my own. Despite my efforts to keep them quiet and amused, they are still often noisy.Personally, I don't think I have the right to inflict that on 200 other people on a plane, even though the airline says I do. I take the car, or make alternative arrangements for the kids while I fly.
It's tough for some parents to understand that their kids are not an endless source of delight to everyone. But honestly, they aren't. Many people who've been on a flight with a child screaming in my ear for two hours could cheerfully feed the child and its parents into a gigantic mincing machine.
Marianne Kerplunk at 7:37AM on Apr 6th 2008