3 year-old Kicked Off Plane After Tantrum

[pedinurse]

MSNBC just had a big story on this--Its the first time I've seen the little tyke in question--she is so cute, looks like a little angel--But i still believe the airline did the right thing--there's enough delays out there as it is

Ha! So surely she didn't do it or it wasn't that bad (Peter, I'm making a joke - not going off on you!!!!!).

It makes you wonder how many people saw that and thought "oh surely it isn't that bad - what a sweet angel!!

That's what they said about Mary Kay Letourneu (Sp?) and Deb Lefave (lefay? sp?). Sooo pretty they couldn't have been that bad.

 

[OneLostGrl]

I'm confused. Is "retarded" a name, or a condition?

When I was young, we had a retarded neighbor, and I have a friend who's brother is retarded. Not trying to be rude or offensive... just trying to clarify.

Irishmist and Dalilah-

My sister in law is retarded and she has more sense than to call ANY child OR retarded person a ""!

The tone of the post I was responding to was meant to insult the child because of her behavior. That the child must be retarded in order to act the way she did!

Retardation is a condition but when people toss it around as an insult, a reason for BAD behavior, it becomes a name!

is a profession but when a person calls a woman a simply because they don't like them or their behavior, it becoms a form of name calling!

The child being discussed in this thread sure seems like a little brat but for a grown adult to question if a bratty child is retarded simply because the child is a brat... seems a bit umm, uncalled for!

Also, I have very little doubt, Irishmist, that if your friend has a mentally handicapped brother, that she does not know that the term "retarded" is insulting!

*shrug* Call me unreasonable!

 

[Boyzmomee]

Flight attendants often deal with obnoxious passengers who won't listen to instructions by kicking them off the plane. But a Massachusetts couple think AirTran Airways went overboard by treating their crying 3-year-old daughter in much the same way.
Julie and Gerry Kulesza and daughter Elly were removed from the flight when the girl refused to take her seat before takeoff, airline officials said Tuesday. But her parents said they just needed a little more time to calm her down.

The Kuleszas planned to fly home to Boston on Jan. 14 from Fort Myers after a four-day visit with the girl's paternal grandparents. She was removed because "she was climbing under the seat and hitting the parents and wouldn't get in her seat" during boarding, AirTran spokeswoman Judy Graham-Weaver said.

AirTran officials say they were only following Federal Aviation Administration rules that children age 2 and above must have their own seat and be wearing a seatbelt upon takeoff.

More at link: http://www.breitbart.com/news/2007/01/23/D8MR41C02.html


I imagine there will be a lot of children getting kicked off flights if this lead is followed.

They should be. These parents need to control their brat. The whole plane should not have to wait on the ground because a three year old is hitting her parents and refusing to sit in her seat. Those parents were lucky they got their $$ refunded, plus free tickets.

 

[Boyzmomee]

Thanks for the info. Now that we know the little girl was already in pain, a spanking is the last thing she needed!

These parents need to educate themselves. There are things you can do to prevent ear pain on a flight.

I've always taken care of my kids that way before we went on a plane.

 

[Boyzmomee]

I agree with everyone who said that the mother sounds like she's trying to justify her daughter's behavior with the story about the ear pain. QUOTE]

I agree.

 

[Boyzmomee]

You know they make medication for that. Numbing ear drops - they are great. My 5 month old and 5 year old both used them back and forth to Mexico last December. Also, having the kid chew gum would have helped too. That could have been helped.
I guess hindsight is 20/20 for this couple huh?

Yes, and when my son was a baby, I'd give him a bottle or his binky to suck on.

If the parents thought she was in pain on the other flight, why didnt' they seek to help her on the return flight?

It's just an excuse.

 

[Boyzmomee]

My mother just called me to tell me about this. My family and I will be taking a trip in April on a plane with my 8 year old profoundly autistic nephew. Their will be 5 adults and two children on this trip. The other child is also autistic but high functioning and will have no problem on the plane. My sister will be getting medication to relax my nephew for the 3 hour flight. We will have a portable DVD player for him with his favorite DVD's and plenty of his snack foods. The bottom line is we are all aware we are traveling with a disabled child who does have tandrems and if for some reason he was unable to be quite and stay in his seat on the plane then we are prepared to leave the plane. Its not reasonable to expect other people to sit on a plane for hours with a child who is screaming and crying and refusing to stay in a seat. It is a safety issue number one, but it is also an issue of respecting your fellow passengers. We can not expect a plane full of people to just put up with a screaming thrashing child for hours on end because he is disabled and we love him. I understand the parents fustration with having to leave the plane but the bottom line is I believe the airline did the right thing.

mjak

The majority of my clients are young autistic children. Some medication and favorite things ought to help. I hope the doctor will give extra meds in case you notice a problem later on the plane.

Will being around all those people bother him?

 

[Boyzmomee]

Reb- Personally I do believe spanking is abuse. I also am sure that all of you who were calling her a brat were PERFECT as children

How do you know she doesn' t have asperger's, autism or any other issues that would affect her and might make her hit?

1. Because I'm sure that would be the first thing the mother would have let the world know, that her child is disabled. As of now, she blames it on "ear pain." Perhaps she should have sought a remedy for the ear pain on the return flight? IMO, the child is a brat.

2. Autism and Aspergers don't necessarily make children "hit."

3. And, no, I do not think spanking a young child is necessarily abuse. Speak with someone who was REALLY abused and they will explain to you the difference.

 

[curious1]

My mother just called me to tell me about this. My family and I will be taking a trip in April on a plane with my 8 year old profoundly autistic nephew. Their will be 5 adults and two children on this trip. The other child is also autistic but high functioning and will have no problem on the plane. My sister will be getting medication to relax my nephew for the 3 hour flight. We will have a portable DVD player for him with his favorite DVD's and plenty of his snack foods. The bottom line is we are all aware we are traveling with a disabled child who does have tandrems and if for some reason he was unable to be quite and stay in his seat on the plane then we are prepared to leave the plane. Its not reasonable to expect other people to sit on a plane for hours with a child who is screaming and crying and refusing to stay in a seat. It is a safety issue number one, but it is also an issue of respecting your fellow passengers. We can not expect a plane full of people to just put up with a screaming thrashing child for hours on end because he is disabled and we love him. I understand the parents fustration with having to leave the plane but the bottom line is I believe the airline did the right thing.

mjak

A big THANK YOU to you and your family for being such considerate travelers. That's the problem these days, no consideration for others. We have so many ME ME ME people and then they have kids and they think they are also 'entitled' and screw everyone else. If the ME ME ME's had gotten a swift smack on the backside everynow and then to get their attention and explain that it wasn't all about them when they were young, they would not be the way they are as adults. I think smacking a kid on the backside takes him/her out of her state and brings them back to reality long enough for a parent to say 'look, this is wrong and you are behaving badly'. When a kid is in their own little world and wallowing in their 'misery' because they can't do or have whatever sometimes a smack on the backside is the only way to get their attention long enough to talk to them.

 

[curious1]

snip....Thankfully that shut them up but when mom came out of the doctors office they ran to her and whispered.. the mother stared at me as if I'd beaten her children and informed me I had no right to correct her children. To which I responded that she had no right to leave them there with me being the only adult in the room and perhaps next time she should leave them at school or PAY someone to watch them!

She shut up and left the building.

:clap: :clap::clap: :clap::clap: :clap: You are my hero OLG.

 

[eve]

:clap: :clap::clap: :clap::clap: :clap: You are my hero OLG.

Hooray! Good for you OLG! :blowkiss:

Eve

 

[NewMom2003]

double and triple kudos!!! i am well aware that having a kid that age is tough, and flying with one is probably tougher. but what so many parents don't seem to get these days is that it's even TOUGHER to be someone else having to listen to your kid scream bloody murder for an hour. this is a HUGE pet peeve of mine. if your kid is having a meltdown... that's too bad, but do you really think everyone within 20 miles wants to be subjected to it??? please take your little precious monster OUTSIDE and let people have some peace!!

the other day this happened in a bookstore i went to.. a BOOKSTORE! the stupid woman just stood there trying to coo at her litte brat while he was screeching at the top of his lungs. so i promptly left. i honestly think businesses should have an official policy that screaming children MUST be taken outside... since clueless parents nowadays don't seem to 'get it'.. and must be told (duh).

if the couple in this article say they will never take that airline again,, i say... GOOD! and their little omen-child was even BEATING on them?? for god's sake, i would not let my child have a chance to beat on me. but i guess they are trying to let the child "express her feelings"..... LOL!

I take it you don't have children?

 

[NewMom2003]

Wow, you must have tapped into some special power that is unavailable to me that allows you to control the way other people act! You should bottle this and become obscenely wealthy. :dance:

I've known a number of 3-year-olds who hit and wail and scream and generally act like lunatics when they are having a tantrum. Most tantrums I've experienced from little people are plain out of control - that's what makes them tantrums.

Good parents do indeed remove a child from the public eye when such an event occurs and then administer appropriate consequences. Doing this consistantly, coupled with the natural maturity of aging that allows a child to slowly learn to get a handle on their emotions, eventually produces positive results for everyone. But it can take some time.

Excellent post! :clap: :clap: :clap:

 

[Cupcake]

I take it you don't have children?

I have two children and I would never just stand there and coo at my child while he was screaming anywhere public. I would take him outside to deal with it so other people won't have to.

 

[nanandjim]

:laugh:

Good for the airlines.....

If the parents really wanted to go after the airlines, they should have claimed that the son converted to islam and therefore was singled out.

Cal

Man, they were even given three free tickets! Where do I get a spoiled 3-year-old that I can take momentarily on a plane to throw a fit? I think that it is amazing that the parents were rewarded for this! I think (can't be sure) that I heard the huffy parents said that they will never fly that airline again! If this is the case, I bet the other passengers are breathing a big sigh of relief.

 

[nanandjim]

I have two children and I would never just stand there and coo at my child while he was screaming anywhere public. I would take him outside to deal with it so other people won't have to.

Exactly. I would hope that most people would be considerate enough to do so, too. Who in their right mind thinks that it is okay to inconvenience 2 or 200 people because your child is acting up?? I would be embarrassed and apologetic not indignant.

 

[NewMom2003]

I have two children and I would never just stand there and coo at my child while he was screaming anywhere public. I would take him outside to deal with it so other people won't have to.

I would take my child outside as well.

I'm just boggled by the name calling of this child in the original post. I don't understand why some people have to resort to ugliness and call children names. Sounds very "childish" to me.

 

[Paladin]

I would take my child outside as well.

I'm just boggled by the name calling of this child in the original post. I don't understand why some people have to resort to ugliness and call children names. Sounds very "childish" to me.

I didn't see Floh make any disparaging remarks against the kid. Nor did I see the article really do so either. What are you talking about?

 

[pedinurse]

i think the deeper issue to me is that now the parents are trying to make a buck off it (probably) by making this HUGE deal about it. Probably saw it as a ticket to something more! it just seems so unthankful of them - that airline did way more than they had to. and in all honesty, I think that the ear pain thing was an afterthought - and I say that because if it were that bad and if they were good parents they would have done what they could have to get something to treat her before going back on the plane.

 

[MagicRose99]

i think the deeper issue to me is that now the parents are trying to make a buck off it (probably) by making this HUGE deal about it. Probably saw it as a ticket to something more! it just seems so unthankful of them - that airline did way more than they had to. and in all honesty, I think that the ear pain thing was an afterthought - and I say that because if it were that bad and if they were good parents they would have done what they could have to get something to treat her before going back on the plane.

The ear pain thing IS a crock of bull... this plane was on the ground waiting for take off. Unless the child had a pre-existing condition that the parents ignored, it didn't happen.