General Chat

Whenever I travelled with my children nomatter how short the journey - daughter does the same - I always took a few marmite sandwiches and some fruit juice. Having a child who wasn't thirsty or hungry helps, and avoiding 'E' numbers made life soooo much easier - for everyone :-D

I am not sure how I feel about drugging them but I would never criticize a desperate parent for doing so. I always feel sorry for babies that are frightened when flying and try to shut it out, unfortunately hearing aids magnify noise and the piecing cry of a babe in arms can be painful. It is the toddler with the parent who is oblivious that I get annoyed at. It is so tiring to have the constant knocking of your sleep or shouting in your ear. we had one very hands on father who insisted on playing with his toddler all the way from Madrid, however the play was boisterous and loud and got toddler very over excited.

Mind you our last trip back from Tenerife (4 and a half hours, we had three men behind us who did a football quiz (loudly) the whole way. OH was going spare as it was a late flight and he was trying to sleep as he had to dive home after we landed.

We flew with son and family to Florida when youngest was 9 months old. She had a sky cot, slept most of the way and was no problem at all. Grandson was 7, had his toys etc and was also no trouble, despite not being a good traveller. Neither were drugged.

no i wouldnt do it as think its very wrong, to give any child, any medicine they do not need,

I had a neighbour who used Phenergan on her daughter to get her to sleep, as a single mother I suppose it made life easier, but years later when I was a single parent I made the best of it when my son wouldn't sleep. Rarely used Calpol let alone anything else.

I first took him on a plane journey (to Malta so about three hours) when he was three and a half, he behaved perfectly and did so on all subsequent flights, we travelled back and forth to Malta several times before he was 7. I was alone with him but would never have moved away and left him on his own in the seats.

We had three little boys and their parents in front of us, coming back from Crete last year, the children were quite boisterous and kept popping up from the seats to try and converse/interact with us. We tried to ignore them but it was difficult, they were quite funny but had we needed to sleep or wanted to be quiet, it would have proved really annoying. The parents seemed the liberal types who didn't want to reprimand their children at all.

I think in this day and age it's likely that too many parents don't teach their children consideration of others when travelling or even when out in public in general. Sadly that trend will continue through those families and never change for the better.

Lizx

hmmm

I wish somebody had slipped something in the drinks of the yacht crew who were on a long haul flight with us.

Grown men, acting worse than any of the children on board.

:-P

We travelled a lot while our daughter was growing up, by plane, train, car ....... as we still do these days

There would be at least 1 trip a year, sometimes 2. Flights across Canada can take longer than a flight from Canada to the UK. Canada is that big.


We never used anything to make her sleep after that world trip ..................... but she did grow up to be a child who could sleep anywhere ....... in a car, train, on a plane, a spare bedroom, behind the couch, etc.


One thing she did NOT grow up to be was an OPK.


Maybe we were too controlling ..........

........ but she was never allowed to kick the back of seats, or other mis-behaviour

She tried kicking the seat once, and was stopped immediately, and then warned regularly after that that the place for her feet was not against the back of the seat in front.

She was never allowed out of her seat by herself until she was 9 or 10 ........... and thus never ran up and down the aisle, hitting other passengers on the arm (as happened to OH all the way from Capetown to Perth).

She was never left alone in her seat while we decamped to the back of the plane (as happened on that Capetown flight, and on other flights)


She always had toys, books, drawing paper and crayons, toys etc, in her own little case that she had to pack and carry herself as her "carry on" bag.



we were regularly congratulated on her behaviour ...........

........ and, a plus that some of you might not realise .................. cabin crew were always very willing to help us if we needed it!


Cabin crew hold a great deal of power!

That little boy who ran up and down the aisle of the plane to Perth throwing himself in the curtain between cabin and First Class even after warnings from the cabin crew, while his mother sat at the back with a man she'd met on the flight?

He had a younger brother who did sleep most of the time. Ages were about 3 and 18 months.

The airline was Qantas, and when we landed in Perth, the mother came back to her seat (she'd left them alone even while landing :-0 ), then asked a male crew member to help her off the plane

His response was "Madam, that is the job of the ground crew."

Then he turned right around, saw OH putting J in the back pack carrier, and asked "Do you need any help, sir?"


Qantas were well known at that time for that kind of "discrimination"!!

You caused them "trouble", and they would not lift a finger to help you!

But I had not really believed that it happened, until that point.


It's all called consideration .................. consideration for other people.


something that often seems to be missing!

I never took my children on a plane when they were very young, as I really suffer when landing.
However, we had a family holiday in Italy when my grandson and great niece were a few months old. My daughter and nephew's partner did just what I would have done on taking off and landing - breast fed the children.
Not a peek out of them :-D

Meanwhile, granny was putting cups over her ears, sucking on sweets and moaning as quietly as possible in the corner :-|

I've never done it, but I have wanted to do it to other peoples children though, especially to the "child" of 10, who travelled alone from Spain to London, she was seated next to me and my friend, I had just lost my Dad, and my friend had migraine.
She talked non stop, and when I asked the air hostess', who were supposed to be looking after her, if we, or her could be moved, they said she couldn't, even though there were spare seats. I did wonder if I should ask for a fee for chaperoning her for the whole journey.

She really got on my nerves :-(

tut tut Susan..but needs must in their day :-(..

I remember Dad telling me he put a drop of whisky in my bottle when I was teething :-0....didn't harm me and I'm partial to a drink of whisky & ginger :-D

I have never done it and think it is very wrong.

The Victorians drugged their children with laudanum and left them at home while they worked on the field.

On an eleven hour flight back home from son's wedding there were two babies in seats in front of us, who cried practically non-stop throughout the night :-|

When their grandparents walked past our seats my son and dil asked them if they'd like to change seats with them. 'Oh no you're alright they said we 're fine in the back'....of course they were :-S :-(

edit: Paula that sounds like it would have been a good idea :-)

We flew around the world in 1975/76 ...............

we left with a 15 month old, she was 27 months old by the time we returned.

The first flight was 10 hours to the UK, then about 12 hours to South Africa, 14 hours to Australia, about 5 hours to NZ, about 4 hours to Fiji, about 6½ hours to Hawaii, and about 6 hours to Canada

Having had many flights disturbed by OPKs (Other Peoples Kids), I went to the doctor and asked for advice.

He told me to use Phenergan, warning that it could have the opposite effect to the one we wanted.

The plane stopped in Calgary, and we gave her the recommended dose as the plane was taking off from there. We put her on the floor under our feet, wrapped in a blanket ...................... she slept for 7 hours.

We then used it on every leg, and she slept a normal number of hours every time.

It made for a peaceful trip for ourselves, and everyone else.


I used it occasionally after we got back if there were sleep problems ......... and have always blessed the fact that it was available


More recently, we've had a friend who was moving from Canada to South Africa with 3 boys under 2 (1 age 2 and twins age 1) ................. flights from Canada to the UK and then to SA. Her mother accompanied them, so there was 1 adult for each child.

The Canada - UK leg was horrendous (her words!!), and she blessed the fact that someone told her about Phenergan in London for the much longer leg to SA

After enduring three crying young children sitting in front of us on a five hour flight last year ,OH and I would have welcomed something to send us to sleep.

Mayfield,with Adults there is an alternative,Its called a "Parachute" :-D :-D :-D

Nice one Merlin :-D :-D :-D

Maybe some adults might be drugged on planes too!

Mayfield ;-)

Do you think its possible to arrange for that to happen on School Holidays in Supermarkets? :-D :-D :-D :-D ;-)

Flew almost 6 hrs on Sunshine Airways into Oxfordshire July 1973 with 28 day old son.

He cried just after take off so I fed him and he went back into the sky cot and slept. Landed, went through customs with our long list of items - charged one pound for a newish radio. Waited for our car to arrive, drove towards Kent via London, son didn't wake up once since I'd fed him. Son cried close to the Elephant and Castle area on OH's aunt's doorstep, stopped there, fed him again, had cup of tea, carried on to Kent, he was fast asleep again.

Both he and his sister slept everytime we travelled anywhere, even as teenagers, within minutes of getting in the car they were asleep. :-)

I became a mum in the 70s and we lived abroad.
When we were due to fly home, when son was about 5months old, I asked the doctor's advice about whether there was anything I could do to help son on the flight as I knew babies can find it very upsetting and I too experience terrific pain in my ear, so know what they might feel.
The doctor gave me phenergen and I gave son the prescribed amount.. He was OK, but I don't think he slept much more than usual on the flight.
Later I heard scares about side effects from taking phenergen and never used it again, although we did travel quite a bit.
I wouldn't use it now.

I would question someone's parenting skills if their child is constantly kicking the seat in front and flicking peanuts around, as per the article. That needs addressing before resorting to drugs.

Gwyn

I'm sure the relief would work both ways too DET.....it is horrible when your beloved offspring decide to go into one in public...my usual course of action would be to remove them outside til they'd calmed down...but that IS impossible on a plane obviously lol..(not that i ever took them on a plane at that age).but in general it .used to make me feel really awkward but it's happened to us all...and now i confess to sending sympathetic smiles to the parents who are going through it when i see it......as children aren't robots it's part of parenthood.......just the not so nice part lol.

I just wonder now if sales of Phenergan go up as a result of this......what with the summer holidays coming.....

I just hope that the parents who consider using this if they feel they must........and as it's not against the law and over the counter so it's their choice....I get that....are sensible about it and don't leave it til they're up in the air to try it for the first time.......my feeling is the use won't stop on the plane.

My fear is that the next step will be.....How about knocking them sparko so we can go to the local tavern without worrying about them waking.......we know we have a few hours ........

To Muffy's edit - if only!