to be annoyed with child kicking my seat for seven hours on plane?

[Jonnyfan]

Just returned from Dubai. On flight a young child persisted in kicking/pushing feet into the back of my seat for much of the first couple of hours. Eventually politely asked mother, who was seated beside him, if she could try to stop him. She was most put out and replied that it was a long flight and difficult with children, (she had two other adults with her as well as two boys). She then moved him so that he was behind my DH, who then had severel hours of the same before politely commenting that it was very irritating behaviour. Mohter gave me the evils through the disembark/baggage reclaim. I travelled extensively with my children from four months onward and never felt that others should be made uncomfortable by them

Would any mother seriously "allow" their child to purposely and deliberately kick someones seat for 7 hours.
I think you might be slightly exaggerating op!
How old was the child?
I've had exactly the same as a couple of posters here, where the childs feet are precisely the exact length to touch the seat in front. So every time the poor child moved the person in front huffed and puffed.
The child was told very clearly not to do it, but he just couldn't help it, and every time he did it, he said sorry mummy. I cried.

exhausted, are you kidding?

Kidding, about what part?

I don't think it was the case with OP exhausted-his mother was most put out that anyone should even ask her to stop her little darling.
Since the mother was so ineffectual I would have fixed the DC with one of my 'looks' been icily polite and done my 'wicked witch of the west' voice-failing that I think my DH would have done the trick.
I have taken a 3 yr old on a long haul flight-it means that you have to bother yourself to look after them.

I took my 3 year old on a 10.5 hour flight- no seats were kicked.

The man behind me reclined his seat on the same flight. I stuck my six month bump in his face (not literally folks) and very nicely asked if he wouldn't mind unreclining as his seat was on my bump. Even then I got a dirty look.

Reclining is rude and unnecessary, you don't do it anywhere else in life and it makes a person uncomfortable, how can you enjoy sitting four inches further back knowing you are spoiling soemone else's flight?

Apart from night flightsWhy do airlines allow reclining for hours on end? They say the person is entitled to do it but surely I am alos entitled to be able to use my tray, watch television or read a book in relative comfort?

Now that I've read these posts I have realised that the answer is some gental kicking so that the inconsiderate passenger is made too uncomfortable to remain reclined.

On an 11 hour overnight flight, when the cabin staff have pulled the shutters down and dimmed the cabin lights, it would be madness to tray and enforce a 'no reclining' etiquette. You can still see the screen etc if the seat in front is reclined. It's just harder to get in and out of the row.

Blu - I did say 'apart from night flights'. And during the day it's very uncomfortable to watch a tv screen that is 12 inches away from your nose.

YANBU, I would not let my children do this to other people. How rude.

I didn't recline my seat as I wanted to give the child as much space as possible. It was not so much the child's behaviour that was the reason for my post, more the attitude of the mother who clearly felt that we should share her problem. She could have done some swapping around of seats which would have then inconvenienced her own party. I have every sympathy with people who have crying babies; msometimes there is just nothing you can do.

Although the woman in front of me had hers reclined as far as it would go for the whole flight!

And for all these reasons, I never fly cattle.

If the mother can't control her children on a flight (as the OP said the mother actually said) then she shouldn't fly.

I don't get the reclining business, if the person in front of you reclines their seat on a long flight then you just have to do the same and it has a knock on effect problem solved surely.

This happened to me for about 10 minutes on a flight from Tobago to London. I tried meditating. The thought of it going on for 10 hours got to me. I found myself standing up, and 'addressing' the children (aged 7-10ish), not the cringing parents. 'I DO NOT WANT TO PUT UP WITH THIS BEHAVIOUR ON THIS FLIGHT AND NOR DOES ANYONE ELSE ON THIS PLANE. NOW SIT DOWN, KEEP STILL AND BE QUIET. THANK YOU.'

That totally did them trick and they were silent and still. The cabin crew and a couple of passengers came over to thank me.

They got off in Trinidad.

Reclining does my fucking head in. I always get the reclining person in front of me and end up spending the whole flight with a seat in my face. Its impossible to see the screen as its so close . I think reclining right back is pig ignorant.

This happened to my DP on a flight to Barbados. Asked mother mother ,politely, if her child could desist. She just shrugged her shoulders and said 'He's three. What can I do'.

He then complained to the cabin crew and got a free upgrade which was fine for him but I'm still miffed that little brat was allowed to continue without censure.

Have two children ourselves (now 10 and 6) and have flown every year of their lives without them feeling the need to kick the seat in front.

To Absolutelyfabulous who said "And for all these reasons, I never fly cattle." Well done you for making that decision, but for most of us it's cattle or nothing!

I think some people think kids are kicking when they may be tapping on the screens in front of them. With singapore and emirates, you need to touch the screen and sometimes they need a bloody good tap.

YANBU. I would have busted my kid's arse if he did that.

What I couldn't do, however, was stop DS from puking all over the businessman sitting next to us just as the meal was served on our last long haul flight to the USA. Oohhh I felt bad.

Did you pay for the poor fella's drycleaning?

Offered to but he was said not to worry. He just wanted to get the hell away from us I think. Stewardess moved him. DS could have cared less as he is autistic but DH and I wanted to die.

Newjobthankgod Yikes! Annoying, yes - but different. Puke comes out once (hopefully!) but very quickly, so hard/impossible for parent to predict and prevent.

Repeated kicking is a heinous crime!

For this reason we take 2 in front and 2 behind if we fly - the our ds is only kicking one of us and noone can recline into us iyswim - well if someone does then we stick one of the dc in that seat - it gives you more options and if the flight isnt full then you may get an extra seat next to you.

Thats a bloody good idea