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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to expect people to at least try to encourage their children to behave in airports

61 replies

Blondilocks · 24/04/2011 21:20

Title says it all really after enduring waiting at the airport last night with children running riot and generally being bratty while the parents were just chatting & ignoring them.

One child was even dragging the smaller child along the ground by their head & then picked them up upside down & almost dropped them head-first onto the floor.

I'm not a perfect parent but was really surprised they didn't even bat an eyelid. I know it's boring to wait but it's dangerous more than anything as they were running across the flow of people heading to their flights / in front of the airport car things / pushing each other over & into walls & other objects in their way.

OP posts:

squeakytoy · 24/04/2011 21:21

I expect people to try and encourage their children to behave wherever they are.... my expectations are rarely granted....

nancy75 · 24/04/2011 21:21

I think parents should encourage their children to behave everywhere they go, unfortunately lots of them don't bother

ceebeegeebies · 24/04/2011 21:21

I don't know if yabu or not but there is a reason why me and DH have not been abroad since DS1 was born 5 years ago ...because he would probably be one of those that you have described and I just can't face the torture of waiting at an airport for 2+ hours with him

Original poster

Blondilocks · 24/04/2011 21:27

I suppose that's true but I guess in the airport you're kind of trapped with them so maybe I noticed more.

Maybe I've been lucky with DD.

That's a shame ceebeegeebies ... could it be that doing something new & exciting would keep him interested? It is blooming boring though even as a grown up.

OP posts:

LeChatRouge · 24/04/2011 21:31

As a mother of three I feel I can comment on this - I cannot bear to be around any parent who does not engage with their kids at times like these - how difficult is it to buy a colouring book and crayons and interact with them?! Or take one child each and play I Spy or Hangman?

Worse than this for me, is when the kids are totally ignored until the parent suddenly notices and then loses it and yells at them - I HATE seeing kids being told off and upset, when really they are tired or bored or have been given sweets and then are hyper....

ceebeegeebies · 24/04/2011 21:34

Unfortunately it is boredom that causes him to misbehave more than anything else so a long wait an airport just seems to be a recipe for disaster...fortunately DS2 is completely different so we may try it next year

lechatrouge colouring books etc may seem a good idea but what if you have a DC that struggles to sit still for longer than 10 minutes however much you try and keep them entertained?

BigSooz · 24/04/2011 21:35

I struggle not to run around screaming and throwing things at airports, to be honest. If I was 4 yrs old I might really struggle. Airports are hell.

Have you ever seen a child who wasn't tired or bored at an airport? And what else can one day apart from stuff them with sweets?@LeChatRouge? What the hell else can you do with them? Oh yeh, buy them a DSi. Works a treat . We all know those shite colouring books last about 3 minutes.

herbietea · 24/04/2011 21:38

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

tulpe · 24/04/2011 21:43

Yep, another in agreement with squeaky and nancy .

I am always surprised at how long parents can continue to ignore the unreasonable behaviour of their offspring in airports, or in fact elsewhere.

It makes me think I must be a b*tch of a mother because it all too often appears to be the norm and yet there is no way I would allow my DCs to behave like that even in the privacy of our own home.

sims2fan · 24/04/2011 21:43

squeakytoy - I was going to write exactly what you did!

gkys · 24/04/2011 21:55

tuple I am on your team, although i am not brave enough to fly with our tribe, a car and a ferry is bad enough interms of boredom factor, I could no more cope with an airport than fly to the moon, although i do the dsi thing too

tulpe · 24/04/2011 22:03

You see I think airports are easier to deal with than car journeys and wouldn't even entertain a ferry journey with my DCs (altho TBH that's more to do with my own fears on that score!!)

At least in an airport you are free to engage with your DCs and keep them entertained. Yes, we do the DS thing too but also books, looking in the shops, have something to eat/drink, look at the planes etc. I really don't get it. My DCs aren't perfect but they can behave for the standard 2 hour pre-flight hanging around time.

nancy75 · 24/04/2011 22:05

tulpe i agree, dd does not behave as badly at home as some children i have seen in public.
I know airports are boring but it really is possible to keep children occupied - Dd is 5 and we have done trips to Australia and New zealand more than once with her. If you think 2 hours at an airport is bad try 25 hours on a plane!

CadleCrap · 24/04/2011 22:25

I agree with keeping them under control

BUT

the airlines do nothing to help. When T5 was built, it had an area for especially for kids but the next time I was there it had been removed.

LynetteScavo · 24/04/2011 22:33

Isn't this why Nintendos were invented?

I must admit even I want to do knee skids on shiny airport floors, but of course I wouldn't, and I would tell my DC off after the first one, and then read them books I'd thoughtfully packed earlier, because I'm ace.

I'd also love to jump on the carousel and have a ride with the suitcases, waving at folk trying to see their suitcase. But I don't.

pleasenap · 24/04/2011 22:37

Oh dear! I've 2 DS (5 and 2) who as soon as they get a sniff of the airport suddenly go into absolutely mad hyper-excited mode. And that's without sweets or anything to stimulate them. My DH and I do try our best to keep them in order, taking things away if they misbehave and be creative in getting them engaged in something more interesting to them than twirling around until they fall over - DH made up a Star Wars story for half an hour of the wait. We have a menagerie of toys, colouring books etc with us too. Its hard though they are both very boisterous (good humouredly though). But I understand how annoying and disruptive rowdy behaviour can be though....

Conversely they are both very good on the actual plane!

HerBEggs · 24/04/2011 22:37

Yes.

Most people have been utterly defeated by the airport experience by the time you've noticed the bad behavioru of their children. They have fallen into a fearful torpor induced by the horror of being in the airport. Pity them.

angrymomma · 24/04/2011 22:44

The main problem is that the DCs have been so wound up with excitement by parents telling them about this fab holiday they are going on. Then they get to this crappy airport with absolutely nothing to do except sit quietly in order not to upset other passengers.

I'm 44 and the boredom of airports drives me mad so I can understand young DCs losing it too.

Think you just have to cut them some slack.

angrymomma · 24/04/2011 22:46

I also think it would be a really good idea if you have young DCs, you don't actually need to turn up at the airport until 10 mins before plane takes off. Young kids love nothing more than having to run or we miss the plane.

DioneTheDiabolist · 24/04/2011 22:52

Airports are The Most Boring Places in the World. Waiting for me is hard enough. Waiting for two hours is pants. Waiting for two hours in an airport is hell. I find myself drinking, eating and buying stuff I don't want in order to make it bearable.

For kids it's all of the above without the money and freedom to spend and with the added excitement of airplanes and holidays.

I don't blame the kids. I don't blame the parents. I blame the airports and airlines.

shitmagnet · 24/04/2011 23:02

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

galletti · 24/04/2011 23:04

What I want to know is which airports you are all going to that you have to wait for two hours before take off? We always get to the airport with plenty of time to spare, about three hours, maybe more, but by the time we have checked in and done the checks etc, we have about an hour to have our traditional baguette and juice, try and avoid Accezorize, and buy a paper and we're off!

MilaV · 24/04/2011 23:28

Being the terrible parent that I am, I always ask DD to cry really loud when we get on the plane (cheapo Ryanair flights=no seats assigned) so that nobody will sit next to us ;D

LaVraiVerite · 25/04/2011 01:25

Yeah. YANBU. But why are British brats ten times worse than others ? Glad I can lapse into Italian to dissociate myself from them and curse while they are rampaging around :)

tulpe · 25/04/2011 14:25

amazing how handy a second language can be, LaVraiVerite

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