Would this annoy you?

[LokiBear]

My family and are flying long haul on Saturday. PIL have paid for the whole family to go on a 'once in a lifetime' holiday. I have a 6yo (who will be fine) and an 18mo who will be sat on knee for the flight (12 hours). MIL has paid to upgrade us to premium economy. If you were a passenger eho had paid extra money for your flight, how pissed off would you be at being sat near a potentially wriggly and fractious 18 mo? Ive just been sent this video of a kid kicking off on a plane and the other passengers getting angry. SIL sent it saying 'this will be you with dd2!' Dh is talking about making 'apology gift bags' for the other passengers. Im panicking a bit. I have an Ipad loaded with Teletubbies and toys at the ready, plus snacks.

If you've got a row to yourself, then it wouldn't bother me. It would annoy me if I was sitting next to a parent with a toddler on their lap, as they take up a lot of space and end up encroaching on my space. I once ended up next to a woman with a nearly 2 year old on her lap from Oz to Dubai and it was an absolute nightmare. She dumped the kid on me while she went to the toilet, and they kept pulling my hair. I got up to go to use the bathroom and came back to find her changing the kid's nappy on my seat! I stood up in the bulkhead for a while and came back and she'd tucked the kid up on my seat. I ended up spending the whole flight (14 hour flight!). The flight attendant tried to move me, even up to business or first, but there wasn't a vacant seat on the plane. He ended up keeping bringing me back a bottle of wine from first class and kept giving me first class chocolates. He also arranged an upgrade for my return flight, so that was lovely also. But I firmly believe that all children over 12 months should have a seat booked for them. I always paid for the extra seat when I flew with DS.

Would you take apology bags onto a bus?
a train? a coach?
It's the same.

If you've paid for the seats and are making an effort to keep your kid quiet and entertained, you don't need to apologise for your child's existence to anyone.

I got up to go to use the bathroom and came back to find her changing the kid's nappy on my seat!

That is so out of order. See, it's selfish parents that are the problem.

Don't do an apology bag, your DC has as much right to be on the flight as anyone else, if no one raises DC there are going to be problems in the future.
It sounds like you are well prepared so hope it goes well.
DC and I are travelling business long haul tomorrow, there may be raised eyebrows, there sometimes are but DC have paid for their seat like everyone else. They are actually pretty good travelling so people are usually much friendlier at the end of the flight.
Loud drunk blokes are usually the noisiest thing in an airplane in my experience.

I think people should buy children seats. I would be annoyed at the safety risk of holding a baby. I do not mind kids on flights though I ache for their poor ears.
I was moved away from my family on a flight once so that a child whose parents did not buy them a seat could have mine. I resented it.
I fault the airlines, not the parents for trying to save money, though I do fault the parents for expecting others to give up their seat.

What @mozzybites said, you knew children are the future! They've as much right to be there as an adult has.

If she likes buckles, consider one of these

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0043G4JOA/ref=cm_sw_r_oth_api_i_42brBbSM5RTHH?tag=mumsnetforum-21

I would not be happy being sat near young children for 12hrs.

Then you really should stay at home because you’ll find them everywhere on an aircraft. Even in first if there’s no age restriction in place and if there is you can still hear them from business, and sometimes economy.

DC and I are travelling business long haul tomorrow, there may be raised eyebrows, there sometimes are but DC have paid for their seat like everyone else

Children in business class are not uncommon and I’d ignore anyone who gave you/them the stink eye.

To be honest Im not too sure what some people think they’re buying apart from a flatbed when they decide to travel business or first.

i always laugh on the inside when people say "oh, everyone adored them blah blah blah". On a plane, probs not. lol

Well behaved toddlers/children on a plane are fine. Whinging/screaming/underfoot toddlers/children, not so much.

If I had paid for extra comfort, really really would be unimpressed.

Do people really hand out gift bags to apologise for their children being there??? WTF are we coming to?

Maybe a silly question but does she have a dummy? Pressure in the ears can cause huge discomfort for little ones which can lead to the screaming, the wriggling and you losing the will to live

I have noise cancelling headphones so unless it's ear splitting and goes on for hours and she's not behind me kicking the crap out of my chair I don't care. Keep to her usual routine as much as possible. Please don't let her charge through the cabin (including business class) 100 times.

Have a glass of wine and relax, it's 12 hours not the end of the world. Have a lovely holiday

Do people really hand out gift bags to apologise for their children being there??? shock WTF are we coming to?

Some weird Americans did it a few times and it went viral and now everyone thinks it's a "thing".

OP, I tried to read your posts but didn't see any mention of what time your flying? We've done regular long-haul flights (11hrs) with our kids from 6 months plus and it's definitely easier on a night flight when they can just sleep most of the time.

Even if it's a day flight, the chances are your child will be fairly easy to entertain because everything on a plane is so new and different, it's pretty easy to distract them. If they start getting tantrumy over something, just walk them down the aisle to show them the exciting [insert boring thing that you pretend is exciting].

And yes, a plane is a form of mass public transport. Young children are just as entitled to be there as anyone else, and young children sometimes scream and cry. As long as you're not letting them run riot, then it's just part of life and any adult who thinks they have some god-given right not to be near children on an aeroplane is being ridiculous. So I wouldn't waste any time worrying about that kind of person.

If I had paid for extra comfort, really really would be unimpressed

Extra comfort is just that. It’s nothing to do with, for eg, a child crying because they have raging earache caused by take off.

OP, it’s you I’m feeling sorry for. A wriggly child on your lap for 12 hours. Even 4 if you each take shifts. But if it’s any consolation as a mum of 5, and grandma of 6 who I travel alone with frequently, I can honestly say I’ve never had an issue with any of them on an aircraft. Not even when I did non-stop to NZ with 3 under 5.

My children don’t have any problems either but just last week I bought ear defenders for one of the wee ones because he’s recently developed sensitive hearing. My daughter in law told me he wore them for take off but didn’t need them at all after that.

Don’t worry about your flight. Its all going to go really well for you and you’ll have a great holiday.

It wouldn’t annoy me as long as you were doing your best! I couldn’t complain about kids, they’ve got the right to be there too. If they were the kind who were kicking seats and screaming whilst their parents ignore them that’s something else. People who say ‘seeing a child would really piss me off’ are the WORST kind of people. Just took my 18mo on a 7 hour flight, he slept for five hours. Then ate for one and watched an ipad with headphones. Didn’t make a peep. I could hear Ann across the aisle snoring, the couple behind us having a row and swearing, and a family in front shouting across the plane to each other, standing in the aisles shouting across and chatting and drinking.
The adults were definitely the most disruptive. People who complain about a child simply being there are pathetic! With an ipad, three seats and food and toys you’ll be fine. You can always wander as well. Good luck!

Currently on a flight as I type. Paid for business class. Long haul, 8 hours 20. There is a lady behind with 2 squealing toddlers, roughly about 2 years old. It's now almost 3 hours into the flight and only now have they settled. I put a bit of a rant on Facebook about it and a friend came back with the right response. It's the parents responsibility to keep them under control. A 2 year old can't be blamed. Having said that, I did say I had no problem with tiny babies nor 3 or 4 year olds.

DN flew to Mexico for our wedding, she was two so a little older than your DC, but she was a delight, she coloured, played with toys, watched paw patrol with headphones, got to go to the cockpit to see the pilot, had a nap. We came back later than they did on a different flight and a toddler kicked the back of my chair constantly with both feet deliberately for over an hour without the parents saying anything, in the end I turned around and said 'excuse me do you mind asking him but to do that' they rolled their eyes and swapped him to another seat where he did the same to another passenger who complained to staff. Staff brought him a blanket, some colouring etc to do , did their best to distract him each time they were passing and he eventually fell asleep. Those examples aren't really about the children they're about the parents, you seem considerate of others do I'm sure you'll handle it just fine. There were a couple of children in premium economy as they can sit on the floor in front of the seat in the extra leg room and play, it was only that one child who was an issue.

It's only premium economy, you're not gate crashing someone chartering their own jet, don't worry about it.

I would not be happy being sat near young children for 12hrs.

Then charter a private jet.

@LokiBear
It would annoy me too... BUT...

if I could see you were doing things to entertain and distract etc, and not trying to engage other people in a "look how cute my kid is" stuff, then I would suck it up as a peril of flying (and also sympathise!).

If you were merrily letting them cause a disturbance and doing sod-all that's a different matter (you don't sound like that!)

No to the apology bags - immediately suggests to people that you’re going to be doing something wrong.

We used Phenergan - good for the toddler (who was overtired, wriggly and extremely miserable with no proper space) as well as for everyone else.

Agree that people of any age can be a pain in the arse - on my last overnight transatlantic flight, a 20 year old was playing games on the seat back screen and jabbing the back of my seat hard every few seconds (until I had words).

I don't get why the premium economy matters. It's not a child-free zone. So you have paid more as a treat? I bet there are several people in economy for whom it's an once in a lifetime trip and they have saved for years.

I can stand infants on short haul but can never understand the need to travel long haul unless a family is moving abroad or have family that can't visit them. Otherwise I just think they are a bit thick.