Airline Poll

Air Tran requested that a misbehaving three-year-old and her parents leave the plane when the parents couldn’t control her and the plane was already 15 minutes late for takeoff.

I saw the parents briefly on FNC last night and the mother was saying that they were “humiliated” by being asked to leave the plane.

I’m sorry you feel that way Mrs. Kulesza, but it isn’t the airline that “humiliated” you.

That you can’t control your three-year-old is what humiliated you. If you could have controlled her, you wouldn’t have been asked to leave the plane.

As I noted in the previous post, my children are mostly well behaved in public. When they aren’t, I take them somewhere else. If I’m at the grocery store and a child acts up, I leave the store, cart and all. I will not put other people through my child’s misbehavior or temper tantrums.

It’s more than just airplanes. How many times have you been to a restaurant where the kids are running around and the parents are deep in their own conversation? This goes for a two mom and some kids lunch date as well. Kudos to any restaurant that posts signs and lets parents know that unruly children will not be tolerated.

Parents need to be parents first and not the child’s best friend. It’s okay to be a child’s friend as long as you remember who’s in charge and make sure that parenting takes over from friendship when it’s necessary.

A good resource for parents is 1, 2, 3, Magic by Thomas W. Phelan. It’s a way for parents to get back in control.