AirTran Vs The 3-Year Old
Posted by Mitch Mitchell on Jan 24, 2007
By now, most of us have heard the story of how the airline AirTran removed a family from one of their airplanes because their 3 year old was throwing a tantrum and wouldn't calm down.
At the risk of taking an unpopular stance, I'm going to say I agree with the airlines, though I don't take this position lightly. I've been on quite a few airplanes, and one thing I've never been able to stand is unruly children yelling or kicking the back of the seat that I happen to be on. Most of the time you feel trapped because you're unsure what to do, and you wonder why the parents can't control their children. Every once in awhile I'll "out" the child by requesting the child stop that particular behavior, which usually catalyzes the parent to at least attempt to see what their child is doing.
I've learned that, many times, parents have learned to tune their children out at home, and then carry this behavior in places outside of the home. I'm not a parent, so I don't view it the same way, but other parents just look at this as the price of having children.
There are times when good customer service means you have to take care of the needs of the many before the needs of the few. In a movie theater, if someone is talking loudly throughout the movie they will be tossed out. At a ballgame, if one of the fans does something stupid, they'll be removed from the stadium.
The family said they just needed more time to calm the child down. Once I'm on a plane, I want to takeoff; I don't want to sit for 15 to 30 minutes more for any other reason, so why would the parents expect that I want to sit while they take the time to try to calm their child down?
I applaud AirTran for taking the appropriate action for the greater benefit. Sure, this story is getting some big time play in the media, because they don't look child friendly. The parents are saying they'll never fly AirTran again. I'll say this; if they flew out of here to the destinations I go to, I'd replace that family, and my money spends as well as theirs. I think they made the right choice in what's turned out to be a no-win scenario.
I personally fill that one thing that’s missing from today’s parenting text books is the chapter titled, ‘check your child’. It would’ve been a cold day in hell when, as a child, I would’ve been allowed to behave like some of the children I see today and I’m only 43 yrs old. I didn’t know what a temper tantrum was when I was a kid. We, my generation, understood what discipline was. Now, I’m not advocating corpreal punishment, but I also believe that today’s children are given way to much freedom. Parents today are afraid that if they’re stern and demand that their children do homework or chores, that they won’t like them. They’re afraid that If they chastise their children in public, they’ll be seen as bad parents. When did it stop being a parents job to guide their children to responsible adult hood? There use to be an expression, “Children should be seen and not heard”. Now, I’m a father of 2 and my children have plenty of freedom, but they also understand that it is not a right, it’s a privilage that I can revoke at anytime. My wife and I have taught our children what the respect means, not just for other’s, but for yourself. It’s always amazing when I read the paper of watch the news and learn that a child has shot up their school or beat up their parent? What’s that about? Has this generation so lost control of their role as parents, that they’re afraid to even talk to their kids anymore. If children and be taught to play instruments or speak another lauguage, surely they can be taught how to become respectful himan beings. Stop making excuses for bad parenting and become a leader.