I agree with the suggestions above. It is especially important to pack snacks and toys. I have been able to prevent lots of meltdowns in public just by being prepared.

Also, it is really important to know your child. My son, for example, does not travel well during sleep time. I frequently make long car trips (about 7 hours) to see family, and I have found that it is best for me to travel during the day. He is not interested in sleeping in the car and if I travel at night he will just become increasingly cranky and angry. However, friends of mine intentionally leave for trips at their son's bedtime as he will sleep the whole way. If your child will sleep on the plane then schedule accordingly. If you know that he will not, then travel at his happiest time of day and provide lots of distractions.

When the plane is taking off give your child a drink of water (or soother if they still take one) to avoid popped ears. You can also give a 15 month old child children's gravol. Even though the recommendation on the package is for ages two and up, my pediatrician told me I could give my son 3ml when he was 18 months old to prevent nausea. Although that was not for a plane trip, I imagine the same principle would apply. You should ask your doctor to be sure. But at least alleviating obvious discomfort at the start of the trip should help somewhat.

Are there still trains available ?

Bring a handful of earplugs (found in small individually wrapped packages at a hardware store). If your kid does start screaming, apologizing and handing out earplugs will help diffuse the tension. Sometimes there's just not anything you can do to stop it. We have traveled twice with our baby, and have been lucky so far with no screaming, even with a 4+ hr flight delay on one leg. But being prepared with the earplugs made us feel better about at least having something to offer, to say, if there was screaming we couldn't stop.

The other thing is to resign yourself that YOU will not be resting at all on this trip -- you will be entertaining your child. You do not get to sleep or read unless your kid falls asleep.

Lastly, try to strike a balance between being well prepared and lugging around 8 trillion carry on bags - pack a change of clothes, snacks, toys, etc, (and be prepared for flight delays!) but try and keep the number & size of the bags down to the minimum.

Is the kid into stickers yet? I kept my daughter occupied on a flight with a book of 500 stickers. She was covered head to toe by the time we landed (since she insisted on sticking them all over herself, instead of in the sticker book), but she was quiet!

We were on the receiving end of quite a few odd looks as we deplaned, but I'll take having a cute, smiling kid who happens to be plastered with tiny cartoon animals over a fussy kid who aggravated half the plane.

At 15 months the finger dexterity might not be good enough for that particular tip, but my main point is a toy or activity that is out of the norm. Snacks that take some work to eat are a plus as well. And please buy him his own seat so he can have his car seat and be comfortable. That way you can hold him if he wants to be held, but you aren't subjecting the person next to you to the errant kicks of a rambunctious toddler.

All these sound like great suggestions. One thing the letter writer should keep in mind, though, is that people's objections aren't necessarily about fussy children on airplanes. Seems like when the subject has come up on this blog, people's comlaints were more about unruly children whose parents made no attempt to control the situation.

I think other passengers will be more understanding if they can see parents trying to calm their children. As the letter writer is basically making a worldwide appeal for advice (with the help of Ms. Alkon), I can't imagine he'll meet with too much hostility. Of course, there will always be a few sourpusses, but they're probably more of a pain than any infant.

assuming they watch stuff... DVD's and the means to play them. Pencils/paper if they like to draw. And definitely if they wouldn't sleep on the plane as an overnighter... go when they are the most rested...

An ounce or two of rum and coke; similiar to rubbing wiskey and honey on the gums of a teething baby. The old ways are the best ways. Later.

Here's a worse suggestion than no nonsense's: back about fifty years ago, a friend of my mother's used to drug her kiddies.

Second on the DVD player. This is no time to make a stand. Cave, cave early. Just keep in mind that a 15-month old isn't going to use ear buds. I found a travel pillow with a chincy speaker buried in it, works.

Also- an FAA approved child seat can give the kid a comfy cradle to sleep in. A 15 month old would be swimming in his own seat. Since this guy comes off as a responsidad, I'm guessing he's already realized he needs to buy the whole side of a row.

Also, research your airport. At my home port I can take the rental cart all the way through security to the gate. That makes $4 worht it. But at Orlando it will be a waste since you can't get past security.

iPillow

Also helpful if your child has trigger music for nap time.

One more...ask for a gate check tag for your stroller (bring the umbrella model)and or car seat well before boarding begins and the gate agents get busy.

Wonderful list of tips...something NEW is important..once a child gets antsy, the same dog toy they've been holding at bedtime for months,, although still loved, is likely to be tossed over the seat back! Something they haven't seen before is often enough to redirect all that antsy energy in a split second :-D

> An ounce or two of rum and coke;
> similiar to rubbing wiskey and honey on
> the gums of a teething baby.

Condoms. Manly men get vasectomized.

Much of it is due to the ear poping thing at that age and younger they have no idea why their ears feel weird/hurrt and can do nothing about it.
Especially if they have any kind of cold/stuffiness.
So anything that can equalize the pressure will cut down on it a lot.
Not just at landing but at takeoff and the dozen other times the plane changes altitude.

Jeez, its not like the other passengers are going to get their arms and legs ripped off. Since when are crying babies such a BD?
Do a good job at taking care of your child, and the rest will follow. Maybe instead of whining, a fellow passenger will make funny faces or help in some way.
For many, children voices are music, and a child's laugh all it takes to feel better.

I'm an aunt, not a mom, but I'll give a suggestion anyway. If you have an iPhone or the like, upload some age-appropriate videos or games. My friend's adorable but rambunctious not-quite-two year old will stay mesmerized (and quiet) for long stretches of time while watching Dora the Explorer on Dad's iPhone.

And as a veteran frequent flier, I have a recommendation for all passengers on the plane: Bring foam earplugs (the kind that block out 32 decibels), noise-cancelling headphones, and an iPod. I don't go anywhere without them. If you really have a screamer on the plane, put in the foam earplugs, then put the noise-cancelling headphones over them and turn up your music. The combination will block out all but the worst screaming, and without deafening you. (I've found that earplugs or headphones alone will not do the trick.)

BOTU, if you don't get why a crying baby might get irksome on a flight, you obviously have never been on a 12 hour flight with a kid who was screaming the whole way. Take it from one who has -- no matter how much you love babies, you're pretty much ready to kill yourself by the time you get off the plane.

That said, I agree with whoever commented that the parents making some effort to control the situation goes a long way. If the parent is doing everything he/she can to soothe and shush a screaming baby, I have some sympathy with the parent and therefore I mind the noise less. If it's a four year old running up and down the aisle with no parental control, I want to throttle both the child and the parent.