Ha! Because we all know how reasonable children are when you ask them to stop doing something. They never throw an even worse tantrum when you try to stop them. Good one!

If my kid were wailing on a plane, I would try to comfort her, for her sake and that of the passengers. If she were kicking the seat in front of her, I would stop her because it's rude. If she were babbling, I would let it go. Babbling is perfectly normal developmental behavior for someone learning how to talk, and, assuming it's at conversational levels, people can easily block it out with headphones or earplugs.

Monica, intersting that you should mention that... I once spent a flight (fortunately not too long, ATL-MCO) with the kid in the seat behind me kicking the back of my seat. His mother didn't seem the slightest bit concerned about it.

" we all know how reasonable children are"

Parenting: it's what the adults are doing.

I know my kids won't behave on a plane and are on the young side to expect it. Because of this, we just haven't taken them anywhere requiring a plane ride, even if we would have liked to. It would be miserable for everyone. We can wait until they are older or just drive where only we will be subjected to their obnoxiousness in the car.

I do hate when parents ignore their children at the expense of others. It's not that hard to tell them to be quiet or stop throwing things, kicking, etc. Whether or not the kids are compliant is a whole other story, but at least you're trying to be considerate and parent.

"There are two kinds of travel: first class and with children." ~ Robert Benchley (Pluck and Luck)