Kids are unpredictable on long
flights. While parents often
stress over their behavior,
sometimes you'll get a lucky
surprise as your child rests
comfortably. Nice!
California kids vacations - How
many parents have been ready to
board a flight only to find
their child hurls all over the
floor, has a major diaper dump,
or begins screaming and won't
stop? Welcome to the joys of
parenthood.
Travel with kids on flights
really can put you to the test
of abilities to cope. You gotta
love the little critters, but
sometimes a travel experience
can be tougher than any boot
camp exercise that the Army
could concoct.
Kids are unpredictable, and air
travel is an experience that
upsets their schedule, their
feeding regimen, and everything
warm and comforting they've
grown accustomed to enjoying on
a daily basis. There's a
whole ritual beyond the few
parents who were lucky enough to
grab the front row seats in
pre-boarding. After those spots
are gone, as the parents with
babies and tiny tots enter the
plane, the curious, nervous eyes
of other passengers survey the
situation and wonder whether a
baby will be good, and will it
be placed by them for a 12 hour
flight.
Such concerns are
understandable, especially for
those who don't have children
and never have. Or like smokers
who gave up cigarettes and have
now become ultra-sensitive,
parents of grown children can
also be the least tolerant on
flights.
Rule number one is that there's
not a lot you can do about what
happens. In your role as a
parent, we know you've packet
the crackers, the bottles filled
with water, chewing gum for
older kids, and whatever you can
find to keep them entertained,
busy, and keep their ears from
hurting from the air pressure.
My many travels both as a parent
and as a business traveler have
yielded some surprises. When my
son was little, people around me
on the flight were incredibly
tolerant as I sweat bullets,
worrying if he was going to
become a little screamer. I made
it through the numerous flights
much better than I would have
imagined (though I still
remember a few of those
difficult times when your child
suddenly seems to be getting
sick when you're at the airport
waiting for your flight.)
And today as a business
traveler, I am amazed at just
how good the majority of
children are. You would think
with the large number of kids
that seem to have little
discipline in stores that there
would be a lot more turmoil and
noise on flights. I have
just been incredibly lucky, I
guess, but even when a kid
pounds on the back of my seat, I
really don't mind when I look
back to discover the cute little
face and big eyes staring at me.
Tip: Talk to the
people around you on a flight
and let them know you are doing
the best you can to take care of
your child. Sometimes even
asking for advice or help early
on creates a line of
communication useful in building
cooperation.
A recent Dr. Phil show included
a guest, a mother, who was
actually removed from a flight
with her noisy child. There are
numerous versions to such
stories, but in this case, the
flight attendant told the mom to
shut her kid up, according to
the woman, then suggested she
give her son a cough medicine to
make him drowsy so he'd sleep
and be quiet. When the outraged
mother refused, they turned the
plane around on the landing
strip and unloaded the mom and
her kid. Humiliation, disbelief
and fear are created from such
stories as each parent imagines
this worst case scenario will
become their tale.
While the crammed seats,
shortage of fresh circulating
air, time on the runway and
efforts to move through baggage
claim become more challenging to
parents with kids and even
seniors who just aren't
physically fit to endure the
stress, you have to make the
best of it. And in California,
you can always drive once you
are in the state. The state of
California stretches approx.
1000 miles from San Diego to the
Oregon border, taking two days
safely to traverse. The coast to
the state border east to west
can be reached in approx. four
hours. And major cities
such as Los Angeles to San
Francisco take approx. seven to
eight hours by car. The scenery,
restaurants and stops along the
way are spectacular. This
offers you an option to flying
with kids. And as they grow, it
provides educational
experiences.
calsite
|