In a previous blog I wrote about the incident involving a mom, her chatty tot, and a frustrated flight attendant who suggested that the mother use Benadryl to quiet her talkative toddler before a flight. The widely publicized event ended with the mother and her child getting booted from the flight.
In the days since the incident irate parents from around the world have sounded off about the Continental ExpressJet flight attendant and the audacity she had to recommend sedating the chatty child. But, they weren’t the only ones. A number of doctors also went public with their thoughts about administering Benadryl in order to quiet a child.
According to pediatricians, the antihistamine is known for its sedative effect on adults, but it can have the opposite reaction in children. In fact, doctors say children can get hyperactive or act out of character — angry or whiny if given Benadryl for no reason.
Pediatricians say it is fine to give Tylenol or Motrin to a child who is likely to experience ear pain from in-flight pressure changes, but parents should use medicine as a last resort. It’s better to pack specific food, beverages and toys to distract a child before resorting to drugs.
The chatty tot incident also opened the floodgates regarding children and air travel. The idea of creating a “family section” in airplanes quickly took shape and thousands of Internet forums dedicated to the idea have taken flight.
In fact, the folks at Maritz (a company that designs public surveys) ran a poll and found almost 90% of travelers surveyed supported the creation of a “family section.” The responses were consistent across the board, regardless of whether the respondent had kids. Some travelers even suggested where the “family section” should be located— the last few rows near the rear of the aircraft. As for age limits, some survey respondents suggested children under 11 and their parents should be the ones using the designated section.
A word of warning for those of you who think “family sections” on planes are a great idea… executives in the airline industry say there’s no way a family section would fly. The reason: money. Airline analysts say, “Cost-conscious airlines aren’t likely to take out revenue-producing seats for a partition separating families from the kid-free crowd.”
Besides, not all fliers say the idea of singling out children and their parents for segregation takes off with them.
“As someone who travels both solo for business and with my family, I’d much rather have a separate section for people who are going to drink too much/snore too loud/talk all the time,” wrote one frequent flying father in an online forum. “It just sounds silly and doomed to failure. I have no idea how they would manage isolating families into some mythical cone of silence.”
What are your thoughts? Would you patronize a “family section” in an aircraft?
To read about my adventures flying with my toddler and to get tips on flying high with children check out these related articles:
Traveling With Children-Learn From My Mistakes
Flying with Children: Layover or Not?
Tips To Remember When Traveling With Children
Even More Tips To Remember When You Travel With Kids
More Tips To Remember When You Travel With Kids
Traveling With Young Children: More Dos and Don’ts
Traveling With Young Children: Dos and Don’ts