# Kid-friendly Airline seating (NOT a pitting) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 27, 2007, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-friendly-airline-seating-not-a-pitting/420666 "2007-09-27T11:09:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Captain\_Socks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a8b319/32.png) [@Captain\_Socks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Socks)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-friendly-airline-seating-not-a-pitting/420666/1 "2007-09-27T11:09:04Z")
[So there’s a bill going through Congress that calls for kid-friendly seating on planes during the in-flight movie.](http://www2.dailynews.com/ci_6998566?source=rss) I’m all for this bill, though one thing ticks me off. I’m a teenager, but I look like a 10-year old. This bill calls for all kids under 13 to watch some kid movie. I will not be traumatized by some violent move like _Shooter_. I will not keep on crying throughout the day, “Oh no, a gun! I’m traumatatized! Oh no! Boobs! I’m traumatatized!” Once again, I am ranting because I am a teenager, but I look like a 10-year old. So no matter how much I protest, they will probably drag me off to watch Dora and Diego y Boots or whatever the hell kids watch today. I agree with the bill and how parents shouldn’t have to cover their kids’ eyes the whole plane trip. OK. I’m done ranting. Thank you for your time. Mini-rant over. My first Pit thread! Wooooo! ---
**Author:** ![George\_Kaplin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3e96dc/32.png) [@George\_Kaplin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/George_Kaplin)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-friendly-airline-seating-not-a-pitting/420666/2 "2007-09-27T11:13:36Z")
Just show them your passport. Problem solved 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-friendly-airline-seating-not-a-pitting/420666/3 "2007-09-27T11:43:07Z")
Long-distance trains and buses in Spain often show movies. The movies are, always, specifically chosen from the R or (at most) PG13 racks. Most of the movies in planes that I’ve seen weren’t anything that most kids would be traumatatized about (if you’re going to be traumatatized by Pirates of the Caribbean you should be under the care of Social Services). Showing Dora or the latest Disney in a part of the plane, a different movie in the rest, sounds to me more like an attempt to keep the kids still (which they won’t be for, say, War of the Roses and yes I know that one’s old) than at “protecting” them poor tots. And if I’m getting the same movie for the 6th time in 6 flights and 3 months, I want to be able to move to the Disney section, damnit! Ageists, that’s what they are! ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-friendly-airline-seating-not-a-pitting/420666/4 "2007-09-27T12:05:48Z")
How many planes these days still have communal movie screens? All the planes I’ve been on in the past 2 years have had either nothing, or individual screens for each seat. The viewing angle on the small screens is crap too, so it’s pretty hard to watch what your neighbour is watching. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-friendly-airline-seating-not-a-pitting/420666/5 "2007-09-27T12:08:41Z")
We I suppose Congress has solved all other problems and this is next on the to-do list. ---
**Author:** ![jacquilynne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jacquilynne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacquilynne)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-friendly-airline-seating-not-a-pitting/420666/6 "2007-09-27T12:17:39Z")
I’m in favour of a family seating zone – as long as they make it possible for me to choose to sit as far away from it as possible. I mean, sure, tell them it’s to protect their precious children from the bad, bad inflight movie so they don’t object to being ghettoized. ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-friendly-airline-seating-not-a-pitting/420666/7 "2007-09-27T12:24:17Z")
Mandating that kind of crap _IS NOT_ the business of Clowngress, but that’s never stopped them before. Some marketing guys at the airline ought to suggest it to the head cheese, and sell it as a feature. That way, it’s voluntary and you can sit anywhere you damn well please. How old you look won’t be a factor. ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-friendly-airline-seating-not-a-pitting/420666/8 "2007-09-27T12:58:17Z")
[QUOTE=jacquilynne] I’m in favour of a family seating zone – as long as they make it possible for me to choose to sit as far away from it as possible. I mean, sure, tell them it’s to protect their precious children from the bad, bad inflight movie so they don’t object to being ghettoized. [/QUOTE] Yeah. When I first heard of this story, I wondered whether this is something that could be a problem if adults get sold the “family seating zone” seats when they didn’t want them. Why should an adult have to watch “sanitized” programming while flying when his neighbors get to watch the regular stuff? Can the airline flight attendants change the status of these seats at will with some sort of master control in the front? I can just see this becoming an issue where flights sell out without any kids in the family friendly zone and a bunch of adults get stuck watching The Wiggles or Dora instead of The Fast and the Furious: Eleventy that all the adults and most of the children are viewing. ---
**Author:** ![LilyoftheValley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@LilyoftheValley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheValley)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-friendly-airline-seating-not-a-pitting/420666/9 "2007-09-27T13:04:08Z")
What the heck flght was this woman in the article on when she had “lots of nudity”? I have never been on a flight with an even slightly offensive film. Well, except if you count stupidity, bad acting, etc… As for the OP, one nitpick. Did you read the whole article? It actually would not create kid movie zones, as you suggest. (I don’t know how they would do that technologically speaking on most aircraft.) It would create areas with NO films. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-friendly-airline-seating-not-a-pitting/420666/10 "2007-09-27T13:30:24Z")
[QUOTE=LilyoftheValley] What the heck flght was this woman in the article on when she had “lots of nudity”? I have never been on a flight with an even slightly offensive film. [/QUOTE] Same here. When I heard this on the news, I thought “good” seperate the kids into their own area. Then I heard the reason why :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-friendly-airline-seating-not-a-pitting/420666/11 "2007-09-27T13:50:17Z")
They hack movies on planes down into mush anyway. I’ve never seen anything on a plane that even might disturb a kid. Bore them, yes, but not bother them. I think as a marketing idea it’s be great, but as a requirement it’d be completely stupid. ---
**Author:** ![ShelliBean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@ShelliBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShelliBean)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-friendly-airline-seating-not-a-pitting/420666/12 "2007-09-27T13:57:23Z")
I would love a child friendly option. I would also love for it not to be mandated by the government. What if I don’t want my kids in that section? What if I am travelling alone and there are no seats left in the adult section? Hey lady, here was your option to exercise your right to vote with your wallet (by vote, I mean as in which airline gets your business, not as in a ballot). Instead you decided to do what I call the “angry mom letter” to protect me and mine. Thanks so much. I do believe that not much good ever came from “there oughta be a law…” Here’s what I propose: the last time I travelled I was very offended by the lack of adult situations on my flight. I want congress to strongly urge the airlines to create an adults only section of the plane because the next time I am on a flight lasting over four hours I want to close the magical divider curtain on all those unsuspecting kid-zone sections and snort coke off the stewardess’s tits while watching in-flight porn and riding the captain’s dick. It’s my right. ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-friendly-airline-seating-not-a-pitting/420666/13 "2007-09-27T14:27:35Z")
> [@CaptainSocks](#): > > Kid-friendly Airline seating (NOT a pitting) Erm, alright. Off to MPSIMS. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-friendly-airline-seating-not-a-pitting/420666/14 "2007-09-27T15:15:37Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Socks] Once again, I am ranting because I am a teenager, but I look like a 10-year old. So no matter how much I protest, they will probably drag me off to watch Dora and Diego y Boots or whatever the hell kids watch today. [/QUOTE] You have my sympathy, but there’s a simple solution. Take your school ID with you and show it to prove that you’re over 13 or whatever age you are. Or, hey, a signed note from a parent oughta do it too (I presume you’re flying alone?). ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-friendly-airline-seating-not-a-pitting/420666/15 "2007-09-27T15:35:01Z")
[QUOTE=LilyoftheValley] What the heck flght was this woman in the article on when she had “lots of nudity”? I have never been on a flight with an even slightly offensive film. Well, except if you count stupidity, bad acting, etc… [/QUOTE] I guess it depends on what you call “offensive.” Anyone familiar with American culture knows that this term encompasses a pretty wide variety of words and actions, based on religious, political, and other criteria. Given the tame stuff (at least in my opinion) that some people find offensive, i’m not surprised at this controversy. The first i heard of the debate over the content of in-flight movies was a [New York Times article](http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/01/us/01plane.html) from a few weeks ago. I’m a Times Select subscriber, and i’m not sure if this article is available in full to everyone, so i’ll quote a couple of relevant passages: > [@](#): > > A husband shoots his wife in the face, then drags her body from the pool of blood. A 12-year-old boy is crushed against a fence by a car. A teenager zips up her jeans in the bathroom after a sexual encounter. > > These are images from movies shown to passengers recently on overhead screens in airlines, and they are sources of a new and vigorous outcry from parents, flight attendants and children’s advocacy groups who say that in-flight entertainment has become anything but family-friendly. > > \ > > Thomas Fine and Sara Susskind of Cambridge, Mass., recently spent two hours on a United Airlines flight distracting their 6-year-old son, Zachary, from the R-rated “Shooter,” which depicts multiple gory killings. The sound of gunshots from nearby earphones alerted Zachary to look up, Mr. Fine said. “It’s not like he can look away when he hears the sound, and he’s sitting on a plane bored, and he’s 6,” Mr. Fine said. > > \ > > Also on overhead screens are television programs like “Monk” and “Desperate Housewives,” deemed appropriate by parental review organizations for teenagers but not for children. > > Parents have noticed. “You don’t have to have ‘Leave it to Beaver’ on, but for Pete’s sake, you don’t have to have Eva Longoria seducing the high school kid on the dining room table, either,” said Timothy Winter, president of the Parents Television Council, which offers parents advice on program selections. Mr. Winter said he received weekly complaints about airline movies from parents, whereas last year he received none. So there you go. I’m not sure how “gory” _Shooter_ actually was, as i haven’t seen it. I can’t think of anything especially offensive about _Monk_. I guess i can understand, though, that parents might not want their kids subjected to images of bloody violence or excessive sexuality. I’ve long been a critic of the prudishness of American broadcast television standards, but that’s in people’s homes, where they can control what kids watch. Planes are a different story. Although i’m not sure it’s something that needs legislating. Maybe what we need is for an airline to step in and offer child-free planes, and family-friendly planes. That would certainly kill two birds with one stone—no more bad images for the kiddies, and no more kicking, screaming brats on the adult flights. Now, excuse me while i brace for the criticisms from offended parents. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-friendly-airline-seating-not-a-pitting/420666/16 "2007-09-27T17:26:25Z")
These parents are probably the same parents who plunk the tyke down in front of GTA: San Andreas at home. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-friendly-airline-seating-not-a-pitting/420666/17 "2007-09-27T17:35:59Z")
Well, I certainly wouldn’t be happy about violent movies and “Desperate Housewives.” I barely let my kids watch Disney movies. I’d complain too. I haven’t been on a plane in a while, but IIRC you can’t really avoid looking at the screens very easily. Personally, I think they should get rid of the screens entirely and have a selection of books available. They could bring them on a trolley like drinks! Literacy would soar, we could have a cultural renaissance–or, if you must, you could read _The Stand_ and no one would object that you are traumatizing their toddler. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![T\_SQUARE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de053/32.png) [@T\_SQUARE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/T_SQUARE)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-friendly-airline-seating-not-a-pitting/420666/18 "2007-09-27T20:02:26Z")
“Shooter” is just fine for a six year old to watch, unless the six year old in question is some sort of pussy. There isn’t anything too needlessly gory or scary. I grew up with Predator, Rambo, and Commando, and I turned out great. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-friendly-airline-seating-not-a-pitting/420666/19 "2007-09-27T20:09:03Z")
[QUOTE=kferr] How many planes these days still have communal movie screens? All the planes I’ve been on in the past 2 years have had either nothing, or individual screens for each seat. The viewing angle on the small screens is crap too, so it’s pretty hard to watch what your neighbour is watching. [/QUOTE] I don’t know what you fly, but all the planes I’ve been on have those tiny screens over the aisle, which are hard to avoid. First class or international get individual screens. I suppose the problem is worse now since lots of airlines show movies for free now. I’ve never seen anything remotely offensive myself - certainly no nudity. Damn. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-friendly-airline-seating-not-a-pitting/420666/20 "2007-09-27T23:12:30Z")
[QUOTE=mhendo] Maybe what we need is for an airline to step in and offer child-free planes, and family-friendly planes. That would certainly kill two birds with one stone—no more bad images for the kiddies, and no more kicking, screaming brats on the adult flights. Now, excuse me while i brace for the criticisms from offended parents. 🙂 [/QUOTE] Yes yes yes yes _please_ god. They day an airline starts offering child-free flights is the day I start writing perhaps stalker-like love letters to airline execs. More on-topic: If you think li’l Junior is going to be scarred for life by the two-inch image of a shootout, then you’ve already failed as a parent IMO. But if that’s the case and you _must_ coddle the kid, bring books for them to read. Or those little activity pads. Or coloring books, or a baggie of Legos, or some stuffed animals, or _something_. Give the kid something engaging to do and you can prevent the kid from watching the movie. Problem solved. Plus, every individual seat-back screen I’ve seen can be turned off in some way or another. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-friendly-airline-seating-not-a-pitting/420666.md?page=2)