# Kid screams nonstop for 8-hour flight **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 17, 2018, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-screams-nonstop-for-8-hour-flight/808982 "2018-02-17T06:01:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-screams-nonstop-for-8-hour-flight/808982/81 "2018-02-18T16:25:44Z")
Could someone answer my question? This video was posted on August 28, 2017. The first news story I can find about it (and there are over a hundred of them available online) is only five days old. Why would all the news sources ignore the video for six months and then make a big deal about it almost simultaneously? What’s going on? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-screams-nonstop-for-8-hour-flight/808982/82 "2018-02-18T16:40:16Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Could someone answer my question? This video was posted on August 28, 2017. The first news story I can find about it (and there are over a hundred of them available online) is only five days old. Why would all the news sources ignore the video for six months and then make a big deal about it almost simultaneously? What’s going on? Dismal experiences in flights is something that raises strong empathetic reactions. It could just be random chance that the video was circulated by someone to a few of their friends recently and went viral from there. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-screams-nonstop-for-8-hour-flight/808982/83 "2018-02-18T16:46:42Z")
I think that’s happened before. It seems to sometimes take time before a news website or other news media notices an interesting video posted to YouTube, Facebook or elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-screams-nonstop-for-8-hour-flight/808982/84 "2018-02-18T16:47:56Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > For those wondering how they would/should respond in such a situation, here is an excellent model: > > [Women Surround Crying Mom Whose Toddler Was Having A Meltdown At The Airport](https://www.sunnyskyz.com/blog/2402/Women-Surround-Crying-Mom-Whose-Toddler-Was-Having-A-Meltdown-At-The-Airport#.WoTCF-DF3AK.facebook) Nice story, but the “Only women approached” afterthought in the story was gratuitous and stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-screams-nonstop-for-8-hour-flight/808982/85 "2018-02-18T17:38:32Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > It’s hard to imagine how you could address this through airline rules or policy. I mean, if every kid on every flight had to “settle down” completely before taxi, we’d be seeing thousands of normal kids kicked off flights every day. Really? You and I must take different flights. I’ve seen kids being bouncy but I’ve never seen kids not being seated, tied down and at normal volumes (excited maybe, but within normal ranges) by the time we started taxiing. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-screams-nonstop-for-8-hour-flight/808982/86 "2018-02-18T17:44:17Z")
The Newest Nephew was brought home from Bulgaria a week before turning 2yo; he’d met his new parents several months before, was used to skyping with them and they had learned some basic vocabulary so they could offer stuff such as milk, water, OJ or food. Picking him up was a several-days process of him spending more time with them and less with the foster (grand)mother, until the last 24h of being with them before getting on the plane. Maybe we got The Bestest Kid In The World but according to his parents, he was OK in the flight except for some surprise (they knew to make fishfaces at him to avoid earaches). ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-screams-nonstop-for-8-hour-flight/808982/87 "2018-02-18T17:46:22Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > For those wondering how they would/should respond in such a situation, here is an excellent model: > > [Women Surround Crying Mom Whose Toddler Was Having A Meltdown At The Airport](https://www.sunnyskyz.com/blog/2402/Women-Surround-Crying-Mom-Whose-Toddler-Was-Having-A-Meltdown-At-The-Airport#.WoTCF-DF3AK.facebook) This was not simply a toddler having a your typical meltdown and I think you know that. This kid was not throwing himself on the ground and kicking and crying. This was a kid was some serious issues and mom wasn’t doing shit. (And no, I’m not saying he should’ve been spanked. But doing nothing isn’t the answer either) ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-screams-nonstop-for-8-hour-flight/808982/88 "2018-02-18T20:33:40Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > Always presume somebody is going to sneak a post in before you…that way you can avoid actually QUOTING the post that you are responding to. > > (I know this is gonna come off as snarky, but it’s not MEANT to. Just a hint?? ) > > :p:p:p I was also responding to other parents who wrote how hard it was to fly with their own upset children, and UCBearcat’s offensive “This is why kids under 5 or 6 should not be on planes. It is complete bullshit to subject a group of people who are already miserable from TSA, the baggage fees, and the lack of legroom to a screaming kid.” One would think that my writing that “as long as parents are making a good-faith effort to deal with the kid then I’m okay with it” made it obvious to anyone reading all the way through that I wasn’t talking about devil-child and companion. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-screams-nonstop-for-8-hour-flight/808982/89 "2018-02-18T20:54:23Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > I’d watch that movie. You sure? It’s 8 hours long, and they lock the theater doors. > [@Guinastasia](#): > > If that plane had hit turbulance, I can only imagine what would’ve happened to him. I assume the pilot was looking for some. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-screams-nonstop-for-8-hour-flight/808982/90 "2018-02-18T21:22:12Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > You sure? It’s 8 hours long, and they lock the theater doors. Still better than an Adam Sandler marathon. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-screams-nonstop-for-8-hour-flight/808982/91 "2018-02-19T12:07:40Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > This was not simply a toddler having a your typical meltdown and I think you know that. This kid was not throwing himself on the ground and kicking and crying. This was a kid was some serious issues and mom wasn’t doing shit. > > (And no, I’m not saying he should’ve been spanked. But doing nothing isn’t the answer either) The video is less than five minutes long, and shows the mother trying to distract and seat the child in at least two places. That may also be her standing in the aisle with another child wrapped around her talking to him. What makes you think she did nothing the whole eight hours? Many children in such situations respond well to gentle distractions from new people. My point is that trying to help meet the needs of those suffering in your vicinity is much more productive than filming them and heaping disapprobation onto their pile of problems. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-screams-nonstop-for-8-hour-flight/808982/92 "2018-02-19T12:31:39Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Everyone that is making comments against the parents can burn straight in hell for all I am concerned. I had it happen to me with my daughter on a flight back from France to Boston. She screamed the entire time on an overnight flight when she was barely 2 years old. I did everything possible to get her to stop but it just didn’t work. > > I finally just commandeered a lavatory with the permission of the flight attendants and kept her there over the Atlantic for hours to minimize the inconvenience to the other passengers but I couldn’t eliminate it. I was the most stressed person on the entire flight. We took her straight to the doctor as soon as possible after landing and it turned out that she had a dangerous bowel obstruction. One gigantic poop later fixed it. She really was in a lot of pain and that was the only way she could communicate it at the time. > > People with small children need to travel for all kinds of reasons too. Some of those children scream for various reasons and it probably has nothing to do with parenting. The parents are probably the ones most concerned about it but that doesn’t mean that they can stop it on demand. I don’t know if it’s just the SDMB, or online communities in general, but the prevailing notion that “If the parents just did X, this couldn’t possibly have happened” is just so much bullshit. Sometimes, things simply don’t turn out like we want them to be and defy even our best-intentioned attempts to bring them under control. I’ve been on flights (and train journeys) where children cried loudly/screamed for hours on end. It’s unpleasant to endure, but it’s also not completely avoidable. The reality is simply: life doesn’t always provide the comfort and peace I would desire - too bad. There is not always someone to blame. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-screams-nonstop-for-8-hour-flight/808982/93 "2018-02-19T13:08:56Z")
NB: I did watch the video. I’ve seen worse. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-screams-nonstop-for-8-hour-flight/808982/94 "2018-02-19T18:42:00Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Obviously the passengers prayers weren’t answered - the plane didn’t crash. There are never gremlins around when you need them. I would be yelling to have my money back. Let the lawyers figure out why I deserve it. ---
**Author:** ![UCBearcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/77aa72/32.png) [@UCBearcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UCBearcats)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2018, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-screams-nonstop-for-8-hour-flight/808982/95 "2018-02-20T01:28:45Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > I was also responding to other parents who wrote how hard it was to fly with their own upset children, and UCBearcat’s offensive “This is why kids under 5 or 6 should not be on planes. It is complete bullshit to subject a group of people who are already miserable from TSA, the baggage fees, and the lack of legroom to a screaming kid.” One would think that my writing that “as long as parents are making a good-faith effort to deal with the kid then I’m okay with it” made it obvious to anyone reading all the way through that I wasn’t talking about devil-child and companion. Why is it offensive? If I can’t scream for 8 hours on a flight, why should some kid be allowed? ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2018, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-screams-nonstop-for-8-hour-flight/808982/96 "2018-02-20T01:38:11Z")
I was on a five-hour flight recently in the row across the aisle from a baby that cried the whole time. In that case, it was an infant, and the parents said that he was teething, and they really did try to console him and calm him, so I felt more sympathetic, but I was still exhausted and frustrated by the end of the flight. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2018, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-screams-nonstop-for-8-hour-flight/808982/97 "2018-02-20T01:49:07Z")
> [@UCBearcats](#): > > Why is it offensive? If I can’t scream for 8 hours on a flight, why should some kid be allowed? because at some point, they’re young enough where that’s pretty much all they can do. On my first flight back from Japan, near me was a south Asian family (didn’t know nationality) with their 2-3 year old daughter, she went through periods of crying. no big deal, it’s what kids that age do. the kid in the video wasn’t fussing or crying out of discomfort or other normal infant/toddler stuff. that was something else entirely. ---
**Author:** ![chaika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chaika/32/405_2.png) [@chaika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaika)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2018, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-screams-nonstop-for-8-hour-flight/808982/98 "2018-02-20T02:06:09Z")
I agree with others that this child may well have ASD. Is he nonverbal? I couldn’t tell if he actually said any words. If he is on the autism spectrum (and I realize that is just speculation), I have great sympathy for him and his parents. He seemed to be in the throes of a meltdown. Having said that, I’m also wondering why the parents didn’t put any strategies in place to help him calm down. Just letting him climb on the seats and run down the aisle doesn’t seem like much of a plan. It is absolutely the parents’ responsibility to support him and figure out how to engage with him. They owe that first and foremost to their child, though of course it’s also the decent, considerate thing to be conscious of how your child’s behavior is affecting other people. Especially in an enclosed space like a plane. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2018, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-screams-nonstop-for-8-hour-flight/808982/99 "2018-02-20T02:39:10Z")
Another reason I am glad that I had a vasectomy. Best $400 I ever spent. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2018, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-screams-nonstop-for-8-hour-flight/808982/100 "2018-02-20T03:05:49Z")
> [@chaika](#): > > I agree with others that this child may well have ASD. Is he nonverbal? I couldn’t tell if he actually said any words. If he is on the autism spectrum (and I realize that is just speculation), I have great sympathy for him and his parents. He seemed to be in the throes of a meltdown. > > Having said that, I’m also wondering why the parents didn’t put any strategies in place to help him calm down. Just letting him climb on the seats and run down the aisle doesn’t seem like much of a plan. It is absolutely the parents’ responsibility to support him and figure out how to engage with him. They owe that first and foremost to their child, though of course it’s also the decent, considerate thing to be conscious of how your child’s behavior is affecting other people. Especially in an enclosed space like a plane. If he was newly adopted, as some of us have speculated, his parent(s) may not have figured out yet what works for him. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-screams-nonstop-for-8-hour-flight/808982.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-screams-nonstop-for-8-hour-flight/808982.md?page=6)