Travelling with a baby in hand has never been easy for parents. It is stressful because your baby might just decide to cry throughout the flight duration. It is not easy because you will be ‘judged’ by the passengers next to you – me. I also know of a few friends who would literally ‘roll’ their eyes when there is an infant flying together in the same cabin.
The first step to good parenting, coming from me, a non-parent, is to pacify your child at the sound of his/her first whinge. This is to ensure that your child does not disturb the peace of other passengers. Right?
The second step is to prepare your fellow passengers on what’s coming by handing out a goodie bag with a note of explanation. Right?
Right.
This is not the first time a parent has gone the extra mile to seek the understanding of their fellow passengers. In 2012,
Hi Stranger!
My name is Madeline. I will be 1 on December 17th and this is my first flight. ‘I’ll try to be on my best behaviour, but I’d like to apologize in advance if I lose my cool, get scared or my ears hurt. My mom and dad packed you this goodies bag with a few treats. There are also ear plugs in case my first public serenade isn’t as enjoyable to you as it is to my mom and dad. Have a great flight!
Then in 2014, another parent did the same thing. Parents Christina Diaz and Michael Rubinstein of two 14-week-old twins distributed sweets to passengers in anticipation of the new-born babies disturbing other flyers.
The note reads:
‘We’re twin baby boys on our first flight and we’re only 14 weeks old! We’ll try to be on our best behavior, but we’d like to apologize in advance just in case we lose our cool, get scared or our ears hurt. Our mom and dad (AKA our portable milk machine and our diaper changer) have ear plugs available if you need them.’
Then again recently, a parent flying from South Korea to San Francisco…
The note reads:
Hello, I’m Junwoo and I’m 4 months old. Today, I am going to the U.S. with my mom and grandmon to see my aunt. I’m a little bit nervous and scary because it’s my first flight of my life, which means that I may cry or make too m uch noise. I will try to go quietly, though I can’t make any promises. Please excuse me. So my mom prepared little goodie bag for you! it has some candies and earplugs. Please use it when it’s too noisy because of me. Enjoy your trip. Thank you. :’)
I think it was a nice gesture by giving out ear plugs and candies. However, to prepare, pack and carry 200 packets of these goodie bags onboard must be heavy! Some netizens (fellow parents maybe) have stood out condemning such acts because ‘Babies are babies, and sometimes they cry. Everyone needs to just accept that reality and get over it.’
What do you think?