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Toddler terrorism In a story dated Jan. 23 posted on AmericaOnLine, “AirTran Airways defended its decision to remove a Massachusetts couple from a flight after their crying 3-year-old daughter refused to take her seat before takeoff. AirTran officials said they followed Federal Aviation Administration rules that children age 2 and above must have their own seat and be wearing a seat belt upon takeoff.’ “’The flight was already delayed 15 minutes and in fairness to the other 112 passengers on the plane, the crew made an operational decision to remove the family,’ AirTran spokeswoman Judy Graham-Weaver said. Julie and Gerry Kulesza, who were headed home to Boston on Jan. 14 from Fort Myers, said they just needed a little more time to calm their daughter, Elly. “’We weren’t given an opportunity to hold her, console her or anything,’ Julie Kulesza said in a telephone interview Tuesday. The Kuleszas said they told a flight attendant they had paid for their daughter’s seat, but asked whether she could sit in her mother’s lap. The request was denied. She was removed because ‘she was climbing under the seat and hitting the parents and wouldn’t get in her seat’ during boarding, Graham-Weaver said. “The Orlando-based carrier reimbursed the family $595.80, the cost of the three tickets, and the Kuleszas flew home the next day. They also were offered three roundtrip tickets anywhere the airline flies, Graham-Weaver said. The father said his family would never fly AirTran again.” Well, that’s great news for AirTran passengers! I love kids. I helped to raise three sons and am the proud grandfather of nine grandchildren (three boys, six girls), so I have great sympathies for parents who encounter stubborn children. However, it seems to me that an increasing number of parents are falling victim to “toddler-terrorism.” You see the little toddler-terrorists everywhere these days. I once watched a 6-year-old boy slap his mother full in the face in a public place. Her response? “Now honey, you must not do that,” as he continued to rage and wail. His reason? Mommy said he would have to wait to get something he was demanding. A few months ago, in a large bookstore, a mother was gently dragging her little toddler-terrorist toward the checkout counter. The daughter was purple with rage, screaming loud enough to be heard in the next county, and flailing her arms and kicking because her mother hadn’t bought her what she wanted. The mother looked at my horrified face and said with a smile, “Well, what can one do?” I can think of a few things one can do, none pleasant for the toddler-terrorist. Oh, and the mother did relent and give in to the terrorist’s demands. It is common in restaurants to observe children running through the place, chasing each other, screaming, and ruining the meals of other patrons. My children never did that. All it took, when they began to misbehave, was one question from me: “Do we need to go to the rest room?” They understood that the question was their only warning. Once we were headed for the rest room (assuming they didn’t ask to go for reasons of necessity), their doom was sealed. Usually, each child only had to go to the rest room once before enlightenment came. I refuse to believe that two grown adults cannot put a 3-year-old girl in an airline seat. For the record, here’s how you do it: (1) Pick her up (2) Put her in the seat (3) Fasten the seat belt. Now wasn’t that simple? It drives me nuts to see parents try to reason with, cajole, bribe, or beg when it comes to disciplining small children. Toddlers do not understand reason, and cajoling, bribing and begging put the parent at the mercy of the toddler-terrorist, something the children figure out in a hurry. In a poll conducted by AOL regarding the question, “With whom do your sympathies lie most?” in the AirTran incident, the response of over 260,000 people produced the following results: The other flyers – 69 percent It may be that parents raising toddler-terrorists are not aware that their kids inflicts misery on the people around them — fliers, shoppers, diners, or others unfortunate enough to be in their presence. The parents need to overcome their denial now before these kids morph into “teenage terrorists,” which will make these early days seem like a walk in the park. login to post comments | Father David Epps's blog
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