Our Inexperience with Airplane Baby Bullies

The summer travel season is coming to a close. We took three trips this summer - one out of the country, one out of the state, and one just outside of our city. Travel has become part of every day life for us. We have spent the last five years in planes, trains and automobiles across the world.

When people talk about traveling with kids, it could be met with a groan, a sigh, or a “my kids could never handle that.” Last week I saw an article about moms who pack goodie bags to give to fellow passengers apologizing in advance for their crying babies. It’s kind of cute, I guess, and there is definitely nothing wrong with it. But it does assume other passengers are going to be annoyed and might even scare some parents out of trying to travel at all. I think that this is one big giant stereotype of traveling with kids. Although, I'm sure some of you may have horror stories to tell... we have consistently found people to be incredibly understanding and even helpful.

There is one time I remember other passengers complaining about someone in my family. Honesty time... it was ME. I was 13 and traveling on a plane for the first time. That was also the one and only time I have ever been upgraded to first class due to overbooking. My ears hurt so bad that I didn’t realize I was stomping loudly on the floor. A stewardess politely came over and asked me to stop because I was disturbing people. Oops. I was humiliated and stopped immediately. But when my 2 month old has been screaming during the ear-popping descent, I don’t ever remember feeling judged by anyone. Or maybe I was too tired to care. 

Not only have I not met these airplane baby bullies, I have met a whole lot of airplane angels. We have had other passengers help us on the plane, help unravel our luggage straps from stroller wheels, entertain our kid who was sitting across the aisle in their row and a whole host of flight attendants who gave our kids toys or made them cards saying how great it was to have them on the airplane. We have walked through airports and seen smiles light up on the faces of other travelers, who perhaps on their long and tiresome journey needed to see the bright smiles of fours kids crashing through the terminal. On our last trip by plane, Luke actually made the comment “Traveling with kids sure brings a lot of joy (dramatic pause)… to other people.”

If you are preparing for an upcoming trip or considering whether or not you should take one with your kids, don’t worry too much about the stereotypes. Go for it. Pack some extra special goodie bags for you and your kids and check out my 9 Tips for Vacationing with Kids. ​