+1. PPs have convinced themselves that the preposterous is commonplace. If I had to choose one public place where I thought my kids would be most safe from pedophiles it would be on a plane. |
Or that they'll lose your kid: http://bobsutton.typepad.com/my_weblog/2012/08/united-airlines-lost-my-friends-10-year-old-daughter-and-didnt-care.html |
| The airline probably had lots of requests from parents to not seat them next to men, and administratively it would make sense to just create a policy so that kids are never next to men. Eliminates the need to go back into a reservation and change or check anything. That's my guess. Are there really men out there that are complaining about not getting to sit next to a child? Really? |
So I was thinking about this, and thinking about how someone might prey on a child in the plane environment. While I think there is limited opportunity for foul play, a predator could say things or show the child things that make him/her uncomfortable, etc. Either way, I still think it's a good idea for airlines to keep registered sex offenders from sitting directly next to a child. |
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No airline can be expected to check whether every man on every flight is a registered sex offender.
If you are that worried, it's pretty easy not to put your kid on a plane alone. |
+1 Don't want your child to sit next to a man while flying alone? Don't let the child fly alone! |
Adult women have been sexually assaulted on planes while asleep. I think sometimes the offender will use a blanket to cover up what they are doing. |
Give me a freaking break! I'm sorry that I cannot take off or the grandparents can't afford to buy an extra ticket to come here, then go back with the kids. Of course kids should be able to fly alone. Shelter your kids and they will be strange - probably like you. |
| Ok 7:06, so if you put your kid on a bus and it crashes, is that also the parents' fault for sending their kid out into the world unaccompanied? You're crazy. And mean. |
| I hope none of you are raising boys. |
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I've been flying alone since I was 12. To Europe.
My mother would put me on the plane in DC and my grandmother picked me up on the otherside. I don't recall ever being seated next to a man as a child - often just other children. For those of you who won't let your "kids" fly alone - you are creating a society of weak people. People who are afraid to leave this country (maybe go to Cancun for an exotic trip). Wake up! Give your kids a sense of adventure. A sense of strength. Or, are you the same people who don't let them have overnight trips? To far from mommy's apron strings? |
Not sure when you flew last, but they don't have blankets on planes anymore. |
Yes they actually still do. Just not on every plane on every seat. |
This. |
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My 10 year old DD flew to Europe alone this summer. She had a blast, they took very good care of her, and she was seated next to other kids flying alone. She even got bumped up to Business on the flight home. As she put it, "Mommy, they updated me to Business Class!!"
Relax everyone - it's not a big deal. |