plane etiquette with 18 mo
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Anonymous
18 mo is on a 6 hour flight next week with me. She loves playing apps on the iPad, and I have a few movies that I'm going to allow her to watch. I hope that will allow her to pass most of the flight in peace. BUT, she hates the kid earphones I got her. She screams every time I put them on. Is it completely rude to have her watch movies/make noise on iPad w/o headphones? I'm not sure what my options are...I've been trying the headphones for a week, and no luck  .
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Anonymous
| IME, the ambient noise of the airplane is loud enough that you can have the device on at low volume and people in other rows will not hear it. Not entirely sure about whether someone directly sitting next to you would or not, but I might give it a shot. I personally would rather hear a quieted down Elmo or Dora than a screaming kid, so there's that. |
Anonymous
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Not necessarily, PP. I have been behind a family that did not use earphones for their two kids on the hand held device they had. They had one set, and the Mom is like, "How are the both supposed to watch?" And I'm like, "You didn't think about this until now?"
It made for a really sucky flight. These were kids who were old enough to be entertained in other ways. With an 18 month old...I'd be more sympathetic, but not very. |
Anonymous
| A kid watching a movie made for a sucky flight? I'm not sure I get it. |
Anonymous
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1. You are a considerate person to be thinking of this and preparing for it.
2. I would much prefer a muted down movie to a screaming child. Especially since, as someone pointed out, there is a lot of "hum/din" on a plane that will drown out things. (But that does not, ever, under any circumstances, seem to drown out a screaming baby!) If someone asks you about why you don't have headphones, I think you can explain it just as you have explained it here. And this is advice coming from a person who is childless and not very tolerant of kids on planes. Honestly, if a mom said to me: "She will scream if I put on the headphones but I will turn the volume down as much as I can and she'll stay calm if I can turn this movie on," I would say "Got it, thanks very much," put on my headphones, open my book, and not think about it further. If you want to go an extra step, you can bring disposable earplugs for the folks next to you but I don't think that's necessary. Good luck; you will do well. |
Anonymous
| My kid will not wear headphones either. I'd rather a well behaved kid on the iPad than a screaming one. Just keep the volume low and do the best you can. |
Anonymous
| Definitely not ok, OP. Just keep telling yourself "no one else has to care about my kid." People want to travel in peace. |
Anonymous
Yes, of course people want to travel in peace and nobody should have to care about OP's kid, but it's a question of picking one's poison, not of creating a perfect world. If the question is whether OP is going to have a mildly noisy movie vs. having a screaming, fidgeting kicking toddler, I will pick the midly noisy movie, thank you. There is not going to be any flight in which one will hear absolutely no noise of children whatsoever. You need to be realistic. |
Anonymous
| Don't worry about it. Better to keep her entertained. |
Anonymous
| I'd see if you can find a few things that are still fun to "watch" without the volume on...if that doesn't work I agree with 13:46 |
Anonymous
As a frequent flyer, I much prefer hearing the noise an IPad to those of screaming child . |
Anonymous
| 13:26: Listening to mindless little kids videos was not my ideal way of spending a 6 hour flight. And, let's face it, playing anything with volume on on a plane is rude, period. No adult would get away with that. There is more than one way to entertain your child. If you plan to use the videos without the headphones, bring disposable ear plugs like a PP suggested. If you're trying to be considerate and thinking this far in advance, that is the appropriate measure. |
Anonymous
| As long as the kid isn't kicking the seat behind me the whole time, I am pretty understanding on planes and understand that you need to do what you need to do. I always make it a point to apologize in advance for anything my kid does that annoys people and that generally softens them up a little. |
Anonymous
+1. However, I do feel uncomfortable doing it myself-- though it's quite possible, probable even, that the sound of me reading to my child, singing songs with her, and trying to entertain her with silly stories and games played with the dollar store toys I picked up the day before, is far more annoying than Elmo. Another option is videos that are entertaining even without sound...for an 18-month old, I think that might be do-able. Or is there anything you can do to make the headphones palatable? Call them a "headband" and put a bow and stickers on them? Give her rewards for wearing them? Bribes on a plane, as long as you bring enough to keep them coming, can be wonderful. |
Anonymous
Yeah, I think you need to have the sound LOWER than you would need it to be for 2 kids to watch it. I mean, when I did this, *I* couldn't hear it clearly, and my kid was a lap child. It's quite possible HE couldn't hear it either but he was too young to complain. 
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