Mom/toddler thrown from plane

WOW just wow. I realize people get upset with babies/kids when they cry or get nosiy. but kicking a child and mum from a plane for this is just stupid! Then suggesting to sedate your child as well. I would fire her. I seen and heard way worse on a plane



ATLANTA - A woman said she and her toddler son were kicked off a plane after she refused a flight attendant's request to medicate her son to get him to quiet down and stop saying "Bye bye, plane."



Kate Penland, of suburban Atlanta, said she and her 19-month-old son, Garren, were flying from Atlanta to Oklahoma last month on a Continental Express flight that made a stop in Houston.

As the plane was taxiing in Houston en route to Oklahoma, "he started saying 'Bye, bye plane,' Penland told WSB-TV in Atlanta. The flight attendant objected, she said.

"At the end of her speech, she leaned over the gentleman beside me and said, 'It's not funny anymore. You need to shut your baby up,'" Penland told WSB-TV in Atlanta.

When Penland asked the woman if she was joking, she said the stewardess replied, "You know, it's called baby Benadryl."

"And I said, 'Well, I'm not going to drug my child so you have a pleasant flight,'" Penland told the TV station.

Penland said other passengers began speaking up on her behalf, and the flight attendant announced they were turning around and that Penland and Garren were going to be taken off the plane.

Penland and her son were let off the plane and did not complete the trip to Oklahoma, said Kristy Nicholas, spokeswoman for Express Jet Airlines, which flies as Continental Express on behalf of Continental Airlines.

Attempts by the Associated Press to reach Penland under a telephone listing that matched her last name were unsuccessful.

"I was crying, I was upset and I was thinking, 'What am I going to do? I don't have anything with me, I don't have any more diapers for the baby, no juice, no milk," Penland told WSB.

Nicholas said, "We received Ms. Penland's letter expressing her concerns and intend to investigate its contents."

[Strwbrries]

the tv reported that other passengers stood up for the young mom and her baby and that the stewardess got mad. The news caster further reported that the stewardess told the pilot that the young mother "threatened her", the young mom and the passengers seated around her deny that she ever threatened the stewardess. There is an investigation going on now and the mom might sue.

[PinkPanther_04]

You know, from the title of the thread I actually expected something much worse!

The flight attendant sounds like she was way out of line and was taking her own bad day/horrible personality out on the passengers. That said, I think my mom did dope me up a bit on a flight when I was 10 months old (she also says the flight attendants carried me around trying to keep me quiet), and I drugged my cat on the drive from Texas to Florida a couple of years ago. I don't think doing something like that is a bad thing, and sometimes it's necessary, but it's certainly out of line for someone else to tell you to do so.

Originally Posted by PinkPanther_04

You know, from the title of the thread I actually expected something much worse!

The flight attendant sounds like she was way out of line and was taking her own bad day/horrible personality out on the passengers. That said, I think my mom did dope me up a bit on a flight when I was 10 months old (she also says the flight attendants carried me around trying to keep me quiet), and I drugged my cat on the drive from Texas to Florida a couple of years ago. I don't think doing something like that is a bad thing, and sometimes it's necessary, but it's certainly out of line for someone else to tell you to do so.

I meant to put *thrown off and did not know how to change the darn thing..LOL GO ME

I am thinking she will be fired. Sounds to me maybe she is the one who needed some of those alcoholic drinks to relax and not be so crappy to the lady and the baby

[Kristin]

I'm sorry, but that would piss me off.

I'm not planning on drugging MY baby when we fly to Florida!!

Children are just as much a part of our society as adults are and they are, by nature, noisy and messy.

But there wouldn't BE any flights to Florida or anywhere else if not for human children (who grew up.)

Regardless of if they are your children or not, without them, the human race would die out. So buck it up and deal with the fact that there are children in the world and respect the fact that there are people out there willing to do all of the work to feed, clothe & raise the future doctors, politicians, scientists and even airline stewardesses who make your life better.

On that note, I do also believe that if you took on that responsibility, you should have control of your child. But there is a difference between a chatty child and a screaming or running out of control child.

Kristin and Celt. Great points.

I remember flying from NY to Paris and this 5 year old was just screaming kicking her mom..NOW i can understand this..Control your child.
On the way home we had a lovely chatty girl who was 4 and told us all about her life. Was a great flight.

Now this lady on the plane being asked to medicate her child for no reason because a flight attendant was not having a good day..oh Upsets me. I do hope she gets in BIG trouble for this and the lady is compensated

[Strwbrries]

Actually a lot of doctors recommend that a dose of Benadryl be given to a child before a long flight so that they dont experience any anxiety before take off. Its actually quite common.

Im split on this. I have kids and I know that my 7 year old would more than likely be a whiny little thing if it was a terribly long flight and my baby would definately cry, I have always flown alone when traveling by plane.

On one hand I feel that we as a society have a responsibility to other people to not invade their personal space and accosting them to a scream crying or annoyingly chatty child is too much to just expect other people to do especially on a long flight. We as mothers put up with our childrens annoying or bad behavior because we have to ..we're their mothers but to other people theyre just an annoying brat. I can relate to how they feel, Ive been on both ends of the situation. Flying with a constantly crying brat is enough to make you want to jump out of a plane or shove the kid in the bathroom and close the door.

So while I can sympathise with some parents, I sympathise with the passengers who paid good money and then get treated to a kid whose parent either cant, doesnt know how or wont discipline them. Man...this reminds me of the msn newsboards...dont get me started and bratty kids at malls, grocery stores and movie theatres and parents who dont do a damn thing about it. grrr. (pet peeve alert)

This situation however seems more like a stewardess on a power trip.

[legallyblonde]

Feed my baby drugs so you can have a quiet flight? Suppose he has a reaction to it and stops breathing in flight? Benadryl is a drug that also suppresses the respiratory system. You know, they've made it a law in California that you cannot compell a parent to give their child Ritalin. I saw someone snorting it at a party when I was dating my YM. Evidently it IS a party drug, these young adults have grown up on it.

There is something deeply and severely wrong with our society when this is made to happen. No one should be able to compell anyone to take drugs against their will, but I'm told it does happen.

I hope that stewie loses her job.

Ali

Please don't kill me....

I ride the train back and forth to New York everyday... it's an hour and a bit in a cramped space twice a day...

On my way to work, I am trying to get in a mode...what do I need to do today, making a call or two if I have to...

On my way home, I am trying to destress, forget about my day and concentrate on what needs to get done at home...

I have children...

As mother's we can tune out so much...

Since my kids have been with their father, I have found the sound of all that inane babble, screaming and crying, pushing on the seat with their feet, throwing things beyond distracting... it actually makes me really really stressed out, almost like the walls of the train are closing in on me...

I will not condone drugging, it just seems a little out there... but being an active parent while traveling with your child would be appreciated by many of us...

EKKKKK.... *throws on flame retardant suit and prays for mercy*

-F

Originally Posted by Firiona

Please don't kill me....

I ride the train back and forth to New York everyday... it's an hour and a bit in a cramped space twice a day...

On my way to work, I am trying to get in a mode...what do I need to do today, making a call or two if I have to...

On my way home, I am trying to destress, forget about my day and concentrate on what needs to get done at home...

I have children...

As mother's we can tune out so much...

Since my kids have been with their father, I have found the sound of all that inane babble, screaming and crying, pushing on the seat with their feet, throwing things beyond distracting... it actually makes me really really stressed out, almost like the walls of the train are closing in on me...

I will not condone drugging, it just seems a little out there... but being an active parent while traveling with your child would be appreciated by many of us...

EKKKKK.... *throws on flame retardant suit and prays for mercy*

-F

LOL!
I use bamboo shoots for my torture methods LOL

No i agree sometimes a child will go insane traveling and parents need to be prepared for this. I use to bring a plastic back with travel games, crayons books to help them out.
Now if a child is just chatty and not screaming..i dont have a problem at all.
I would not drug my child though and that flight attendant sounds to me some of the medicine would make her more relaxed LOL

[Strwbrries]

Originally Posted by Firiona

Please don't kill me....

I ride the train back and forth to New York everyday... it's an hour and a bit in a cramped space twice a day...

On my way to work, I am trying to get in a mode...what do I need to do today, making a call or two if I have to...

On my way home, I am trying to destress, forget about my day and concentrate on what needs to get done at home...

I have children...

As mother's we can tune out so much...

Since my kids have been with their father, I have found the sound of all that inane babble, screaming and crying, pushing on the seat with their feet, throwing things beyond distracting... it actually makes me really really stressed out, almost like the walls of the train are closing in on me...

I will not condone drugging, it just seems a little out there... but being an active parent while traveling with your child would be appreciated by many of us...

EKKKKK.... *throws on flame retardant suit and prays for mercy*

-F

YAY!

i agree with that comment.

[Strwbrries]

You know Airlines are now thinking about making available "adult only" flights, which I think would be great for people who dont want to deal with the kiddies.

[PinkPanther_04]

Originally Posted by Strwbrries

You know Airlines are now thinking about making available "adult only" flights, which I think would be great for people who dont want to deal with the kiddies.

Woo! I think I'd pay extra for that, at least on longer flights. I've always thought child-free sections in restaurants would be even better than smoke-free ones, too. But that's just me.

[Strwbrries]

Originally Posted by PinkPanther_04

Woo! I think I'd pay extra for that, at least on longer flights. I've always thought child-free sections in restaurants would be even better than smoke-free ones, too. But that's just me.

I agree, I mean I have 5 kids but when I make arrangements for a baby sitter and want to go out to a more upscale place to go dining, the last thing I want to hear are kids.

When I take the kids out to go eat, I always make sure its a family friendly and child appropriate place.

Movie theatres over here have banned children under 5 from attending movies over a G rating after 8pm because too many parents were taking crying kids in.

[Starrypup]

Children are a valuable part of our society. To make them invisible to others would be a shame and a loss to all of us.

Whenever I'm in a restaurant with my brother's girlfriend, she always makes a big stink about the littlest peep out of a child. I always remind her that she was once that child, and isn't she so lucky that her mom took her to restaurants and other places in society?

Support and supervision--yes, drugs-I'd never recommend them unless they met the criteria Celt mentions above!