No shiat!

Parents with crying kids is spot on. It's not even so much the crying kids that's the most annoying, it's the parents who either ignore it, or think it's cute.

\Your child has never done anything that every other baby hasn't done
\\None of it is cute
\\\All of it is annoying

Babies cry. That's just how they are. Getting upset about it is like getting upset about the sun for rising in the east. But grownups sitting in their own funk cloud? That's unreasonable.

Bad odor like how? I once had the unfortunate chance of coming within smelling distance (10-15 feet) of a hobo in wal-mart that smelled so foul that it literally stung my nasal cavities. I'll take the baby.

I have a special gift. I can fall asleep next to a cement mixer full of bowling balls, broken glass, and skunks. This comes in handy on domestic flights, bus trips, and the line to get your driver's license renewed ;)

No. Earplugs or headphones take care of crying brat.

That said, parents, at least try to control / comfort / entertain your kid(s).

Study is wrong. Body odor is wrong. Airports should tell passengers they have bad odor and make them do something aboot it.

/how does body odor get passed TSA

i can breathe through my mouth but i cant turn off my ears.

This is why I always give my offspring Children's Benedryl before traveling.

Nothing like a little antihistamine to take the edge off a kid.

I would much rather travel with the kids. Eventually the kids will stop crying and at the very least I can put my headphones on to drown out the noise. It is not as easy to drown out the stench, and unless the person actually takes a shower and puts on some clean clothes that stink is not going to stop.

Before I go on any flight, I eat a pound or two of chili. Once I am on the flight, I like to pretend I am asleep while farting non-stop. Most people would prefer the crying baby to this. I don't even know why I do this, except for the sheer amusement.

flyinghouse99: Bad odor like how? I once had the unfortunate chance of coming within smelling distance (10-15 feet) of a hobo in wal-mart that smelled so foul that it literally stung my nasal cavities. I'll take the baby.

That hobo is the sound equivalent to an opera singer screaming directly into your ear. Poor comparison, but point taken.

Imo, a bad odor gets tuned out (odd choice of phrasing there) while a screaming child cannot be.

The Angry Hand of God: Before I go on any flight, I eat a pound or two of chili. Once I am on the flight, I like to pretend I am asleep while farting non-stop. Most people would prefer the crying baby to this. I don't even know why I do this, except for the sheer amusement.

You should up the ante and hit the indian buffet before hand next time.

Yeah, I'm gonna go with the crying. But, if I knew I was going to have to make that choice before boarding, I'd consider changing flights. I had to sit next to Mr. BO once and the worst part is he knew he stank but he couldn't even bother to splash some soapy water on his pits before boarding a plane. "Sorry, man." I mean he was aware that he stank and aware that stinking in a closed space is frowned upon in our society yet he didn't do anything about it. And they let him board.

Annoyance: The Angry Hand of God: Before I go on any flight, I eat a pound or two of chili. Once I am on the flight, I like to pretend I am asleep while farting non-stop. Most people would prefer the crying baby to this. I don't even know why I do this, except for the sheer amusement.

You should up the ante and hit the indian buffet before hand next time.

Or hell ... you could just try flying WITH an Indian ... I have honestly never met a singular ethnic group that stinks this bad ...

It's a close call. I like the look on a mother's face when I say "what a horrible mother". I do this at Walmart every time I go. I also enjoy asking smelly people (especially ones that I'll never see again) "what is that aweful smell?" when it's obvious where it's coming from. I used to do this at Phish concerts a lot.

This thread is missing one category: fat people.

I'd take a roll of fat on my arm over a crying baby, but not body odor.

Last time I rode Greyhound, I had to sit next to an old Pakistani guy that was rubbing Romano cheese on his feet for 1300 miles.

I'm so proud of you, Fark. You got it right. (Baby will run out of vinegar at some point, but Pepe le Pew is going to reek the entire way... in fact, his condition will worsen as time elapses.)

Tough call, honestly. Screaming babies are bad. Stanky people are bad. I don't really like either.

The worst would be a stanky screaming baby, which probably happens pretty often given that they tend to crap themselves.

Speaker2Animals: The kids eventually quiet down when they get fed, diaper changed, etc. The stink doesn't go away until the offender gets home and takes a shower and changes his clothes.

Luckily though, we humans are built to become largely unaware of the offending smell after prolonged exposure. You would 'get used to it'. Also, with a decent overhead air jet, you could pretty much negate the offending smell with the circulated air. Assuming said funk was not enough to permeate the entire cabin, the odor really isn't the worst option.

CSB time.

I was taking a flight back from Colombia (once I finally got out of there, but that's another story) that had a couple of women transporting a baby. This baby cried a bit and that might have been more annoying if it wasn't a few rows up and across the aisle. However, what really go my attention was when the woman in the aisle-seat stood up and held a blanket over their seats to prevent people from watching as her traveling mate CHANGED THE DAMNED BABY'S DIAPER! Yes, rather than go to the lavatory with a changing table (and the requisite privacy), they thought it would be more appropriate to change the baby right there in the seat. That smell hit the entire plane judging by the biatching that I heard. Needless to say, none of the attendants said anything.

Sucks to be a traveler I guess. Shrug.

seadoo2006: Annoyance: The Angry Hand of God: Before I go on any flight, I eat a pound or two of chili. Once I am on the flight, I like to pretend I am asleep while farting non-stop. Most people would prefer the crying baby to this. I don't even know why I do this, except for the sheer amusement.

You should up the ante and hit the indian buffet before hand next time.

Or hell ... you could just try flying WITH an Indian ... I have honestly never met a singular ethnic group that stinks this bad ...

Koreans are pretty close...ever smell kimchi sweat?

wattimus: Study is wrong. Body odor is wrong. Airports should tell passengers they have bad odor and make them do something aboot it.

/how does body odor get passed TSA

While I like where you are going with your thought process, unfortunately, finding odors offensive is subjective.

/also, 'past' or 'passed by the'

I know I'm not the only person who finds a little whiff of BO to be hot, coming from the right hairy armpits.

imprimere: Speaker2Animals: The kids eventually quiet down when they get fed, diaper changed, etc. The stink doesn't go away until the offender gets home and takes a shower and changes his clothes.

Luckily though, we humans are built to become largely unaware of the offending smell after prolonged exposure. You would 'get used to it'. Also, with a decent overhead air jet, you could pretty much negate the offending smell with the circulated air. Assuming said funk was not enough to permeate the entire cabin, the odor really isn't the worst option.

CSB time.

I was taking a flight back from Colombia (once I finally got out of there, but that's another story) that had a couple of women transporting a baby. This baby cried a bit and that might have been more annoying if it wasn't a few rows up and across the aisle. However, what really go my attention was when the woman in the aisle-seat stood up and held a blanket over their seats to prevent people from watching as her traveling mate CHANGED THE DAMNED BABY'S DIAPER! Yes, rather than go to the lavatory with a changing table (and the requisite privacy), they thought it would be more appropriate to change the baby right there in the seat. That smell hit the entire plane judging by the biatching that I heard. Needless to say, none of the attendants said anything.

The EXACT same thing happened to me on a flight from Denver to Salt Lake. I'm sure the new mother didn't think the plane lavatory was capable of holding the incredible stench let fly by the infant's colon but my good God I don't think to this day I have had to endure anything that smelled as bad. I mean, dead animal in a burning tire in the middle of a hot summer would have been preferred to that smell. Holy carp.

vice_magnet: imprimere: Speaker2Animals: The kids eventually quiet down when they get fed, diaper changed, etc. The stink doesn't go away until the offender gets home and takes a shower and changes his clothes.

Luckily though, we humans are built to become largely unaware of the offending smell after prolonged exposure. You would 'get used to it'. Also, with a decent overhead air jet, you could pretty much negate the offending smell with the circulated air. Assuming said funk was not enough to permeate the entire cabin, the odor really isn't the worst option.

CSB time.

I was taking a flight back from Colombia (once I finally got out of there, but that's another story) that had a couple of women transporting a baby. This baby cried a bit and that might have been more annoying if it wasn't a few rows up and across the aisle. However, what really go my attention was when the woman in the aisle-seat stood up and held a blanket over their seats to prevent people from watching as her traveling mate CHANGED THE DAMNED BABY'S DIAPER! Yes, rather than go to the lavatory with a changing table (and the requisite privacy), they thought it would be more appropriate to change the baby right there in the seat. That smell hit the entire plane judging by the biatching that I heard. Needless to say, none of the attendants said anything.

The EXACT same thing happened to me on a flight from Denver to Salt Lake. I'm sure the new mother didn't think the plane lavatory was capable of holding the incredible stench let fly by the infant's colon but my good God I don't think to this day I have had to endure anything that smelled as bad. I mean, dead animal in a burning tire in the middle of a hot summer would have been preferred to that smell. Holy carp.

Yeah, I pretty much filed that one away under the 'Now I've seen it all on an airplane' tab. It really makes you wonder if people are that dense or if they really and truly don't give a sh*t what you find offensive. I'm telling you right now though, once I hit 65, I'm gonna let people ask that same question about me!

Your brain acclimates to smells pretty fast.

Biatchy kids remain biatchy the whole time. In fact they're evolutionarily designed to be perfect little annoyance machines because it keeps us from forgetting about them.

Speaker2Animals: The kids eventually quiet down when they get fed, diaper changed, etc. The stink doesn't go away until the offender gets home and takes a shower and changes his clothes.

This.

I hate the assumption that crying kids neglectful parents. Kids can cry for all sorts of reasons, some that have nothing to do with parenting. If the kid is jetlagged and unable to sleep--noisy engines and passengers and stiff vertical seat aren't as comfortable as your bed at home--there's not all that much a parent can do. Same thing with missed meals or naps. Plus, kids just can't remain motionless for several hours at a time; they have energy and they need to move around. But if you try to walk up and down the aisle with your kid, the flight attendants turn all biatchy on you.

Heck, even adults get loud and cranky, too, after they been stuck in a flying sardine tin for several hours straight without a decent meal or shut-eye. How can you reasonably expect a baby or toddler to be any better?

As much as I wish I could "make" my kid shut up on demand, her vocal cords are attached to her brain, not mine. I have no control over what comes over her mouth. I can influence (through bribes or whatnot) her, but I can't control her.

\flown with my kid 4 times now
\\she's never once cried on a flight
\\\knock on wood

inglixthemad: No. Earplugs or headphones take care of crying brat.

That said, parents, at least try to control / comfort / entertain your kid(s).


I have never encountered a parent on a flight who willfully ignored his/her child when crying. Is this an urban myth or something real?

clyph: This is why I always give my offspring Children's Benedryl before traveling.

Nothing like a little antihistamine to take the edge off a kid.

This works for SOME kids, not all. Some turn scarily hyperactive on Benadryl. Plus, kids can (and do) overdose. My pediatrician refuses to tell us what a "safe" dose of the stuff is--he says you should never give Benadryl to any child for any non-medical reason--and I'm not about to risk possible hyperactivity or overdose so Joe Schmoe in the seat in front of me can avoid turning his earphone dial up to 11.

\Again, my kids has never cried on a flight.
\\Lucky, I guess.

profplump: Cthulhu_is_my_homeboy: In fact they're evolutionarily designed to be perfect little annoyance machines because it keeps us from forgetting about them.

People say that, but if it's true I must lack that gene, because I have no trouble ignoring them. I mean, they are loud which is annoying all by itself, but I have no more trouble ignoring the sound of crying than the sound of a vacuum cleaner. I'm much more annoyed by an excited 4-year-old that isn't crying but is constantly making noise, much of which is talking, generally in short, repeated sentences, interspersed with non-word yells and squeals, often both while inhaling and exhaling. I get tired just listening to them; I can't imagine how they can keep up with making all that noise.

I'm gonna guess that you aren't a parent. When I was single, I too could more easily ignore a crying child. In fact, I'd only get annoyed if parents weren't paying attention to me and instead attending to their whiny little crotch-fruits. Now, when my child cries; it is like a direct line to that last nerve. If I could weaponize that feeling, I could rule the world.

L.D. Ablo: This thread is missing one category: fat people.

I'd take a roll of fat on my arm over a crying baby, but not body odor.

Seems like you could just stuff a crying baby into the fat folds, and they'd provide good sound insulation.

Between crying babies, the 5 year old who decides it would be fun to kick the back of your seat (and their parents who do nothing about it after you tell them several times) and all the other annoyances kids and shiatty parents provide, I'm quite surprised no-one has stolen my "if I ever get super-rich" business idea of an airline with a strict "no-one under the age of 18" policy on passengers.

I prefer sitting behind the fat, farting passenger on transocean flights myself. There's always the special treat of the person next vomiting from the stench.

Yeah, I'd prefer subby over kids.

Gosh, that's a tough choice, as much as I dislike the crying children, the crying will eventually stop (hopefully) but the funk will not. I have a very sensitive nose and have a hard time being near someone with body odor. The last time I flew to Germany in summer, I was behind a very smelly family and was totally nauseated until I had to force myself to sleep with a little benedryl.

FizixJunkee: Speaker2Animals: The kids eventually quiet down when they get fed, diaper changed, etc. The stink doesn't go away until the offender gets home and takes a shower and changes his clothes.

This.

I hate the assumption that crying kids neglectful parents. Kids can cry for all sorts of reasons, some that have nothing to do with parenting. If the kid is jetlagged and unable to sleep--noisy engines and passengers and stiff vertical seat aren't as comfortable as your bed at home--there's not all that much a parent can do. Same thing with missed meals or naps. Plus, kids just can't remain motionless for several hours at a time; they have energy and they need to move around. But if you try to walk up and down the aisle with your kid, the flight attendants turn all biatchy on you.

Heck, even adults get loud and cranky, too, after they been stuck in a flying sardine tin for several hours straight without a decent meal or shut-eye. How can you reasonably expect a baby or toddler to be any better?

As much as I wish I could "make" my kid shut up on demand, her vocal cords are attached to her brain, not mine. I have no control over what comes over her mouth. I can influence (through bribes or whatnot) her, but I can't control her.

\flown with my kid 4 times now
\\she's never once cried on a flight
\\\knock on wood

FizixJunkee: inglixthemad: No. Earplugs or headphones take care of crying brat.

That said, parents, at least try to control / comfort / entertain your kid(s).


I have never encountered a parent on a flight who willfully ignored his/her child when crying. Is this an urban myth or something real?

FizixJunkee: clyph: This is why I always give my offspring Children's Benedryl before traveling.

Nothing like a little antihistamine to take the edge off a kid.

This works for SOME kids, not all. Some turn scarily hyperactive on Benadryl. Plus, kids can (and do) overdose. My pediatrician refuses to tell us what a "safe" dose of the stuff is--he says you should never give Benadryl to any child for any non-medical reason--and I'm not about to risk possible hyperactivity or overdose so Joe Schmoe in the seat in front of me can avoid turning his earphone dial up to 11.

\Again, my kids has never cried on a flight.
\\Lucky, I guess.

YOU, Madam, are a silly breeder and all of your palavering about your urchin's needs, preferences, habits are annoying. No one cares. Stay home with the fleshloaf and leave the paying customers alone. No one cares, your fleshloaf will not be President, will not cure cancer, will only be a lifetime pain in the patoot.
Keep it home.

When I flew from San Diego to Nashville, I was able to pre-board as I had my 3 year old son with me. As did a woman with an infant. Before the plane took off, my son was looking around, asking questions, and what not. I watched as person after person looked at the empty seat next to me, then my son, and decided to move on. Once we were in the air, my son fell asleep in my lap. The infant in the back of the plane screamed the entire flight. So those people who were thinking "I am NOT going to sit next to this woman and her brat" endured screaming I could hear from the back of the plane. Oh, I was three rows back from the door.

I leaned into the corner of the seat and the window and looked out of it, with my son peacefully sleeping on my lap, the whole flight. The flight attendants were so surprised that I sat there for the entire 5-hour flight that they put down my tray, put drinks on it for me, opened the snack packages for me, and gathered my trash and threw it away. One even offered to hold him once so I could use the bathroom. I politely declined. He is my responsibility, and I could pee once I got to the airport. They were so happy, I swear they were in tears (maybe not)

About 20 minutes before the plane landed, one came up to me and said that I had to put him back in his seat to prepare for landing. I gently woke him up, got him some apple juice and a snack, and put him in the seat. He giggled when the landing gear came down. He got a little freaked at the banking and the wheels hitting the landing strip, but that lasted a minute. The baby in the back? STILL screaming.

Other times I fly with him, I bring new toys (bought at the dollar store) and I buy snacks after getting thru security. I also bring new books. He never acts up.

I am a lucky girl that I have a good kid.