Drugging children??

No.

YES. Or get them drunk.

I might be tempted to drug other people's.... ?

I've been tempted to drug myself before, as I'm not a good flyer!

Sedate them with what?

A prescription tranquiliser? No.

A good dose of Calpol/antihistamine? Yes.

(Not a Mum so no idea how controversial this might be)

This used to be very common with a children's medicine called 'Medised' but it is no longer available.

I have three children age 2,4, 7 and I vote for a definite YES PLEASE!!!!

Never? If you know they may be noisy/loud etc then you try and tire them out Pre-flight or take things to occupy them. Kids can be taught where it is andisnt appropriate to be noisy etc. We went long haul with 8m baby and he was fine. Although I was still bf so just shoved one in his mouth if he got a bit unsettled.

At the end of the day, if it was ok to do this for peace and quiet on a plane, it'd be ok to do it on a train, car, wherever. In fact, if it was morally and legally ok I would have done it this morning after enduring some toddler tantrums!

this

So no is my answer

Currently my answer is a no/maybe.

But if you were to ask me after i have flown return to NZ in the next couple of years with potentially two children i might have a different answer. ?

I believe it is an over the counter antihistamine that they are mainly discussing. It is from the daily fail originally it seems.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2305529/Why-I-drug-children-airplanes-We-know-hell-bawling-toddlers-flights-But-mums-controversial-solution-.html

No I wouldn't.

I'd rather not go. What if they had an adverse reaction and you were thousands of feet up in the air? (Unlikely I know, but an unnecessary risk).

Depends. Mine's only little, so no. But if he was a bit older, and either frightened of flying or very sicky, then absolutely yes.

I was often quite 'sicky' on flights and hated flying... wasn't scared, but didn't like spending hours feeling nauseous. And yes, my parents did give me antihistamine to let me sleep through it instead. I don't see anything wrong with it. It was for me, not because they couldn't be bothered with me or because they wanted "peace and quiet" or because I couldn't behave (I was a very good little girl, it was the teenage years when I turned into a terror!).

I can see this from both sides... When we went to Australia a few years ago l was that person sat there willing no young children to sit near me, the thought of a long flight with a child whingeing and crying made me want to weep. I was still scarred from a flight back from Canada a few years before where 3 children literally ran wild for 11 hours running around / shouting / kicking seats etc!! The mother just wouldn't control them despite the air stewardesses and fellow passengers (myself included) asking her to countless times. One child nearly ended up with a pot of scalding coffee over it's head as it ran straight into an air stewardess.

I can imagine children don't like flying and find it boring and uncomfortable. They also have much shorter attention spans than adults.

Due to my line of work (nurse) then l wouldn't sedate my child. But l can totally see why people do it...

Playing devils advocate if your child doesn't travel well then why do that to yourself / others?

I've yet to fly with E, we're off when she'll be 15weeks, so I guess i'll report back but my gut instinct is No, I wouldn't do it.

That said, i've done it to myself with over the counter drousy meds which I gather is the same as whats being discussed (didn't work) and my 13 year old step brother has asked for sleeping pills for the plane before.. But he was old enough to decide for himself IYSWIM.

I don't think my 16week only can be taught that the plane isn't an appropriate place for a screaming fit, and TBH I can try and teach my 5 year old niece all I like, but they are children with a mind of their own - potentially overtired and over excited - you just have to deal with it.

Because these days families do not live in the same village all their lives.

I might not have liked flying, and still don't, but am grateful to have been able to maintain a close relationship with family thousands of miles away. Skype has made things a little easier but not everyone abroad has it and it's not the same as real-life time spent with loving family.

Exactly what I was thinking...

Hmm I think this is an interesting one. Having no children myself I can't speak from experience but I'd be tempted to say I might give them an antihistamine that would make them drowsy. It would all depend on circumstance though, if the child was a nervous flyer, or as Saisi said particularly sicky. I don't think it would be something I'd do as a matter of course but if circumstances dictated then yes I might

I dont like the idea of it. But if they were ill and likely to feel rubbish throughout then perhaps but only if id spoken to a doctor about it. What if you gave them too much?! I would panic.

I dont like the idea of it. But if they were ill and likely to feel rubbish throughout then perhaps but only if id spoken to a doctor about it. What if you gave them too much?! I would panic.

I don't have children so I don't what I'd do. I feel the same though about situations like travelling/supermarkets etc. where children are upset, it's not their fault they are screaming, must be very boring and sometimes painful/frightening for them.

Along the lines of what Erin said though: When we were children we went on holiday to the seaside, in a caravan. Can't say as a toddler I missed my long haul holidays......

WSS

What's the general consensus on screaming children on aeroplanes? Has anyone ever complained? Would you pay a little premium for an adult-only flight?

Not a parent but hypothetically speaking I wouldn't drug a child on a flight.

Whenever we flew as kids (before the days of iPads and Nintendo DS) we had our own little cases which we could fill with things to keep us entertained. Books, colouring, dolls etc. I think with really young children its difficult to explain why they have to stay in their seats, why their ears might hurt etc. but I wouldn't resort to drugging them to keep them quiet.

Depends on the distance, but for long haul, yes I would pay extra. It cuts through me like a knife.

Same way we always go to the 'adult only' screenings of kids' films at our local cinema, to avoid kids talking / screaming / rustling through the whole thing.

This might make us miserable sods. I don't care!! ? At least I'll be a miserable sod with intact ear drums...

Although, mine might just be sour grapes...we couldn't ever afford to go on a plane when I was a kid!!

Kids cry, I'd rather hear a small child cry (its not normally that long unless they are in pain poor things) than sit in front of a child who should know better and will kick my chair and run about. A word would be had in this case, polite first of course

My first reaction when I heard it was shock that people do it. That's coming from a pregnant lady so I guess my opinion could change but I very much doubt it. I am also slightly shocked at how many people particularly those being interviewed today on TV have done it or would do it.

Footlong, that was discussed too and yes I would pay a premium for adult only flights. I also have previously booked adult only hotels for holidays abroad.

I wouldn't take children on long haul flights if I could help it.

I complained about the 3 children running wild on the flight back from Canada not that it changed anything! They just continued to be a nightmare, annoying other passengers and staff. To be fair to the children she wasn't doing anything to discipline or amuse them, if l hadn't seen them get on the flight with her it wouldn't have been obvious she was their mother.

Then again l also complained when l was on flight to Ireland and the man across the aisle was drunk and disruptive. Who is stupid enough to let a man on a flight blind drunk at 10.30am in the morning? He was a total state; shouting, singing, trying to get out of his seat and shoving his wife around. I don't know how she put up with it. The ironic thing was they had a small child with them and he / she was good as gold.

Yes. A thousand times yes.

And on trains too. Why parents think it is a good idea to take any unruly children on commuter peak time trains is beyond me. A child nearly got chucked off my train the other day (by consensus of the whole carriage) - most ineffectual parenting ever!

#MARDYCOMMUTER

If my children take after me at all, they'll be travel sick. I had travel sickness tablets from a young age which had the added bonus (for my parents) of making me drowsy so I'd sleep.

I'd pay a premium for an adult only flight (at the moment!). I do agree with Mrs C though, that it's the little b*ggers who kick the seats that are more annoying than the crying babies.

I would absolutely pay extra for adults only flights. I am always stuck with a whining kicking kid behind me. We quite often go to adults only hotels so why not?

I also think I would use that Elixir stuff if it was a crazy flight time but perhaps not double dose as the woman in the article did, seems too dangerous to do that.

As someone with no children, I would say that it's never ok to medicate your child for a few hours peace, but I'm aware that perhaps I'm naive due to my inexperience.

i would book adult only flights, we currently book adult only hotels, but I'm not sure about a premium price. Perhaps parents should pay a premium for child tickets, as children are more likely to cause disruption and/or damage?