Mother & Toddlerbooted off plane. Options

[nosylilme]

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."

Source

Another article about it.

=/ Your thoughts? I don't really think it was necessary for the attendent to say "You know, it's called baby Benadryl." or kick her off the plane.

[Gigi]

We need to keep in mind that this was an interview from the mother herself, it could be biased. Maybe there was more to the story? I didn't even know that flight attendants had so much authority over these situations...

[nosylilme]

^ true, true.

[Joss-eh-lime]

geez babies can be SO irritating. but, the baby just needed a bottle or some food to keep his mouth busy so he would quiet down. there was no need to go through all that trouble to kick them off. Besides, they were probably flying coach there are tons of other annoyances in such a confined space.

[dustbunny]

wow, now that is quite unnecessary. although it may be possible that other things happened that the mother isn't saying, what else could have possibly happened that would require them to be kicked off!? i'll admit too, babies can be ANNOYING in places, but the most i'll deal is roll my eyes and sigh a lot. plus, if all the passengers were complaining, i could see that as a problem, but eh..according to the story

[demolished]

This is quite immature.
You cannot expect a baby to understand every dam situation. Their brain arent well developed and arent capable to deal with the real world. Underage children needs to be taken as a consideration, because they're just children! duh. Adults needs to deal with it. Babies are always the problem and the money-sucker. You can tam them.

[breakingdawn]

Honestly, if a freaking baby was crying on my plane, I'd want them kicked off too. Especially when the mother isn't doing anything to try to calm it. I think what the flight attendant said was a little harsh, but something had to be done. I hate babies.

[*Mercy*]

The flight attendant was inconsiderate.Rather then try and help the issue she had to go and make it worse.

God People can be oh so selfish.

[*shotgunFUNERAL*]

her 19 month old was able to say 'bye, bye plane'?

ha

[*Moderator*]

They're just babies, they don't know any better. Sure, they can be loud sometimes, but you don't have to kick them off the plane for it.

[tokyo-rose]

She shouldn't have been kicked off, but she should have tried to quiet her baby more. Although if the baby wouldn't be quiet, there's really nothing to be done since that's how they are.

[radhikaeatsraman]

I think both sides are at fault here. The flight attendant was being a grade-A bitch and totally unprofessional, but it was the mother's responsibility to calm her baby down for the consideration of the other passengers. In a way, I'm glad they kicked them off, because that baby was being a nuisance to other passengers. When that happens, the airline crew needs to take action, and that's exactly what they did. Again, it was the mother's own fault for not bringing enough diapers, milk, juice, etc. On the other hand, the flight attendant could have shed the attitude and asked the lady if she wanted something to calm her baby down.

[KayleighKins]

Flight attendant + Punched in the jaw = Justice.

[xKatt]

I think both sides are at fault here. The flight attendant was being a grade-A bitch and totally unprofessional, but it was the mother's responsibility to calm her baby down for the consideration of the other passengers. In a way, I'm glad they kicked them off, because that baby was being a nuisance to other passengers. When that happens, the airline crew needs to take action, and that's exactly what they did. Again, it was the mother's own fault for not bringing enough diapers, milk, juice, etc. On the other hand, the flight attendant could have shed the attitude and asked the lady if she wanted something to calm her baby down.

Agreed.

I've never heard of someone being kicked off a plane for having an unruly baby. I was on a plane from Houston, Texas to Rome, Italy and there was a baby screaming bloody murder for 8 and a half hours STRAIGHT. Yeah, imagine trying to sleep and constantly being woken up by deafening shrieks every half an hour. Sure it was annoying, but you can live with a little bit of discomfort.

That was an unprofessional and immature stewardess. That was not only an inconvenience to the mother and her child but also to all the other passengers on the plane.

[fagget]

Except the baby was saying "Bye, bye, plane." and not screaming bloody murder.
I'm sorry, but even the witnesses on the plane weren't complaining as much as the stewardess. She is so unprofessional. The mother said she wasn't willing to "drug" her baby, she never said she wouldn't take any actions to calm her baby. Especially when the stewardess was being a bitch to her, hell, I'd be aggressive, too.

[illriginal]

I think I'd automatically react with a fist into her mouth. If she told me to shut my child up all because it saying words.

I mean maybe if my child was screaming bloody murder and crying, and she asked politely I would try as hard as possible to calm my child.

I'm not gonna force my kid to shut up if it's innocently sayin cute words.

[fagget]

Fasheezy.

[Lolitakitty]

"Well, I'm not going to drug my child so you have a pleasant flight"

I would have said the same thing. Really, I feel bad for the mother.

[*Michelle*]

Some stewardesses seriously have sticks up their asses 24/7. =_=

[*Elba*]

I would have slapped the bitch

I would understand if the kid was crying hysterically or something... but "bye bye, plane" really was no reason to kick them off

What a bitch.

[DarkImpressions]

I dont care how she was trying to put it,She wouldnt have told my child to shut up.
Shes really stepping out of her boundaries.
And some children are just being children when they say stuff like that,You just cant kick them because the child says bye bye plane,What a loser!

[weed]

OHHHH man you obviously havent seen a pissed off cuban in action, id get arrested but id slap that HOE. what? let her talk to me about MY child like that?!... NEGATIVE!

[Jennifer]

If everything there is true, I think it's ridiculous. Kids that young don't understand. Yes the mother maybe should have done a bit more to quieten her child down, but the flight attendant's reaction was completely unnecessary.

""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."

Sometimes all people do is think about themselves. Heartless.
Quite sad, really.