ruth, this is for you

OH HO HOOOO! only a day after i got a request from my friend ruth to hate more things so she would have something to read, i come across this little gem:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070123/ap_on_re_us/flight_tantrum_1
a family of three is thrown off a plane because their three-year-old daughter is having a tantrum and wouldn't be seated.

well. let me say, i was going to write a post on this anyway because on my flight to chicago a mere five days before christmas, i had to sit next to an annoying little kid who refused to sit still. he kicked me and the seat in front of him continually for FOUR AND A HALF HOURS. seriously, no. he wouldn't listen to either of his parents at all. oooh it was soooooooo annoying. when his dad tried to get him to stop, he started whining. not crying, just kind of uuuuuuuuuuuuuunnnnnnnnnnnnnhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!ing. gah, children.
anyway, so onto this story. i ENJOY this story so much. i am right there with the flight attendants asking the family to leave. for one, they were following FAA guidelines. she was over two years old, so she needed to be in her seat. they were already delayed 15 minutes, and this would have just delayed them longer. the attendants were just doing their job. chances are the kid would have been screaming throughout the flight, and it's not like it was her first flight (they were flying home) so don't try that excuse anyone. so thank you AirTran attendants! i applaud your decision to save that airplane of people the annoyance of yet another screaming child.
i get that people want to travel with their children. just like they take them to stores and to restaurants. but i LOATHE the fact that some parents let their children run about willy nilly! i realize i am not an expert, because i don't have kids and haven't had to take a child on an outing that wasn't under the age of 8. BUT i also see parents who have well-behaved children who sit quietly, don't bother other people, and listen to their parents. it makes me so angry at those parents who just watch their kids run around with this look on their face like, "oh look, how cute. oh, children..." its ridiculous. it is NOT okay to let your child do that. unless they are on a playground or some other designated play area. not only is it disruptive of everyone around you (how many times have you been almost collided into by some child RUNNING down the aisle at the grocery store?) but it also tells your kid that they can do whatever they want. no. so i guess i'm going into a little bit of parenting. (again, no experience, and i don't intend to, not for a long while anyway). i am a believer in making sure your kid knows that there are rules and they need to follow them. i have asked my parents about how it was when my sister and i were growing up. apparently we were well-behaved because if we weren't my dad would make us leave. i guess there was one incident where one of us was having a bit of a tantrum at a restaurant, and he we paid and left. there was no tolerating it. growing up we knew the rules, and if we disobeyed we were punished. and for the most part, i think i turned out okay. i'm getting off the point here. children need to have boundaries. i find it completely unacceptable for any child to run around a store or yell in a restaurant. and, if your kid is having a tantrum on a plane, and they kick you off, bully for you. you know what family? you should know better, and why do you have a child on an expensive airline anyway? you paid almost $600 for three tickets. screaming children belong on cheap airlines that poor people like me are forced to fly on.

i wait for the day i will be able to fly on an airline that doesn't allow children as passengers. i don't know if one exists, even if it does, i can't afford it. but one of these days... one of these days!