Toddler's tantrum gets family booted from JetBlue flight

[longnecker]

The subject of "appropriate behavior" for children on airline flights is back in the news again.
This time it comes after a Rhode Island family was kicked off a JetBlue flight in the Turks and Caicos when the family's 2-year-old toddler threw a temper tantrum before takeoff, NBC 10 of Providence reports.
The problem: The toddler's tantrum came just before takeoff when the girl refused to sit down and put her seat belt on. Federal aviation regulations, of course, require all passengers to be seated and buckled in before a plane can legally take off.
FULL STORY: Airline grounds family for fussy toddler
Colette Vieau, the mother of the girl, tells NBC 10 that they were eventually able to get Natalie into her seat, but it was not soon enough to keep the family of four from being removed from the Boston-bound flight. The family also was traveling with 3-year-old daughter Cecilia.
"We were holding them down with all of our might, seat belt on. And I said, 'We have them seated. Can we go now?' She said the pilots made a decision to turn the plane around," mother Vieau told NBC 10.
"Apparently, the captain felt the flight couldn't safely take off with the family on board," NBC 10 writes in its recap of the incident.
In a statement, JetBlue explained its move to NBC 10, saying:

Flight 850 ... had customers that did not comply with crewmember instructions for a prolonged time period. The captain elected to remove the customers involved for the safety of all customers and crewmembers on board.

The incident happened Feb. 18 but is just being picked up this week by New England and New York media.
The Vieaus say the incident forced them to spend an extra night in the Turks and Caicos and find new flights to Boston, which they say cost them an extra $2,000.
Despite her dissatisfaction over the incident, Colette Vieau tells NBC 10 she can see the airline's side – to a point.
"I don't know that I could blame JetBlue, to be totally fair," she told the station. "I just feel like it's airplane travel today in general. I was certainly upset by the way this flight attendant handled the situation. As a result, yeah, I would probably try to avoid JetBlue in the future."
Regardless, the subject of children's in-flight behavior is nothing new.
There have been numerous other incidents in the USA in recent years, ranging from a woman who grabbed a boy kicking her seat to a story about a woman who was kicked off a Southwest flight along with her "cranky" kid.
Scroll down for links to a sampling of other incidents in recent years.

May 26, 2010: Parents who shouldn't be allowed on planes
April 9, 2010: Police: Woman on Southwest flight grabs boy who kicked her seat
Oct. 30, 2009: Southwest kicks mom, cranky kid off flight
July 13, 2007: Mom says chatty toddler got her kicked off flight
http://travel.usatoday.com/flights/p...terstitialskip

[Panama Girl]

Give 'em a full dose of Benadryl, 15 to 20 minutes before boarding time.

Seriously. It works.

[Tralee]

Give 'em a full dose of Benadryl, 15 to 20 minutes before boarding time.

Seriously. It works.

True! When we flew from CA to DE with our very young son, our pediatrician gave me a perscription for a small dose and it worked wonders, he was like a little lamb the whole way. The airline was way off on that one, the kid would have settled down as soon as no one was paying any attention.

[Bellicose]

The Vieaus say the incident forced them to spend an extra night in the Turks and Caicos and find new flights to Boston, which they say cost them an extra $2,000.

What? There is no way that 1 night cost them that much. Airlines should of just got them on another flight, without paying for an entire new flight. IF not I would have through the temper tantrum myself.

[motherof3]

Give 'em a full dose of Benadryl, 15 to 20 minutes before boarding time.

Seriously. It works.

Agree 100%!!! The last time we flew was to go back home to CO when my oldest was just a year old. Our pediatrician had me give her a small dose and she slept almost the entire flight. My arms killed me from holding her, but sooooo freakin worth it because she was, is and has always been my "high maintenance" kid....and that's putting it nicely. If you have small kids and are going to travel I think you need to be prepared. And IMO part of being prepared is having it in mind that your kid might get you booted from the plane. It's reality folks. You can't inconvenience an entire flight of people because your kid is being a flat out brat or throwing a fit. God knows mine have thrown some doozies in the past. Just another reason we only travel by car In a car I can pull over to move kids around or climb in the back to sit between fighting siblings. Traveling with kids is stressful. Be as prepared as possible and expect melt downs, just my advice.