You're in a plane and suddenly a baby starts screaming up ahead. What is your first thought? "I wish that baby would shut up" or "I wonder if that baby is in pain?" Do you get immediately annoyed or feel compassion for the baby and the mother?
by 
RosieGHM Jetpacker
ANSWERS: 32
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The answer would probably depend if the person asked is married with children, single, etc. I would assume that a mother would first wonder if the baby is in pain. I, being single and ignorant of what happens to babies when they cry, would react with annoyance instead.
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Depends on the day, if Im tired and grumpy. Ill want that little baby to shut is pie hole. Otherwise, if im in a spiritual mood, I will ask myself many questions to get a deeper understanding to the cause of this baby crying.
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when i get in a plane and a baby starts to cry i immediatly think i hope it does not distract the pilot
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i hate hearing babies cry, just hurts me. obviously the baby is not happy and babies should always be happy. but i never go around judging a mother for having screaming babies, especially when she is trying everything to console the child. and just like with moms with toddlers throwing tantrums - they are not always "spoiled little brats" some are autistic or have other disorders that the mother cannot change when she walks out her home. and anyways, just as you talk, babies cry, its how they communicate.
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I would wonder if the baby is okay and think that mother must have the patient of a saint.
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at first i will think of the baby and its mum wonder whats up, mayb i can help? after 15/20 mins i tut but without really meaning it, a baby can get very bored and frustrated on planes and yes its easy 2 ammuse children a lot of the times but when they are frustrated it can be hard - so altho i tut as i am annoyed i'm not really...think its just a natural reaction to something disturbing you
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Compassion -- I'm a father, and have been in that same situation, myself. First thing I do is to look to see if the parent seems to have a pacifier or baby bottle with them, and suggest that they offer it if they don't immediately think of it themselves -- it's intensely painful for babies' ears when there's a change in cabin pressure, and getting them to suck on something will get them to swallow & equalize the pressure.
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I can tell by the cry its not in pain. I want the baby to stop screaming. i have had to fly before where the mother totally ignored a baby for 2 hours. right behind my seat. i was pissed along with everyone else around me.
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it all depends on how i feel at the moment and how the baby is crying. initially i would probably feel annoyed, if the baby continued crying i would feel worried and then if the baby didn't stop i would probably return to annoyed. i might even take a walk by to see what was being done for the child. if i saw that it was being neglected then i would feel compassion for the poor thing.
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First thing that would come to my mind is,"Probably he/she would have hit herself somewhere.I wonder,(I'll be really sad at heart to hear a baby cry with pain) if that baby is in pain".
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For me it's a little bit of both. In fact over the holidays I was traveling and a couple had a little child about three years old. They sat next to me. The little girl screamed the whole time. People was getting annoyed. I found out she was a special needs child and she doesnt like to keep still. I felt real bad for her and her parents.
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On every flight I board, I'm a very irritable person. All I wish for is a pleasent flight free of distraction. If the baby is indeed in pain, then it's the mother's respnsibility to aid it.
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I feel compassion and concern. But, after a while it gets on my nerves. In an airplane, where are you going to hide?
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I feel compassion for the little baby and hope the baby is alright.
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You have asked two questions. What is my first thought? Depends. Usually, something like, "Oh, there's a baby on this flight". Do I immediately get annoyed or feel compassion? No, I do not react in either way immediately.
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I'll be honest, It's no picnic, but, I try to keep in mind that a baby can be quite uncomfortable on a flight with pressure in it's ears and such so I try to be understanding. Chances are it is no more irritating than the drunk obnoxious adult boob across the isle chatting away at the top of their lungs for everyone to hear!
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"I wish that baby would shut up." I wouldn't assume the kid's in pain. Baby's cry. It's what they do. I might feel compassion for the mother, but the kid's probably fine.
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I wish that baby would shut up....honestly. Babies cry on planes alot because of the air pressure changes in the cabin .. that and the unfamiliar smells and sounds and perhaps their caretaker's tenseness.
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I would be happy that it was not my child hollaring across the plane and look over at my angel and smile!
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I immediately assume that the change in pressure must be hurting the baby's ears. I try to wait before I get annoyed. Even then, I know there's nothing I can do about it.
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LOL my first reaction would be to open the aircraft door!!! No seriously, I would feel annoyed but realize that it wasn't anyone's fault..But a few years ago I remember flights coming in from Beijing to Vancouver with 30 or so newly adopted infants on them..The flight crew said that the flights were horrendous because the babies cried and screamed the whole way(about 11 hours). Of course the new parents had no parenting skills so the flight crew were trying to help..but 30 screaming infants is a lot:)
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As a baby I once cried non-stop from New York to Los Angeles due to an ear infection. I'd be annoyed at the baby's cries but I'd realize he or she is expressing themselves they only way they know how.
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If I knew the baby was ok I would feel bad for the mother. Before boarding the plane she's probably been so uptight becuase she's worried about disturbing people and them being irritated with her and thinking "Why isn't she doing more?". A plane is like any other form of public transportation and she and her baby have as much right to be there as anyone else. Not to mention that flying on a plane isn't meant to be the best part of your trip anyway so why freak out over something so small.
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Immediatley annoyed. Why did this mother take the baby on the plane? I know my family avoided public places such as planes, restaraunts, supermarkets with us kids because they realize it was totally disrespectful to have screaming infants adding to the stress that everyone else were feeling in overly populated places. Call me insensitive, but I believe there ARE ways around it.
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First thought would be "Just give me the baby, it'll be fine in a minute, then you can have it back". I'd be feeling compassion for the mum and baby.
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Both. Of course I feel sympathy for both child and parent. But I also feel irritated that I have been put in a situation where I can neither help nor get away. I put up with it as part of the rough side of life, but I don't like it.
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my first thought is "here we go". When babies cry, they cry and there's nothing much I can do unless I am allowed to do the clown to see if I can stop them. Playing guitar and singing also helps but if they don't stop then they need something, there's no point in getting annoyed as that's the only way that they have to communicate. I don't find it annoying. What annoys me is dogs barking their lungs at me from a foot away through the fence while I walk by. I am buying a water gun and loading it with vinegar!
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my first thought would be about the door and the possibility of ejection.
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I would find out what is wrong with the baby and then I would ask the mother if she needed help to calm the baby down and I would ask if i could help. I alway feel compassion for all babys and children.
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I have had three children and wouldn't think anything about it unless it went on for more that a few minutes. I certainly wouldn't do anything to upset the person holding the baby, because the more tense the caretaker is the less likely the baby is to stop crying. If it continued for very long I would go ask if there was anything I could do to help.
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Baby cries are no problem. I'm more annoyed by older children and adults who treat the airplane as if it's a playground.
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I would get upset if it went on for several minutes but usually a baby crying means something is wrong. Babies can't help themselves and so their crying doesn't bug me nearly as much as an undiscipline unruly kid who acts out. Screaming, running around, etc and the parents do nothing to stop it. I rode a bus one time and listened to that for 12 hours. Parents did nothing.
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