A few months ago, this article made the news where a mom, traveling with her newborn, handed each of her fellow passenger a gift bag as an advance apology ahead of a 10 hour trip from Seoul to San Francisco.  It comes with a note,

“Today, I am going to the U.S. with my mom and grandmom to see my aunt. I’m a little bit nervous and scary because it’s my first flight in my life, which means that I may cry or make too much noise. I will try to go quietly, though I can’t make any promises.. Please excuse me. So my mom prepared little goodie bag for you! It was some candies and earplugs. Please use it when it’s too noisy because of me. Enjoy your trip. Thank you.”

While it’s a thoughtful gesture, I think it’s an also overkill.  I hope no parents feel the need to prepare for a goodie bag or even apologize for their crying babies.

My opinion

I have flown on many flights.  I think there may have been one instance I can think of when another fellow passenger seemed annoyed (as evidenced by his loud sighing) when a few babies on board decided to bawl at the same time.

Aside from that lone exception, I think most people are generally very understanding of the scenario.

Babies are babies. Crying is their only outlet if they are experiencing pain or discomfort.  It’s just amplified in a confined space.  Let them be.  On some level, I can relate particularly well because I have experienced excruciating pain during a flight descent.  Sometimes it can hurt so much that even I wanted to cry.  I don’t know how babies could withstand that pain.

So, would I be annoyed if I had babies sitting next to me?  Probably not.  (To be fair, I certainly hope that they won’t be crying for 10+ hours straight).  Then again, there’s a reason why I bring my own earplugs when I need my peace and quiet.

In my view, no goodie bags – or even apologies – are necessary for crying babies.

As for misbehaving kids?  Now, that’s an entirely different story.