A friend of mine suggested that parents should bring treats for other passengers when they bring a baby on board. The rationale was that it would stop people from being so annoyed when the baby inevitably cried. I thought it was an interesting idea.

When spotting parents with a baby boarding, many people will hope that the baby is nowhere near them. Frequent flyer forums base seating preferences on trying to keep as far away from a potential baby as possible.

An Irish Couple Gave Out Treats

The Irish Independent featured an article today where parents gave out treats to other passengers at the start of a long haul flight with Aer Lingus. These parents handed out bags with ear plugs and chocolates with a little note that said, “”Hi! My name is Caoimhe. I’m usually smiley and sweet but I can’t promise I won’t make a peep. Here are some earplugs and treats for you to keep. Enjoy your flight.”


Quite cute, plus it rhymes and it is on pink paper because as we all know, pink is for girls! Who knew this was actually a thing? I daresay that if the baby had cried on the flight no-one would have complained after that little preemptive gift and note.

Is The Baby Situation Really That Bad?

Thinking about all the flights I have taken, I can count on one hand the number of times a baby has cried loudly and long. Usually a baby will cry during descent due to the change in air pressure and that is normal. Never have I found a baby to scream through an entire flight.

Parents have a hard enough job having to travel with a baby considering all the things they need to cart along with them without other passengers giving them grief for the baby crying.

While I can understand parents giving out treats, is it really necessary? Most people would probably be full of empathy for the parents in a situation where they couldn’t quiet their baby. I don’t love a baby crying, but I would never turn around and ask the parents to quiet their child.

Overall Thoughts

What do you think? Have you had to sit through a flight with a crying baby wishing the flight was over? Are you a parent yourself and have been totally embarrassed by your baby crying all the time? Maybe this is a total non-issue and the Irish parents should not have felt obliged to give out treats? If you have any comments or questions, please leave them below. Thanks for reading!

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Featured image by Tim Bish via Unsplash. Caoimhe’s note via The Irish Independent.
Caoimhe is pronounced “Quee-va” by the way!