The Look:
Posted on 01/23/2007 10:26:18 AM PST by Fawn
On Jan. 14, 3-year-old Elly Kulesza and her parents, Julie and Gerald, were kicked off an AirTran Airways flight from Florida to their Worcester, Mass., home because Elly would not stop crying.
Elly, who had been a model passenger on the flight to Florida four days earlier, began to cry uncontrollably once she got on the plane, throwing a temper tantrum on the floor.
AirTran employees demanded that the Kuleszas calm down their child. When Elly didn't stop crying, the crew banned the Kuleszas from flying for 24 hours. Later, AirTran offered an apology to the family along with a refund on their tickets.
"As we have an obligation to the 112 other passengers onboard the flight to operate the flight on time," AirTran said in a statement, "we had to make an operational decision to ask the Kulesza party to deplane so the flight could depart."
On "Good Morning America," the Kuleszas insisted that their toddler wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary.
"I don't know what happened. No one can tell when something like this is going to happen. She had a great morning, but then she got on the plane and she started to cry," Julie Kulesza said.
"She's like the typical 3-year-old. She has her moments, but overall she's a very, very good child."
The Kuleszas said that unlike the AirTran crew, the passengers on the flight were sympathetic to their situation.
"I jokingly turned around and asked the three gentlemen behind me, 'Aren't you glad you got these seats?" Julie said. "Another passenger offered up a lollipop to try and calm her down."
Despite AirTran's apology and offer of a complimentary flight, the Kuleszas don't plan to fly with the airline anytime soon.
"We'll pass on that," Gerald Kulesza said. "After that, I told them I'd never fly with them again." PAGE 2 CONTINUED AT SITE
I note that while the reporter claims the passengers were OK with it, the only person quoted is the mother, and it's the MOTHER who told the reporter the other passengers didn't care.
I can imagine that even the ones who she "joked with" were happy she was gone, they were just too polite to say it to her face.
If the child had an ear ache, understandable.. that's pain.. but that still is not throwing oneself onto the ground of the isle and throwing a temper tantrum.
No, the passemgers were being polite by not telling you what they really thought of you and your child.
Many know that one look from mom or dad means cut it out right now,
Oh boy, did that bring back memories. "The Look." :) Ha,ha. Didn't hurt me or my other three sibilings any. We even had "The Look" for our own kids. :)
I agree!
I think she left a few words out.
Oh, phsaw. Just about EVERY 3 year old will throw a public uncontrollable temper tantrum at one time or another.
Tired, off-schedule, returning from a vacation, maybe seeing grandparents, being on an airplane, and all strung out ... I can see how this little kid might get worked up.
I think the airline was probably right in what they did ... but I also suspect that this is mostly a case of this kid having bad timing.
Sounds like excuses to me....
Again, crying is one thing, throwing oneself on the ground and having a temper tantrum is quite another... and notice that that surgery did not play any role on the flight they took a few days before.
Still sounds to me like excuses being made by parents who don't want to believe their child could do anything wrong and refuse to discipline them properly.
I can feel for any parent who's dealing with a child that is worked up and has no way to deal with it.. IE child is too small to communicate what is going on.. I've been there, I think just about anyone with a child has been there... but by 3 they are old enough to communicate issues, and throwing oneself on the floor screaming at the top of ones lungs is not acceptable behavior for a 3 year old.
This "its normal" is BS, its a result of poor parenting in all but children who have mental issues. Children behave how they are allowed to behave. Yes, strong willed children can be more of a handful than others, but even they will behave if handled properly.
All parents love their children, but only the dilluded ones believe their "precious little darlings" can never ever do anything wrong of their own accord.
I got this from the Breitbart article posted on Drudge -
But Julie Kulesza said: "We weren't giving an opportunity to hold her, console her or anything."
"Elly was sitting in front of our seat crying," she said in a phone interview. "The attendant motioned to a seat and asked if we purchased it for her."
It sounds to me like the parents sat together and the kid got to sit with strangers. The kid's behavior doesn't seem so outrageous.
The Look:
Do you have experience working with 3-year olds?
I do work with 3-year olds, and my experience says you're wrong: you can't lump them all into one little box, like you're trying to do.
Okay, I have tried to argue on behalf of parents with sick children but there is no winning. Okay, sick or not, kick them off of the plane, I give up.
I wonder how many times this will get posted????? lol.
We used to give them a whack on the way INTO the restaurant/church/airplane just as a reminder of what was to be expected in the event of a whine attack. Consequently I had 4 kids I could take anywhere.
Gentleman #1 : Stewardess, please, let me handle this ( grabs the girl and starts to shake her )
Gentleman #2 : I'll take care of this. CALM DOWN, GET AHOLD OF YOURSELF ! Nun : Everything's going to be alright < SLAP >!
Gentleman #3 : Sister, I'll handle this ....
Not hardly, kids do not throw public uncontrolled temper tantrums when they are 3 years old, that's just BS.
Can they be grumpy? Sure... Tired? Absolutely... Cranky? You betcha.. off schedule? Certainly.. but the idea they will throw themselves to the ground kicking and screaming because of it?? Nope, that's a learned behavior.
Child that age pulls that, parent should IMMEDIATELY pick the child up, take them to the nearest facility and tan their hide, and tell em point blank that is NOT acceptable behavior. Or even better, if you are in a situation where you can do it.. just walk away.. its amazing how quickly little susie or johnny stop acting like that when they know mommy and daddy won't put up with it.
Sorry, but this is not a normal behvior.. our children each tried that crap ONCE.... and learned its not accepted, and mommy and daddy are not going to bend over backwards because you are doing it. At 3 they are old enough to know better, not setting a precident to where you act that way and suddenly mommy and daddy are going to stop everything just to try to bribe or cajole you... that sets the absolutely wrong precidence.
Given the fact this mother admitted openly "She has her moments" clearly tells me this is not the first time this has happened... so, no I'm not buying bad timing... if it was the first time it happened perhaps I'd cut some slack.. but based on that no way... flat out poor parenting.
Hooray for Airtran!
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