drugging children while travelling

Your kid might fall asleep by itself, but definitely not all kids do this. Kids which aren't good at flying will not just cry for 10 minutes or so, they'll cry the entire trip and be really annoying. For the fellow passengers it is really annoying if a kid keeps on crying and personally I must say if the parent fails to keep the kid quiet many people including me will go to the stewards to ask the kid to be removed following which they'll be sent to the back of the plain in general where it isn't as busy commonly and also sometimes if the plain makes a stop in between they risk being set off the plain. So not only might she have saved the kid for 5 hours of crying, but also might she have saved the flying pleasure of the other people on board. That is something which too few people tend to keep in mind.

No. I would never do that. When we flew across country, the doctor suggested we give my grandson something to make him sleep. but instead, we played with im, and my daughter nursed him when he got cranky. He was awake the whole trip and loved looking out the window at the clouds and the storm we encountered. and he was only 8 months old

My oldest son has a fear of flying, I would probably have to consider giving him something to calm him down. I would talk to the doctor first though. I also wouldn't give it to him unless I really needed too. I am hoping that when we do go in a plane, that he will realise that their is really nothing to be scared off. I think he will be fine after the take off, at least I am hoping so. I really wouldn't want to give him something to calm him down. I have never had to do that with my kids and hopefully I never will.

Well I haven't traveled by plane with my daughter yet so I honestly don't know how she would react to it. I'm hoping it would be like any car ride and she wouldn't eventually just fall asleep on her own. I hate the thought of having to give her medicine to get her to fall asleep. I would only use that as an absolute last resort if she were getting way out of hand on the plane. But I really couldn't see that happening. If I were to travel by plane with her I would make sure to come prepared with books, toys and even a portable dvd player. I would hope between those things something would keep her occupied.

Well I agree with you - the child should have been left to go to sleep naturally but I must say I once flew from the US to the UK on a flight where it seemed like almost every couple on the plane had an infant and a toddler - for over 8 hours we listened to screaming kids and crying babies. I think it was the worst flight I have ever had. I would gladly have given them all a dose of cough syrup on that flight (LOL)

I would never do that! Now as for me there are plenty of times I've taken unisom or some other sleeping pill in order to fall asleep. I do not enjoy flying at all and sometimes i have to be on a plane for a long long time. The longest flight i've been on was a flight from Tokyo to Chicago and then of course i had to go back to Tokyo, it was too long to be on an airplane.

When my son was little he was diagnosed ADHD and was very hyperactive. My doctor prescribed medication for him which helped to keep him calm, and although I didn't like having to give him medication, it was very good for him. We took him on holiday when he was 4 years old, just about the time he was leaving the terrible two and his ADHD had combined, and the doctor told me that his medication would be very good for him while on the plane. I gave him his medication once we were settled in our seats and he was calm and very happy during the flight. He did sleep for a short while on the flight, but then it was an evening flight after all. Although I wasn't too happy having to give him his medication, on this occasion it proved to be a good idea. My son thoroughly enjoyed his flight, and was calm and well behaved the whole time. It is never good to have to give children medication, but sometimes it is necessary if they have a condition that requires medication

We can't really judge the situation as that. Perhaps the kid has had previous flight experiences that were not pleasant. Most kids when young are really sensitive to the air pressures and velocities. So the tend to cry and feel terrible. Maybe the lady had a previous experience and thought that was the best thing to do. Cheers Mememama

I am really astonished to read your message. Why she should give something to her son to make him sleep during the flight. Children are born to enjoy their life at the tender age. In general, mothers never give such a thing to their kid to make them sleep during flight. It is disgraceful on her part to do this.

I think it's a little wrong, i mean, most little ones will fall asleep on a bumpy ride anyway so you'd think she'd have been better off just letting him be. My daughter would much prefer to be looking out the window i think, she checdks everything out & after a while she'll doze off on her own! I don't agree with doing it but maybe she had flown with im before & he'd freaked out or something, that might have been a reason for her doing it?

I would never give my child any medication for my convenience! That just irritates me....it is a clear disregard for her child.... When my oldest 2 children were little, I took a Greyhound bus with them, from Miami, Florida to Des Moines, Iowa....my son was 8 months old and daughter was 2...it was the longest trip of my life....but I would never have given them something to put them to sleep....there are a few times during that trip that the other passengers probably wish that I would have though...LOL I think that parents who would do this need to take a serious look at what they are doing.....what they are teaching their children......of course, I also do not agree with a parent who will not medicate their child when the need is there....

I have done a number of transatlantic flights with my kids from the time they were infants, including terrible two's and on up. I was advised to give them cough syrup and have tried it on two occassions. It didn't work, at all. Neither of mine sleep, even for the 10-12 hour flights, so neither does anyone else around us. It's exhausting. I find Gameboys and DS systems to be the best way to keep them occupied.

I do not believe in giving kids medicine unless it absolutely necessary. I think it is outrageous to give them meds so they aren't a bother.

No, sounds a little bit terrible!

Oh my gosh! I would never do that to my child. Medicine is for when your sick, not for when your tired of haring your child. Thats just awful, but I know people do it..

Dang. That just doesn't seem right to me. I wouldn't do it. The only time my kids get cough medicine or any medicine at that is when they are sick and need it and even when they are sick, it's never the kind that helps with sleeping. So this kid slept for 5 hours? I wonder what kind of cough medicine that was? Pretty strong I'm sure. Was the kid sick at all do you think? Or was she just not wanting to deal with her son? Sad...

That is so sad. I don't know how a parent could do that! I don't even give my son tylenol unless he REALLY needs it. Last time he had tylenol was when he fell down some stairs (he was fine, just in pain for a while). I would never give him anything just to get him to sleep. When we travel, we travel by car, because we know our son doesn't like strangers. I would never consider giving him something to shut up. But I wouldn't let him scream and bug others either. That's why we drive. I did have a neighbor that used to give his sons baby nyquil every night to make them go to sleep!! His wife was livid when she found out. She thought he was just going in to kiss them and tell them good night. I'm not sure my marriage would even survive through something like that, though.

Absolutely not. That is just so wrong. What kind of person overdoses their child on cough medicine so they will stay quit while flying. One of these times she is going to do something like that and the child won't wake up.

I've never done such a thing, but I know of people who have given their children cold medicine to calm them down or make them sleep, but never enough to make them sleep 5 hrs for a flight. I really don't think I would be able to do anything like that to my little one. I think it's dangerous and a bit selfish, but that's just my opinion.

I have given my child Benedryl to make his fall asleep!