Ah, traveling via airplane. Some people love it, some people dread it. If you’re the kind who loves it, then you already know how to psyche yourself up to enjoy every minute of being in the sky… until the noise of a passenger’s child disturbs you.

Noisy kid on a flight? Yep, been there, flew there! In a traveler’s lifetime, there might be at least one or two instances when a child was also on board. Lucky you if the kid is like rows away! But what if they’re just behind or in front of you? Or worse – beside you? What would you do?

Here are a few tips on how to manage yourself on a flight that has noisy kids.

Tip 1: Accept the hard fact – the child is a child, and will act like a child.

The first sign of “conquering” a problem is acknowledging it. And accepting that a child of any age would act up during a flight is as expected as seeing clouds outside your window seat. Thus, being zen about it might be the best approach, for whatever the child would utter, you’re already expecting such behavior. In that manner, your consciousness would automatically ignore the noise they’ll make.

Tip 2: If ya can’t shush them, engage ‘em!

No matter the age of the child, we’ve already established that they will make any kind of noise. If it’s crying, trust that the parents are also doing all their best to keep the kid quiet. No parent would also want to be disturbed by such wailing!

If the kid is talkative and within your peripheral vision, you can also engage with the kid in a quiet manner. Maybe a friendly peek-a-boo over the seat rests would elicit small chuckles from the toddler. Hey, that’s a better sound than wailing, right? Or if you’re patient enough, you can have a small conversation with the tyke. They might be curious about that book you’re holding, that tablet you’re watching a movie from, or that smartphone games you’re playing, or whatever else you’ve got on your hands or lap. You can do a quick show-and-tell routine with them, chat them up a bit, until they get spent a bit and choose to doze off quietly.

Children’s attention spans switch fast from one thing to another, and before you know it, they will get preoccupied by something else outside of your purview, which will keep them quiet for a while. Hey, whatever works!

If you don’t like engaging with kids at all, then trust that someone else on the flight will. So that will also buy you some quiet non-wailing time.

Tip 3: Have some tea and empathy.

There are moments that parents will also be at their wit’s end in trying to figure out how to pacify their hyperactive child. Kids also need to expend some of that hyper energy, so the parent might allow them to walk back and forth the aisle. Don’t be annoyed by this too much. Have some empathy and try to understand that the parent needs to do this, so that the kid would at least be quiet and expend that energy moving, not wailing. Have a drink, eat a snack, whatever it takes; just keep yourself pacified while extending your patience towards the people that need it the most.

Tip 4: Preoccupy yourself.

Regardless of where you’re sitting, if you hear kiddie noise on the flight, just try to live with it for a bit. Remember that the flight will have to land eventually, so focus your energies on doing something productive instead of fussing about something that’s out of your control, really.

For long-haul flights, bring noise-cancelling earphones and some electronic entertainment to entertain yourself as well. Watching your favorite TV series or movies you missed would be one good way of dealing with this situation. Your airplane could also have some in-flight entertainment; ask to borrow earphones and use whatever’s there.

If you’re not the watching-with-a-gadget type, then your books or any other reading material would suffice. There’s nothing like losing yourself in the pages of a great story. However, bring those noise-cancelling earphones just the same. While you’re reading, you can plug into some instrumental or classical music that will serve as background music (sort of white noise) while you read. Better than hearing that background noise of kiddie cries, right?

Tip 5: Seat switch.

If the child is unbearably noise and unbelievably hyper, like kicking-your-back-seat hyper, then it might be time for drastic measures.

Try to raise your head up to check on the kid and the parent/guardian sitting next to the child. Smile at them and/or gesture at the adult, in a kind way, about the disturbance the kid is doing to you. If you need to speak to the kid or the adult, do so in the kindest way. People and kids often respond to kindness more, trust us. Snarling at them won’t do anyone any good.

If this still doesn’t work, stand up and approach one of the flight attendants. Ask if it’s possible for a seat switch for you. Do this only if there are available seats on the flight, as you don’t want to switch with someone else and put them into the path of kiddie wrath! If there are no free seats available, then please read over our tips 1-4, and try to choose a better option from these ones!

Tip 6: Scope co-passengers ahead, right before checking in.

It would be great if the airline designated seats for people with children, especially in the economy area. But since this is not a reality yet, try to be proactive instead. When you’re lining up at the check-in counter at the airport, see if there are co-passengers with kids in tow. Then try to get a seat at the middle part of the airplane. The tendency of families is to get seats near lavatories, in case the children need “to go.”

Also, try to get a seat that’s near exit rows. Since the airplanes need adults to sit in those rows and assist others in cases of emergencies, it’s highly doubtful that families with children will be seated in these kinds of rows.

Happy flight! //