Mom who refused to drug child kicked off plane


Associated Press


ATLANTA — The mother of a 19-month-old boy says she and her son were kicked off a plane after she refused a flight attendant's request to medicate her son to keep him from talking.

Kate Penland, who lives in Gwinnett County in suburban Atlanta, said she and her son, Garren, had boarded the Continental Express plane last month after an 11-hour delay in Houston on an Atlanta-to-Oklahoma flight.

Garren kept saying, "Bye bye, plane," Penland recalled. And she said the flight attendant objected.

"At the end of her speech, she leaned over the gentleman beside me and said, 'It's not funny anymore. You need to shut your baby up,'" Penland told WSB-TV in Atlanta.

When Penland asked the woman if she was kidding, she said the flight attendant replied, "You know, it's called baby Benadryl."

"And I said, 'Well, I'm not going to drug my child so you have a pleasant flight,'" Penland told the TV station.

Penland said other passengers began speaking up on her behalf, and the flight attendant announced they were turning around and that Penland and Garren were going to be taken off the plane.

"I was crying, I was upset and I was thinking, 'What am I going to do? I don't have anything with me, I don't have anymore diapers for the baby, no juice, no milk," Penland said.

The young mother said she later learned the flight attendant told the pilot that she had threatened her. Penland said that never happened.

Express Jet Airlines released a statement saying, "We received Ms. Penland's letter expressing her concerns and intend to investigate its contents." Express Jet did not immediately return a call today from The Associated Press.

A fellow passenger told WSB none of the other passengers had problems with Garren and that Penland never threatened the flight attendant.

That's crazy. I really did not know that pediatricians would recommend it in the first place.. I know I wouldn't think to bring along something for my toddler.. :dunno

Obviously after reading some posts on here of women having to take very long flights, I know.. but before that I had no clue.. LOL

That flight attendant would have to buzz off because I wouldn't medicate my child either!

for like a flight overseas i'd bring something probably but not for a domestic flight. i swear some people can just kiss my ass. so children aren't allowed to be breastfed, and now they aren't allowed to talk. give it a rest you nutty people

for like a flight overseas i'd bring something probably but not for a domestic flight. i swear some people can just kiss my ass. so children aren't allowed to be breastfed, and now they aren't allowed to talk. give it a rest you nutty people

I hear ya.. If we get to go to Korea with DH, then I MIGHT do something then after a long talk with my doctor. But domestic, I wouldn't either.

what a bitch. and to lie too.. i hope she gets that flight attendant fired!!!

wow. that is seriously messed up.

i'm so tempted to write a letter to the company

I would have told the attendant they are called ear plugs invest in some.

i'm so tempted to write a letter to the company

I'd bet the flight attendant doesn't have any kids.

of course she doesn't if she did she'd understand. sure i hate loud kids on planes too but i'd never ask someone to drug their child

oh there are a ton of comments made on the story too: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4963201.html

scroll down to the bottom

Ok, here I am...being the jerk. I understand that kids make noise, and I'm ok with that. But, if I have to sit ther eand listen to a kid say the same thing a billion times during a flight, I'm going to get annoyed. I would never, ever ask the mother to drug her kid though. I'd probably drug myself and go to sleep. Lol. But, ya.

sway wrote:
If I had been on that plane, I would have booted her off myself. I cant stand loud kids.



Sway... the report doesn't say how loud the baby was... So -1 for you. You should consider buying your own plane, just for your own safety, I hope you don't try to silence the engines 2k' above the ground.

Lastly, if you had booted her, she wasn't going alone... cuz you would have been booted to the big house buddy.

LMAO

Ok, here I am...being the jerk. I understand that kids make noise, and I'm ok with that. But, if I have to sit ther eand listen to a kid say the same thing a billion times during a flight, I'm going to get annoyed. I would never, ever ask the mother to drug her kid though. I'd probably drug myself and go to sleep. Lol. But, ya.

i don't think anyone wants to listen to a child screaming but ya know shit happens lol. the flight attendant could've gotten some juice or something from the back or a snack.

i don't think anyone wants to listen to a child screaming but ya know shit happens lol. the flight attendant could've gotten some juice or something from the back or a snack.

That I agree with. If they would have tried a few things and it still didn't work, then ok. But being an ass right in the beginning is really not the way to go.

I'm afraid I'd have her job over that. Especially since passengers on the plain weren't complaining and he wasn't even crying, he was just talking!! I'd get myself a settlement out of that so that they'd think twice before doing it again!

We've been delayed long enough before that I ran out of supplies. Some kids go even more hyper on benadryl too!

I do plan on giving Piper Benadryl when we fly to Germany, but that is my CHOICE!!! I agree I would have her job if a flight attendant did that to me!!

I do plan on giving Piper Benadryl when we fly to Germany, but that is my CHOICE!!! I agree I would have her job if a flight attendant did that to me!!

have you tested her with benadryl yet? like someone else said it can make some children quite hyper

Oh I would raise hell. What is wrong with a baby talking on a plane? It's not like he was screaming and crying or throwing a tantrum. Some flight attendant needs to lose their job.

have you tested her with benadryl yet? like someone else said it can make some children quite hyper

Yes, her Dr. put her on it for her allergies in Arizona.

Yes, her Dr. put her on it for her allergies in Arizona.

just wanted to make sure ;)

just wanted to make sure ;)

No, I know. Thanks for the concern. Codein (sp?) made my brother jump off the walls. He was hyper as it is so they never put him on it again!! Ha Ha!!

I'd like for them to throw out obnoxious adults who site there and jabber on and on and are annoying or the ones that snore or smack gum the entire flight but hey, they don't do that... because they have rights. To me, the child and the mother have rights too and that flight attendant went way too far and just flat out lied to get them kicked off the plane. She should be reprimanded at the least!

No, I know. Thanks for the concern. Codein (sp?) made my brother jump off the walls. He was hyper as it is so they never put him on it again!! Ha Ha!!

sudafed tweaks out dh

I'd like for them to throw out obnoxious adults who site there and jabber on and on and are annoying or the ones that snore or smack gum the entire flight but hey, they don't do that... because they have rights. To me, the child and the mother have rights too and that flight attendant went way too far and just flat out lied to get them kicked off the plane. She should be reprimanded at the least!


:yes

I liked this comment:
http://www.kmov.com/topstories/stories/kmov_topstories_070712_toddlerkickedoff.6968c01f.html
Nothing worse than a little 'Jeffrey' causing a disturbance, but it's no worse than having to sit for hours next to some one with foul body order. BUt this is just the way things are today, perhaps the mother had she been considerate of the others in the close quarters to make an effort to occupy her child. I don't think drugging the child is the answer either.

He or she has obviously seen Bill Cosby's "Fatherhood" stand up routine. I think the mother should of tried to hush her child, BUT I also think she should never of been told to drug her child OR kicked off the flight. The FA should of been polite it sounds as if she started off being rude to the mother.

I think the patriot act is letting these FA's act awful leaving the passenger no recourse except to either take it or risk getting deplaned. Nothing like seeing how a little fascism goes a long way.

I would be so angry, I don't even know what I would do. We've had DD on one 2 hour flight and that was a chore between me and my DH. We didn't drug her (Benedryl spazzes her out) but we did bring plenty of stuff for her to do, eat, etc. How did the flight attendant think some kid was going to act after waiting around in an airport for 11 hours? :grumpy

And the poor mom was out of stuff for her kid after such a long delay. I would definitely demand an apology from head management and a refund of my ticket.

Holy wowzers. I would be LIVID.

If I wanna drug my child, that's my business. But don't tell me to drug my child because they're talking too much. Last I checked, kids talked, sometimes a lot. I hope the flight attendant gets fired and they kiss the mom's ass for awhile.

the flight attendants have been out of control today :creep

i wish they'd cut it out so i could have a slower day :rofl

I watched the video of this on cnn earlier. The flight attendent was waaaay out of line. I have flown with ella overseas when she was a infant and all over the us with her as a toddler. A child doesn't understand like an adult does. I pay for my ticket just like everyone else. If my child is being too loud and I"m doing everything in my power to calm or quiet her down, then tuff. There is nothing I can do at the moment. Who's to say ina few mins the child wont fall asleep or calm down. I think it's rediculous to be throwing parents and children off plans b/c a child is acting like a child. Our country is really starting to piss me off with all this bs.

:wow That's insane.

I didnt read all the responses but I have flown quite a few times alone with Val since she was born. Twice, she threw terrible tantrums on the plane. Once, the lady next to me, took her and played finger puppets with her, and sang songs to her. Calmed her enough to take a little snooze. The second time was this last trip I made out to Cali. She SCREAMED for almost an hour. People were asking me if I needed help. I did. :yes I was so short tempered, I wanted to boot my own kid off. BUT unless your flying first class, business class or on your own damn leer jet, get over your fucking self. I paid money for my tickets same as everyone else. Dont like hearing kids crying? Psh, may I suggest staying home and never leaving. They are everywhere, and SOMETIMES (depending on circumstances) hard to control. I have never experienced people being down right rude when it comes to my kid, and If it ever happened, I feel sorry for them. I honestly would :kungfu so many many effers....uggg, this kind of crap annoys me!!!!!! :D

It amazes me how people think they have some kind of RIGHT to never be annoyed. You see it everywhere... someone smoking in a public place (even outdoors now!), expecting silent plane rides, not wanting to see someone breastfeeding even under a blanket... President Bush even signed a law that makes it illegal to post "annoying web messages or emails" without disclosing your "true identity" . Why do people think they have some kind of inalienable right to be catered to all the time?

I think the patriot act is letting these FA's act awful leaving the passenger no recourse except to either take it or risk getting deplaned. Nothing like seeing how a little fascism goes a long way.

A-freakin-MEN.