No can do. Employees will refuse to wheel you if you have a minor in your lap for legal reasons. I had a legit back injury and was wheelchair bound. My husband had to manage the carryon and the baby/stroller.

When you have a 35lb 19month old you better believe a stroller is necessary. (before all the people obsessed with weight chime in, he is also as tall as most 2 1/2 year olds so no he is not fat) He is also not to a point where is can hold a hand and walk down a concourse. So even if all you have is a purse, a diaper bag and a 35 lb baby, then that is probably close to 50 lbs. Last time I tried to carry him through an airport, my arm throbed for over a week and I couldn't pick him up. All of you with little babies you are very lucky, but for this mom who travels alone with her child alot, a stroller is 100% necessary.

The last time I flew with small children I flew alone with three under 4, no stroller, just a diaper bag and a baby front pouch for the littlest one, the other two carried their change of clothes, snacks, books and toys in small backpacks. I did have kid harnesses on the older two to keep them from straying too far.

You've never had to do a 30 hour journey with a under 3 year old.

We live outside the US, but go home 2x a year as my parents can't afford to travel and we'd like our children to have a passing familiarity with their home country and an occasional non-skype relationship with their grandparents. Singapore to Boston door to door...30 hours. Our daughter gets her own seat (which we pay full price for). As a young child it is safest for her to be in a carseat, so that needs to come on the airplane with us (although now that she is approaching 3, we are considering shifting to the CARES system...an FAA approved 5 point harness that uses the seat's own seatbelt, which would allow us to counter-check the car seat or potentially just leave it in the US as we don't own a car in Singapore). We bring the stroller, but generally counter check it, preferring to have one less thing to deal with in transit.

However, it is financially irresponsible for us to have two strollers, two carseats, etc....one for each country, especially as we are only in the US for about 2 months a year. So while it is a giant pain in our butts...and believe me, it's not fun...it is what's required, in part because MA requires a car seat until the age of 8. When you/I were kids we stopped needing car seats at a young age.

Keeping her happy (and well behaved) requires a combination of iPod apps and videos (do you know how many times a 2 year old can watch the SAME episode of Ni Hao Kai Lan on an iPod in the 10+ hours from Japan to the West Coast? I do), books, Disney Princess dolls, coloring books and crayons. It all fits in a carry-on tote that fits neatly under her seat. She doesn't need ADD meds, or benadryl. She's often far more well behaved than many of the adult passengers I see on those same flights.

All of that for less than a 7-10 hour flight? Absolutely a waste. But when you see me board your plane in Chicago for Boston, what you don't realize is that we've already been traveling for 24+ hours.

It's unsafe, cumbersome and too heavy to carry an infant in an infant carrier, which is also a rear facing car seat, while walking for extended distances/periods of time. It's not safe to carry an infant in your arms should you trip etc. Obviously, an umbrella type stroller is not for infants who cannot sit upright. So how would you travel with an infant? You'd need a regular stroller that can carry the infant carrier/car seat. Sure, it is big but can fold up just as well that it actually goes through the cabin baggage screener in security. Also, it is not safe by any means, not to mention illegal, to have your infant in anything but the above mentioned carrier/car seat while in an automobile, in which you would get home or to your destination from the airport. Maybe us parents with infants should just stay home like decades ago since you 'CJ-2001013' have now grown up and don't see the valid need for strollers. Would do everyone well to think awhile before deciding parents of young ones like to bring more stuff than they want to.

That is very impractical for parents traveling with very small children under the age of 2 years old. Just one more reason to skip the flight. After all the delays, lost luggage, and extended security checks it took me longer to fly from one destination than it did to drive back. It has become such a hassle and the cost was no different than when I drove. Why are the airlines punishing their passengers?

Once I flew with a small umbrella stroller. It was collapsible and quite small. The airline still broke the front wheel and refused to help me reach my transfer flight. I had to literally run with my small child and all the stuff we were lugging around.

Quit being so judgmental.

You're quite judgemental.

#1-The car seat is not a carry on.

#2-there were two backpacks. If the child has a seat of their own, they are entitled to the same carry-on policy as the adults are (1 bag and 1 personal item...and no, the car seat doesn't count). It looks like she was trying to avoid checked luggage...which is totally understandable. I once had to gate check a carry on (because the plane was full and I was among the last to get through the security checkpoint on the short stop between Singapore and Hong Kong, not because it was larger than what I was entitled to) between Hong Kong and Chicago. When my daughter spilled water on herself (because the sippies, along with her extra set of clothes were in the carry on) she had to be wet for 6 hours of a 16 hour flight.

I think it's outrageous that people like you sit around taking photos instead of helping a mom traveling alone with a child. Maybe the smaller your compassion, the smaller your carry on should be?

You seem quite judgmental yourself, expat.

There were actually 12 bags sitting there. I counted. She had taken over the entire gate area.

I have no obligation to help someone who is too cheap to check bags and cannot manage on her own. The gate agent and the porter both had to carry bags to the plane. The plane actually took off late due to this customer.

The world does not revolve around people with children. People with children should be treated the same as people without children.

One of the first things you learn when traveling is to not bring more than you can carry. This woman brought more than 3 people could carry. This flight was less than 2 hours. She did not have a connecting flight afterwards. She was a pain in the ass to the gate agent, and she did not tip the porter.

I was on crutches for this flight. I have been known to help people with children. But, on crutches, I am certainly not going to do so.

Because this woman took up the gate agent and the porter's time, I had to crutch down two flights of steps to the tarmac carrying my small backpack with me.

So, who do you want to feel sorry for? The woman who is a bitchy, entitled, cheapskate single mother who cannot pack?

Or the handicapped person who plays by the rules and doesn't complain when the previously mentioned person takes away the porter that the handicap person reserved and already tipped?

I rarely reply to any of these posts but do read. Do you ever think that people travel for reasons other than pleasure, Cassivella? I will give you an example. When I deployed to Iraq, I had to fly my 4 month old son back to my parents where he was going to stay for a year. Let me tell you no matter what it is not easy traveling with a child and there are many circumstances when it cannot be avoided. Not only was it necessary for me to fly him home, my family and I used every last dime to get him there. Not that we were "cheap" but wouldnt have the extra cash to pay 25-50 per bag (whatever it is now). And here is another example.. What about traveling with a small child and you are stranded somewhere overnight- not long enough for them to compensate a hotel- now what if you didnt pack enough diapers, formula, ect ect. It is just a thought for people who always seem to be so small minded.

Unfortunately her younger sib is going to be born in November

Don't let your spouse hear you say that ... LOL

nmbrsgrl123 - I feel for your situation as I have members of my extended family who are also autistic and can certainly appreciate the hardships that come with raising an autistic child let alone travel with one. However, I must say that this is a two-way road. People should have compassion for those in need of assistance. On the flip side, those in need of assistance also have the responsibility of being considerate of other's as well. The expectation should NOT be that one person's burden must be carried by another. The expectation should be that others should be allowed to volunteer their assistance against this burden. Again, I feel for you and would be there among the first few folks to offer my helping hand should you and your child travel on the same trip as me. At that point, you will know that my assistance is volunteered and not done out of expectation.

What concerns me is you speak of other travelers being concerned about their "self absorbed trip" while you righteously speak of your "self absorbed" needs. Other travelers have the right to enjoy their hard earned "self absorbed trip" should they so choose. This is the same in your situation in that you have the right to enjoy a trip out of your home even with the challenges you face. So before you call for compassion I hope and urge you to see that you are putting your expectations for compassion ahead of your responsibilties to not force a burden on others selfishly.

All the best with your child as I DO know the challenges first hand of raising an autistic child (from 3 different degrees of severity with 3 different close relatives). Although not a parent of an autistic child, I have certainly been a large part of their upbringing and care.

Entitled much?

And airlines aren't making it harder - they are simply enforcing rules that have been in place for years - rules that are being broken hundreds of time each day.

I think the point is that neither the airline nor the other passengers actually want your children on the plane.

Especially when the child is a lap child, the airline is certainly not making any profit on the child. I can guarantee that when a gate agent sees a single parent with an infant and 12 bags, they are cursing even if the child has a full walk-up fare ticket.

Perhaps if flying becomes expensive enough (I am hoping that the concept of lap children will go away, especially for safety's sake), or if it becomes enough of a hassle for parents, then they will "go away and stop flying".

Parents with children have absolutely no right to travel via airline. Children are not a legal handicap that airlines are required to accommodate. Children are a choice that parents have made (or perhaps they are a mistake the parent made and that is why they get so upset about it when the children interfere in their lives?). People who have made the responsible choice to not burden strangers with children (and this includes responsible parents who manage their brood effectively) should not have to suffer because someone lost the sperm lottery.

Parents also should not expect (I find it ridiculous and sad) complete strangers to assist them with their burdens. If you cannot handle your children on your own, then you can bring along a nanny or even a high school student (students will often babysit and assist merely for the price of a ticket and accommodations) as was common in the old days - you know, back before people with children ever dreamed of taking a screaming days-old infant into a $300 a person restaurant at 11pm.

Perhaps, along with PetAirways, someone will decide to create an airline that caters to families with young children. Oh wait - people have looked into the financials of doing so and realized that families are not willing to pay for a seat for their young children, and they certainly will not be willing to pay a fair enough price for a ticket on any airline that would allow an airline to provide services for children (you know, the average price for airline tickets is half what it was the first post-deregulation year?).

So, I guess looking at the money, which in any business is really all that matters, airlines will continue to focus their services towards the people who actually bring in revenue - business travelers. Otherwise, when you use Expedia or Orbtiz and buy a ticket where it actually costs the airline more in fuel to move you from point A to point B than you paid for the ticket, I wouldn't expect to have any special treatment.

By saying "Parents with children have absolutely no right to travel via airline" I mean they have no constitutional right to travel.

The freedom of movement clause in the Constitution does not give everyone the right to travel via any conveyance other than one's own two feet.

Cassivella, I feel like you're basing most of your outrage about the subject on this one woman who was either a) inconsiderate (as you automatically assume) or b) too inexperieced at travel with young children to know that generally, less is more.

I travel pretty often and this woman is not typical of the average parent traveler - rather, most parents who travel with their young children learn pretty quickly that it's all about streamlining. With 2 young kids, we carry a backpack, diaper bag, stroller, and sometimes a carseat. Not having to keep track of 50 (or even 12) things makes the whole process so much easier. It could be that this woman just didn't know better - why do you automatically assume the worst?

In any case, I'm not up in arms about the policy. Not only do we not have an infant anymore (we've graduated to an umbrella stroller instead of the collapsible double stroller) but I'll just fly airlines, like Southwest, that don't have this policy. Your grouchy self can patronize the other airlines, and everyone's happy.

No, Anne,

I have found through flying 4-6 times a week that most parents haven't a clue about how to handle their children in the airport.

And, in general, and as proven by the rest of the responses here, I have found that people with children feel that the other passengers owe them some sort of pity or help.

Feel free to pay more and get less flying the cult airline. I'll give a wave next time I'm sitting in first class.

Unlike most people in the US, I actually have a handle on the reproductive processes of my own body.

So, I don't think having children will be a problem I will encounter.

I think that for a lot of parents they probably should have planned a little better themselves, so that they quit blaming other people when they act like their children shouldn't be affecting how they live their lives.

But, I am perfectly happy to accept the criticism.

Parents - it hurts when the majority voices how they really feel, doesn't it? Now you know exactly what people are thinking when they glare at your screaming progeny as you do nothing about it.

Just goes to show that even if you can afford a first class ticket you can't buy class.

I believe that when Cassivella says he has a handle on his reproductive processes, what he means is that he has no shot of getting laid.

How sexist of you to automatically think I am male.

I'm not, and my sex life is just fine, thank you.

Ad-hominem attacks really aren't an effective way to debate an issue. But, they are usually used by people who aren't intelligent enough to actually contribute to a discussion.

Ah yes Teri because sex always results in pregnancy, so therefore those of us who choose not to have kids aren't having sex (that was sarcasm in case you didn't get it). Many of us do have sex, but we choose to use a little something called birth control which helps prevent conception. Now, as long as people don't abuse their kids, I'm not going to tell anyone else whether they should have them or not. But they shouldn't expect the rest of the world to cater to them. A smaller stroller will get the job of transporting a baby across an airport fine. Kelly and some of the other more sensible parents here can attest to that.

As I mentioned earlier, my mother managed to take public transit across much of the NYC area with a small stroller back in the late 1960s/early 1970s. By the time I was 5, she trained me to give my seat to elderly people as I was old enough to hold onto some of the spots in the subway, while my younger brother was in the stroller.

When did so many (not all) parents and kids alike become such delicate, precious snowflakes that they have to inconvenience everyone else by hauling huge strollers everywhere? God forbid a parent not have a place to put that Starbucks latte while pushing the kid.

Hey No

Next time you are at the doctor office, have your doc write a note on a prescription pad saying you had skin cancer and need more than 3 ounces of sunscreen.

You can then carry on a larger bottle.

Thanks, I will ask about that.

You know, you are the first person I have seen that has suggested that strollers may be contributing to childhood obesity.

I am inclined to agree with you.

I often see children that are the same age as the kids I used to referee soccer for (4-7 year olds) riding in strollers.

I also see people with older children NOT using the stroller for their children, but rather bring the stroller along simply to carry all of their carry on luggage (I guess they are too cheap to rent a smart-carte for $2.25).

You can check your stroller, and you could carry your children, just like humans have been doing for millennia.

Exactly what family emergency requires the presence of a 6 month old child? I think a lot of families would be better off leaving their infants at home. It's not like the child is going to remember anything.