--- title: How to Deal With a Loud Child on an Airplane description: If you're stuck sitting near a crying baby, try to be sympathetic. Speak up if an older child is misbehaving. canonical: https://time.com/4725914/handle-sitting-near-loud-child-on-airplane/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-04-06T13:53:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:57:48.896Z og:title: Is It Rude to Ask Someone to Quiet a Child on an Airplane? og:description: Experts sound off on what to do in this common situation og:url: https://time.com/4725914/handle-sitting-near-loud-child-on-airplane/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb4657592ae26db1a/6988c15b656a3f21c7bcf67d/loud-child-airplane.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Toddler looking through an airplane window og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Is It Rude to Ask Someone to Quiet a Child on an Airplane? twitter:description: Experts sound off on what to do in this common situation twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb4657592ae26db1a/6988c15b656a3f21c7bcf67d/loud-child-airplane.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How to Handle Sitting Near a Loud Child on an Airplane by [Melanie Lieberman / Travel + Leisure](https://time.com/author/travel-leisure/) ## Melanie Lieberman / Travel + Leisure Apr 6, 2017 1:53 PM UTC  Getty Images by [Melanie Lieberman / Travel + Leisure](https://time.com/author/travel-leisure/) ## Melanie Lieberman / Travel + Leisure Apr 6, 2017 1:53 PM UTC According to a study by Harris Interactive, 37 percent of passengers would rather sit next to a smelly adult than a crying baby. So what to do if you’re stuck with the latter? If the child is an infant, try to be sympathetic. Intervening won’t help, but some earplugs might. (We recommend flying with a pair of great noise cancelling headphones or ear buds, like these by [Bose](https://www.bose.com/en%5Fus/products/headphones/earphones/quietcomfort-20i-acoustic-noise-cancelling-headphones.html) and [Audio Technica](http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/headphones/b8f997425a783390/).) When an older child is misbehaving (kicking the back of your seat, for example), then you’re well within your rights to speak up. One flight attendant recommended speaking directly with the child first. “It is much \[more\] real for a child when they are addressed by a stranger.” If that doesn’t work, try talking to the parent. And if the problem still persists, you should involve a flight attendant to keep the situation from escalating. In addition to being an authority figure on the airplane, flight attendants often have an impressive arsenal of [diversions for children](http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/family-travel-tips). “Usually, planes \[are stocked\] with coloring books and things for kids to do,” the flight attendant said. _This_ [_article_](http://www.travelandleisure.com/blogs/is-it-rude-to-ask-someone-to-quiet-a-child-on-a-plane) _originally appeared on_ [_TravelandLeisure.com_](http://www.travelandleisure.com) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4725914/handle-sitting-near-loud-child-on-airplane/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4725914/handle-sitting-near-loud-child-on-airplane/"},"headline":"How to Handle Sitting Near a Loud Child on an Airplane","datePublished":"2017-04-06T13:53:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:57:48.896Z","description":"Try to be sympathetic","url":"https://time.com/4725914/handle-sitting-near-loud-child-on-airplane/","keywords":["Living","Travel","onetime","Evergreen"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb4657592ae26db1a/6988c15b656a3f21c7bcf67d/loud-child-airplane.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melanie Lieberman / Travel + Leisure"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb4657592ae26db1a/6988c15b656a3f21c7bcf67d/loud-child-airplane.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Toddler looking through an airplane window","caption":"Toddler looking through an airplane window","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4725914/handle-sitting-near-loud-child-on-airplane/","name":"How to Handle Sitting Near a Loud Child on an Airplane"}}]}] ```