We appreciate it when airplane passengers that are annoyed by crying babies just plug in their headphones and tune out instead of complaining about the crying.

My wife, 1 year old son and I, had gotten stranded in Boston due to a blizzard and we had to take 3 flights to get home. On the last leg of the trip after a stop in Cincinnati, we found ourselves running through the houston airport trying to make our connection to SFO. First act of kindness, the airline had cart waiting to get us to the next gate and make the flight. To make matters worse we had been placed in 3 middle seats in different rows, mind you my son was 1 at the time. 2nd act, the flight attendant started asking people to change seat with so the baby would not be unattended. When no one volunteered, the flight attendants had the tickets agent move people around so we could sit with our son. Mind you no one really wanted to sit next to 1 year old any way. Those flight attendants were awesome, I've found flight attendants over all to be great. They really appreciate it when you have a purchased seat for a kid under 2, so much safer for the kid and comfortable for the parent.

parent - Thanks for commenting. Yes, complaining probably won't help baby settle any faster.

flabby - Thanks for sharing your flying experience. Yes, we've also been impressed with the kindness of many flight attendants. From giving our kids straws in their drinks to giving our son a small plane to put together. Flight attendants can be a big help when traveling with kids.

I have never had to fly alone with my kids, but since there are six of us, we often have to split up and I may be sitting away from husband. Things that I value is when a seat neighbor offers to hold the baby while I use the restroom or eat my meal. I have had some great neighbors who read to a child, play a game with a child or just chat. When a toddler gets ancy, sometimes a neighbor can say something that really helps such as "I can see you are tired and fed up with this long flight, but don't you think mommy is tired and fed up? I can see you are a big boy who wants to be helpful and can find something to do". Another adult (whether a flight attendant or a neighbor) can make a big difference when times get difficult just by a simple high five to the child. Some kids are a bit too shy for interacting with strangers, but others do well. You just have to wing it and see what works best.

Mother of 4 - Thanks for sharing your experience with flying as a family of 6. Great to hear about all of the ways people have stepped up to help. I agree, a simple high five or brief conversation with a stranger can be a big help on a long flight.