I’m a mum and I think ‘child-free’ zones on flights sound like a great idea

When I have kids, we’ll just slot them into our lives,” I once said to my friend, sinking a second glass of wine, knowing there was no alarm set for the following day. And I meant it. I envisioned parties with friends, a small child snoozing under the coats. Typing on my laptop or reading on the sofa at home, while my child played happily (and quietly). I also imagined holidays, with our little one peering out of the plane window, just as excited for a new adventure as us. And of course, everyone is the perfect parent, before they become one. But I could not have foreseen the reality of keeping a young child safe and content 24 hours a day – especially when travelling.

We’ve taken our two-year-old daughter on a plane several times. Each time, I’ve felt mostly excited, but with an uncurrent of always-there, medium-to-high level of “what happens if” anxiety, mainly worrying about other passengers. This panic – that my child may bother someone else – has been fuelled by a seemingly growing intolerance of children in public spaces.

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Restaurants, typically family-friendly affairs, introducing a surcharge for “noisy” children, for example. A fierce debate over who was in the wrong when a three-year-old approached a reactive dog. And, the real humdinger, an onslaught of stories about “selfish” parents taking their kids on flights. “Shame on those parents,” one person says on social media. “Ban small children altogether!”, says another. The argument in every case usually boils down to, on one side, parents trying to defend the rights of their children to live as equals in our society and, on the other, the sentiment that “loud child = bad parents”.

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There seems to be a new story every week about “nightmare” children and their “entitled” parents. So it was no surprise to me to see jubilation as a European airline began testing adult-only zones on its flights. Corendon Dutch Airlines will pilot the idea on flights from Amsterdam to the Caribbean and reserving a seat in the child-free section will cost an extra €45 per flight, rising to €100 for extra-large seats.

Atilay Uslu, chairman and founder of Corendon, said the airline is “trying to appeal to travellers looking for some extra peace of mind during their flight”.

My first reaction was to feel offended. This pilot goes against my ethos: I’m a staunch advocate of children being able to exist in public spaces, just as they are. But upon further reflection, I could see the appeal – for parents, as well as those without kids. In fact, child-free flights or adult-only zones sound like a great idea. When my friends and fellow parents tell me why they have decided not to have a family holiday abroad with their young children yet, the consensus seems to be thus: financial reasons aside, it’s because they’re scared of other people’s reactions. They’re too anxious to make precious memories for fear of bothering a total stranger somewhere along the way.

Now, in my experience, people are mostly lovely and helpful when you’re travelling with children. And I do understand the negative reactions to an extent – especially when it comes to air travel, where you can’t simply remove yourself from the situation at 30,000ft. Yes, a child crying can be extremely disruptive and distressing – for the child themselves and for those who can hear it. So, in a dedicated family area on a plane, perhaps the anxiety for all – children, parents and other travellers – would be eradicated.

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Sitting in an area surrounded by other parents and their kids would mean that if, for example, my daughter’s ears hurt on the descent and she cried, I could perhaps expect a knowing and supportive smile across the aisle, rather than a tut and a muttered “for f***’s sake” from the seat behind me.

And if the answer, to reduce online vitriol and judgement towards children and parents (the vast majority of whom are simply doing their best), is to charge money to those who would like to remove themselves from the same space as families for a few hours, then I say more power to the airline and those who opt for it.

There’s a part of me that wonders if I’m a hypocrite for being in favour of this move, having championed children’s equal right to exist in public spaces. And, of course, not everyone hates children. In reality, it is only a tiny percentage of people who might dub the future leaders of this country and their very own end-of-life carers “crotch goblins”. But the child-free zones concept is undoubtedly an appealing option for those who want to relax and sit in relative silence, to read a book and not have to pretend to enjoy being stared at by a small face peeking through the seats in front. Hell, I enjoy a solo journey with my head buried in a book or – bliss – the opportunity to sleep.

I’ve decided to think of adult-only zones on flights as the equivalent of the quiet carriage. But, like train travel, if tickets for adult-only zones are available, then those who’d usually make a fuss about being seated near a child shouldn’t complain. Like tweeting the train company about having to stand in the aisle of a packed train – you always had the option to book into first class. But you didn’t!

Whether, in practice, adult-only zones will be any more useful than a thin curtain separating smokers from non-smokers in the olden days of flying is debatable. But at least the option is there. Just remember: there are worse people to be stuck with at altitude than children. Even if you pay more, there’s no way of guaranteeing you won’t be seated next to that stag party who spent the morning doing Jager bombs at the airport Wetherspoons...