General discussion - Mom and Dad Esq.

[ltl/fb]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
Yeah, but that 3 y.o. next to me might not have gotten the sharing lessons. What are you going to do, rip an oxygen mask off of a 3yo with a plane-load of people watching? Child killer!

There are oxygen masks equal to the number of seats. Thus, if it were a 3yo, per dtb there would be enough masks because the kid has to have its own seat. Assuming you meant a younger child that would not have to have its own seat, if there aren't enough oxygen masks, it is because the kid is sitting in the lap of a parent. In that case, the kid would get its own mask and you would share with the parent.

This is why they need to administer a parent test before allowing people to have kids.

Of course, it goes without saying that I would rip the oxygen mask of a kid's face. Especially if the kid were like, disabled or something.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by ltl/fb
There are oxygen masks equal to the number of seats. Thus, if it were a 3yo, per dtb there would be enough masks because the kid has to have its own seat. Assuming you meant a younger child that would not have to have its own seat, if there aren't enough oxygen masks, it is because the kid is sitting in the lap of a parent. In that case, the kid would get its own mask and you would share with the parent.

This is why they need to administer a parent test before allowing people to have kids.

Of course, it goes without saying that I would rip the oxygen mask of a kid's face. Especially if the kid were like, disabled or something.

hpw come you don't worry if this is wasting people's time?

[OscarCrease]

I meant lap children. at least on Alaska we've been moved because we were in a row that had only 3 masks when there were four of us and that was the explanation given. besides, the spiel doesn't say to share with kids it says put your mask on first and then help the kid.

good call though on taking the mask from the disabled kid. that's a given.

[ltl/fb]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
hpw come youdon't worry if this is wasting people's time?

because I'm not inducing them to spend time traveling to read my stuff. I put it where you can easily access it, and you don't have to read it if you don't want to. Hank.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by ltl/fb
because I'm not inducing them to spend time traveling to read my stuff. I put it where you can easily access it, and you don't have to read it if you don't want to. Hank.

Why so defensive?
Its usually quite fun to read your posts, and all i was doing was pointing out that it is likely the realtor wil enjoy the opportunity to spend some time with you also.

[Atticus Grinch]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
Why so defensive?
Its usually quite fun to read your posts, and all i was doing was pointing out that it is likely the realtor wil enjoy the opportunity to spend some time with you also.

POTD, Parent's Board Division.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
POTD, Parent's Board Division.

Is that like being named African-American Of The Year, in Maine?

[Atticus Grinch]

Originally posted by Tyrone_Slothrop
Is that like being named African-American Of The Year, in Maine?

I'm sure Not Me will tell us shortly.

[pretermitted_child]

Originally posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy
OK, everyone gave me some positive reinforcement when I prevented my little greed seed from embarking on an underaged modeling career. But now comes the hard part, and I'm not looking for post-decision reassurance but for input in the actual decision.

A family friend is a director, and at various times (he only sees them every couple of years) has joked with the Greed Seed about being extras in his films. Eldest Greed Seed has always harbored an interest, and we've always told her she couldn't push him about it but if he ever gave a specific offer we'd consider it and think it could be fun.

Here's the problem. He's told us (not yet her) that he does have a specific offer in mind, and it's not an extra. He's thinking of her for a major part in an upcoming film. She would be the younger version of the principal character, and there would be entire scenes built around her character. We don't yet know about filming, and she'd need to do a screen test and get vetted by studio-folk, and it's all still wishy washy, but we need to get back to him as to whether or not we and she would have an interest.

She is a great little actress, ten years old, and it is something she loves. While this may be a premature time for her to enter this world, it also may be the best opportunity she'll ever get. So what would you guys do if it was your daughter?

It sounds like a wonderful opportunity. If, in a couple of years, she has amassed a nice portfolio of professional acting work, it would certainly set her apart from the plebeians in the applicant pool for Phillips Andover (and later Harvard), I'm sure.

[baltassoc]

Originally posted by OscarCrease
not sure why they care about 2-11. i know that there is an oxygen mask issue, i.e., there are only certain rows on the plane with more oxygen masks then seats and so there is a limit on each flight for how many lap children can fly in case they actually need to use the oxygen.

On newer planes, all rows have four masks each. But that still means only one lap kid per row, which can be a pain in the ass (think twins).

The exit row guess is a good one for the 2-11 question, but you have to be 16 to sit in an exit row. (I am all about the exit row - I will rat out any kid I see sitting in the exit row and gleefully take his seat. This happens with distressing regularity, looking at it from a safety perspective - maybe 1 out every 3 times I fly.)

[bilmore]

Originally posted by baltassoc
On newer planes, all rows have four masks each. But that still means only one lap kid per row, which can be a pain in the ass (think twins).

The exit row guess is a good one for the 2-11 question, but you have to be 16 to sit in an exit row. (I am all about the exit row - I will rat out any kid I see sitting in the exit row and gleefully take his seat. This happens with distressing regularity, looking at it from a safety perspective - maybe 1 out every 3 times I fly.)

I've been told, for years, that there can be no "lap kids" on planes, by Northwest and by American, because of fed rules. Were they just scamming me to make me buy a ticket?

[Trepidation_Mom]

Originally posted by baltassoc
The exit row guess is a good one for the 2-11 question, but you have to be 16 to sit in an exit row. (I am all about the exit row - I will rat out any kid I see sitting in the exit row and gleefully take his seat. This happens with distressing regularity, looking at it from a safety perspective - maybe 1 out every 3 times I fly.)

Could also be an administrative hold-over from when they had kid fares, or there might be some reason they want to give flight attendants fair warning (or, if there are a lot of kids on a flight, even put another attendant on).

I can't imagine that it is a seating arrangement issue - on most flights I've taken in the last 2 years, the total pre-take-off consideration of the seating arrangements consists of "sit down in your randomly assigned seat right this second so we can get a head count and check you all against our passenger list and get the hell out of here. If you want to change seats we can discuss it after take off."

Regarding the possible acting job, I'd say let her go for it if she's interested. It would be nice if it were a smaller job to start with, but there is no better way to tell if she actually has adequate ability or interest to pusue acting more seriously than letting her jump in and give it a try. Having her work with someone who is a friend and knows her will make it a lot easier.

I wouldn't worry much about her turning into some horrible Jon-Benet monster if she takes to acting, frankly. I've known a lot of people who did a fair bit of acting, both professionally and not, as kids (myself included, starting at about 7), and even the ones who went into the life didn't come out any more warped than anyone else (now, the musicians were a different story). Also, even non-ambitious parents thinking about their kid acting tend to miss the reality of being an actor: she's not going to be the next Macaulay Culkin or the Olsen twins, and if she follows this interest diligently, even if she is super-talented and goes into acting professionally with a great deal of success, that with almost complete certainty will mean doing local commercials and theater projects and maybe small parts in minor films. If she's interested and good enough to really do something with it, and her parents aren't letting the little ego get out of hand (or encouraging it), it strikes me as being little different from encouraging her to pursue a talent for sports, which can also involve significant time committments, attention, special treatment, etc., and which isn't that hard to cope with if parents use a little common sense.

Actually, if you'd like a pretty amusing look at what the life of real highly-successful actors are like, I suggest Bruce Campbell's autobiography, which was recommended to me by one of my now-pro actor friends. Keep in mind that he is probably in the top 3-5% of "most successful actors in America" - after decades of work it pays his rent.

Incidentally, I informed the partners I'm working for and the assigning attorney of my expectation about a month and a half ago, when I hit 4 months. No one else mentioned anything, so I told my secretary about a month ago. Still nothing; apparently no one gossips at my firm. Anyhow, I apparently finally started to show in the last week or so, and so far the only snide comments have been in the "are you, or do you need to lay off the Cheetos?" vein, though there is a certain amount of incredulous shock in the eyes of some people in my department.

[viet_mom]

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
If you think she's mature enough to handle the possibility that she might not get picked for the part..

You might also consider the specific film under consideration and the filming environment. Our neighbor's kid was supposed to have had the Linda Blair role in The Excorcist but the parents decided against it because they felt there was something *extra* disturbing about the horror flick (even though the child was in real life older than the age of the child she would have played). Considering that film set the standard for childhood nightmares (damn if I don't still have nightmares that I am "possessed"), I think they made the right decision.



I Heart Boohbah
http://www.boohbah.com/zone.html

[baltassoc]

Originally posted by bilmore
I've been told, for years, that there can be no "lap kids" on planes, by Northwest and by American, because of fed rules. Were they just scamming me to make me buy a ticket?

They still let in kids under two. I recently read an article (sorry, no cite handy) that discussed a controversial new proposal to require seats for those under 2; basicly Congress recently head testimony from CDC experts that this would be a horrible thing for safety: if even a small percentage of families decide to drive instead of fly, far more kids will die due to the massive disparity in the dangers of travel by automobile vs. airplane, and this increase in road deaths far outweighs any potential advantage of having an infant in a car seat on the plane.

[Trepidation_Mom]

Originally posted by baltassoc
They still let in kids under two. I recently read an article (sorry, no cite handy) that discussed a controversial new proposal to require seats for those under 2; basicly Congress recently head testimony from CDC experts that this would be a horrible thing for safety: if even a small percentage of families decide to drive instead of fly, far more kids will die due to the massive disparity in the dangers of travel by automobile vs. airplane, and this increase in road deaths far outweighs any potential advantage of having an infant in a car seat on the plane.

I don't think the proposal or the study are very recent, I learned about them in law school. The airlines first tried to institute the policy not so much as a matter of child safety (though it was that, too) but as a matter of general passenger and crew safety - babes in arms are commonly referred to by flight crews as "bombs" because of their tendency to fly through the air and blast into passengers at head-level in turbulence. This is obviously not good for the children, but also endangers the safety of everyone else on the plane. A small percentage of families opting for road-trips to avoid the added air fare, resulting in more traffic and thus more highway pile-ups, was found to cause more injuries (to everyone, not just children) than airborne infant projectiles, but I am not sure that the numbers worked the same way if you are just looking at risk to children, since the risk of injury to children on laps in planes is actually a lot higher than you'd think.