I came accross this and wanted to share. 

No Babies on BoardPlane Tantrums
How do you avoid becoming the family that got kicked off an airplane after their crying 3-year-old refused to take her seat?

Experts say rewarding kids for cooperation, distracting them with simple games and telling them in advance what's going to happen can help. But at the end of the day, you may just have to take control, restrain the child, and comply with the rules.

The family, Julie and Gerry Kulesza and their daughter Elly, were headed home to Boston on Jan. 14 from Fort Myers, Fla., when they were told they had to leave the plane because Elly wouldn't get in her seat.

FAA rules require children age 2 and older to have their own seats with buckled seat belts before takeoff. The airline, Air Tran, said the flight had already been delayed 15 minutes when the family was told to disembark. Air Tran reimbursed the family the cost of their tickets and offered them three roundtrip tickets anywhere the airline flies as compensation.

Here are four tips for getting children to behave on airplanes.

1. Bring the child's car seat along. The Federal Aviation Administration says children are safest on planes when strapped into their car seats, and "young kids are often more comfortable in a familiar seat," said Eileen Orgitz. Seeing their own car seat on the plane may also make them more willing to climb in and buckle up, just like they do in the family car.

2. Bring small items you can use as entertainment, distraction and rewards.

"We'll stop in the magazine store and get one of those silly little books where the kids get a magic pen," said Pauline Frommer, the travel guidebook writer and daughter of travel guru Arthur Frommer. In addition, she buys gum as a special treat for her daughters to have in flight, and brings pipe cleaners along to play with.

Holly Hughes, author of "500 Places to Take Your Kids Before They Grow Up," suggests reading a story or even strapping a doll in the seat belt first. "Everyone around you is anxious and kids are likely to pick up on that anxiety," she said. "Distraction is a big thing."

Michele Perry, director of communications for TripAdvisor and mother of a 3-year-old, says if toys don't work, "I have a Plan B, which I'm not proud of but it works: A lollipop."

3. If the child is old enough to understand, explain in advance what's going to happen and stress the importance of following the rules. "Explain that the pilot and flight attendants need their help when preparing for take off," Ogintz said.

"The whole idea is the preparation before. Explain what's going to happen and make it something to look forward to," said Nancy Shankman. Her grown son, Peter Shankman, began traveling with his family from a very young age; today he runs AirTroductions.com, a Web site that allows people to choose their seat mates before boarding.

4. Finally, if rewards, explanations and distraction don't work, you may have to calmly say, "These are the rules, you have no choice," and restrain the child.

"I do feel that preparation for any kind of adventure is important," said Nancy Shankman, "but if that didn't work, I would have just strapped the kid in the seat."

Peter Shankman said that the opinion of about half of the moms weighing in on the subject on the AirTroductions Web site was, "'We would have had that kid down.' They blamed the parents." The other half felt bad for the parents, he said.

"A lot of this comes down to parenting," Perry said. At the end of the day, "I know I can get my daughter buckled in that seat."

The only thing less excusable then both parents being unable to get the child into the seat at an appropriate time and in an acceptable manner is that they were shocked that they were removed.

HELLOOOO!  You want to walk around the plane with a screaming kid?  Buy your own jet.  You want to fly on public transporation, show a little respect. 

They said they would never fly the airline again.  I wonder if they will get over themselves long enough to use the three free tickets they were offered for their inconvenience(as if they deserved them)

You know we all either have children or grandchildren and they have to fly to come see us in Hawaii, so I have a deep respect for those traveling with little ones, when my children were small, (4) of them we would travel to Hawaii, and the looks we got we shameful.  My kids were great having flown all their lives, people would say what great kids we had.  I never get mean with families now traveling with kids, I just think that could be my children or grandchildren flying so go with that attitude, it makes life easier.

Roxanna (RebeccaLouMoss)

Trust me.  I understand about the difficulties of traveling with a little one.  I can relate to the feeling in the pit of your stomach of "oh no, here comes the screaming fit from my child.  I'm going to be the person that ruins everyone's flight." 

The article just made it seem like the actions of the child and the reactions of the parents were way over the limits of what would be considered normal.  In this case, I think the airline made the right choice.

I know that when we fly, we try to get a flight that is at about the same time our kids would be sleeping that way they're usually sleeping as we get on the plane and rarely wake up until we are halfway to our destination. For the older kids I make sure to have some snacks, discmans, coloring books, play-doh, etc.

That's a great idea. Flying during their sleep schedules. I just always felt bad when we flew with our little ones. They had ear problems and the pressure on the ear drum was horrilbe. They never flew great.

And then my oldest goes off and becomes a pilot. LOL!

When my twins were 2 months old, I had to travel alone with them on a three hour flight. I sat in the bulkhead and was prepared to be very busy.  A kind lady moved into the seat next to me just so she could help. I have never felt so grateful. Ever since then, if I am traveling alone and see a parent who could use some help, I will move right next to the parent and offer my assistance. On a recent five-hour flight, an adorable toddler cuddled in my arms most of  the whole way home. His dad was very appreciative. He looked exhausted.