On a flight to Michigan several months ago, Dana and I brought onboard food, toys, games, blankets, pillows, baby syringes filled with baby horse tranquilizers -- anything we thought might keep Emmeline calm during the four-hour flight. The only thing the airline did to help out was lose our luggage.
Turns out we've been flying the wrong airline (have fun with that bankruptcy, United!). Several international carriers are offering everything from puppets to puzzles to interactive televisions and children's programming to help make long flights easier for kids -- and the passengers around them.
Even the worst carriers (is it that obvious I hate United?) are getting into the act by including kids show on their miniature TV screens.
Where the hell were these perks when I was a kid? Sure, I occasionally caught a glimpse inside a cockpit, but I would have foregone the flashing lights, countless switches and crazy questions about Turkish prisons for the chance to pre-order my own meal and play Nintendo during a cross-country flight. That does it. We're definitely switching airlines.