Youngsters - #AtoZChallenge

This post dovetails with my V post, but I don't think you need to have read it to understand.

To catch up, in "Validation in Vietnam" my husband and I had traveled to Hanoi to do some paperwork stuff at the embassy. Our flight home left Hanoi at 8:10 p.m. and we had noticed many young children at or near our gate before boarding. This is about those Youngsters.

It surprised me, because we aren't near a holiday time when families typically travel, it seemed like a late flight to take kids on, and this isn't a school vacation time yet. Although, when I say "Young children" I mean there were dozens of kids aged maybe five or six, and under. Probably not school age anyway.

After we boarded, I realized it seemed many of these parents know each other, as kids traded seats and parental control frequently. Maybe they had all met standing in line at check in, or goofing around near the gate. None of the kids had seemed ornery or trouble-causing - although there was one moment in the terminal where two toddlers met near a vending machine and one reached up to touch the other's face and received a shove in return, but you can't complain about a little girl protecting her space!

So it was a pretty chatty flight. Kids, yes, parents, too. It's a good thing I've seen the safety procedure presentation hundreds of times before, because I couldn't hear him over the low rumble surrounding me!

The lights dimmed for take-off, and the voices seemed to dim with the lights. 

The plane accelerated along the runway, and all was quiet.

The wheels lifted off the ground, and the cabin filled with low squeals from all the kids - some squeals of laughing joy, some of terror that receded into tears for a few minutes. I had to laugh! I've flown so often and for so long that it was "old hat" to me by the time I was a teenager. I've absolutely forgotten that the bottom drops out of my stomach at that "wheels up" moment, too! I felt young again for a beat. 

As we rose to cruising elevation, the cabin stayed dark and relatively quiet. I was relieved because after a long day I hoped to get at least a handful of ZZz's during the flight. My relief was short-lived, as the lights came up and the flight attendant announced they'd be coming through with the carts of snacks for purchase.

As the lights arose, so did the volume. I don't think I've ever been on a noisier flight. Again, no one being bad, not even a lot of crying, but so much chatter! I did get some sleep, noisy or not. When your body needs rest, it will take it!

By the time we were preparing to land it was clear the flight attendants were ready to be done. They did all the normal checks, but when all was dark again for the descent, a girl found the buttons for the reading lights. She was kneeling on the seat pressing the buttons above her - accidentally hitting the call button a couple times - and finally the crew member sitting in the nearest jump seat stood up and motioned that she - and the girl across the aisle who was now copying her - both needed to sit down!

She never came to re-check the seatbelts, probably because we were already in our slow descent toward Danang. Besides, I'm pretty sure the whole crew was just ready to get off the plane. 

It occurred to me that if we ended up crashing, all those seatbelt-less kids would end up bouncing around the cabin like popcorn in an air-popper. Just insane.

Have you ever flown with kids? Either strangers on your flight, or kids in your own traveling party? Any insights?