It seems that parent complaints about sex and violence shown on those tiny in flight movie screens have upset parents (and presumably children) so much, that it’s about time the government got involved. At least that’s what two congressmen believe with their introduction of legislation calling for airlines to create kid-friendly zones on place. Named the “Family Friendly Flights Act”….

The bill calls for the creation of sections on commercial flights where there would not be any publicly viewable movie screens. It would still allow airlines to show the movies they choose on big screens in other sections, or on individual seatback screens.

I have a mixed feeling on this one. First off, I don’t think this is a place for the government to get involved. It seems more a like a public relations gambit to me - however, there is a point being made here.

At home, you can very easily turn the TV channel when inappropriate content comes on - and you can control what you think is inappropriate content for your kids. When you step on a plane, you lose much of that control. Sure, you don’t have to purchase or plugin your headphones for the PG-13 rated inflight movie - but you can’t very well shield your child’s eyes when Jennifer Aniston slips between the sheets with her latest leading man.

So, what are parents to do? Run to the government? Ensure that airlines segregate parents with a children to a particular section of the plane? Have these legislators forgotten that an airplane is a tube? I don’t even think there are curtains allowed on planes seperating first class and economy (I could be wrong on this one, it’s been awhile since I have flown.)

The easiest answer here is to occupy your children e.g. toys, read, color, bring your own portable DVD player and more.  Flying is not one of the times you should strictly enforce your policy on limiting TV time. There will always be situations where your children will be exposed to things that you don’t want them to be exposed to. Have you ever stood in line at McDonalds and had to endure the swearing coming out of the mouths of the teenagers in the line next to your kids? It happens and you deal with it.  The airlines don’t want to offend anyone. They need all the business they can get. However, you can’t please everyone all the time. I suspect that they are more concerned with business travelers than 4-8 year olds.

Of course, this is what I think. What do you think?

Bill seeks kid-friendly plane area - Los Angeles Times