Our trip to Miami was fabulous. We slept in, went to the beach, swam in the ocean, read, ate great food and just relaxed. Until we got on our Continental flight from Miami to Newark…

I don’t know anything about being a parent. I’m not one yet. But I know how NOT to be a parent and I learned that valuable lesson on Flight 44 — thanks to a family of four that sat in front of us.

The parents were traveling with their two and four-year-old daughters and completely ignored those girls the whole trip. For that excruciating two hour and 28 minute flight – one of the girls was whining, while the other one was screaming at the top of her lungs…the entire time. I’m not kidding. And the parents were zoning out – doing nothing — literally nothing. I was feeling my blood pressure rise.

I don’t blame the kids at all – they are innocent in this story. It’s the parents who I have a problem with. They acted like they were in their own living room instead of on a crowded plane with 200 other people. They were rude, selfish and inconsiderate to me and to their kids.

I’m not a parent yet and I’m not pretending to know what it’s like to be one. So I’ve enlisted the help of my parent friends for this checklist for good parenting:

Jene Luciani, Gigi’s Mom

• Count to ten before reacting in a high pressure situation
• Always find time for laughter; at the end of the day, a happy child trumps all else
• Always be as prepared as possible…especially when going on a trip! Bring everything you could possibly need in any situation – make lists! Read more