Should babies be banned from airplanes?

A CNN report about flying etiquette has ignited an online war over the propriety of bringing an infant — especially a shrieking one — aboard a commercial flight. What's especially provoking parents are quotes from an unnamed CNN message-board poster who declares that babies should be banned not only from flights, but also from "movie theaters, restaurants" and "any other public place, for that matter." Mommybloggers bite back:

Flying has plenty of irritants: It's not just babies who irritate people, says Talitha Peters at ModernMom.com. Should passengers "too large to sit in a regular" seat be thrown off? What about someone "playing their iPod too loud," or the neighbor who starts "snoring on your shoulder?" Everyone has "experienced something annoying while traveling." It's just part of the process.

"Should babies be banned from planes?"

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Parents have the right, but also the responsibility: Parents and kids have the same "right to travel" as everyone else, says CFagan at Babble.com. But those parents have to play their part by keeping "a pacifier and bottle" handy for babies, and disciplining older kids if they start behaving like "Supernanny fodder." If Mom and Dad are making a "concerted effort," then "cut them some slack."

"Should baby be allowed on board?"

What are you expecting? Society has plenty of "lousy parents" and "bratty kids," says Mary Elizabeth Williams at Salon. And yes, some of them might fly with you from time to time. But there are also parents who pay "attention to their offspring" and teach "courtesy to their fellow passengers." People who don't think they should "endure" children on any airplane have an "overdeveloped sense of entitlement." Get over it.

"The friendly skies' great menace: Babies"