A Savvy Traveling Parent's Tale

[Editor's Note]
  Just so that readers don't think that myself, and many other flight attendants are crab apples when it comes to passengers with kids, below I've published a letter from a savvy parent who knows how to travel with his children. While not all parents can afford to fly in first class, kudos to Kenny for coming aboard prepared. More parents need to read his letter and learn how to travel better with their kids.  Thanks Kenny for the email!
 
"I never realized y'all knew who pays for the first class seat. My partner and I fly SFO-ATL four times a year with our twins and pay about $1,100 per person for the flight for first class. Going to ATL, I only take the red-eye so that my twins will fall asleep and not bother anyone. Coming back to SFO, I take a 9pm flight so that it'll be dark and the kids will again fall asleep.

  Given that y'all know I've paid for my seats, I'm now understanding why the flight attendants look at me like I'm on crack. When I board the plane, I ask if I can have one can of apple juice to use with the kids when we land, so that I won't have to bother the flight attendant before landing. On the return flight, we each share a meal with a kid so that there are two extras for the other 1st class passengers since I've seen 1st class passengers go ape-crazy over not getting their meal choice. (It's not like we're stranded in the Andes Mountain or anything. It's a 5 hour flight, I think you can live with getting your 2nd meal choice. I just tell the flight attendant to bring us whatever is left.) I never accept the free snacks because I've brought plenty of my own - have heard horror stories about lengthy delays and being stuck on the plane. As the parent, it's my responsibility, not the airlines, to ensure there's enough for my kids to eat so I bring plenty. (When Reese's first came out with the new dark chocolate peanut butter cup, the flight attendant saw that I had several and was bumming candy from me. She was so nice and a real hoot!)
I never understand parents who show up totally unprepared for the flight. It's not like flying is a mysterious experience. Everybody knows what to expect. Just come prepared. I simply pay for the first class seats because I'm too lazy to carry the car seats to the back of the plane. Once my kids can use the regular seat belts, I'll move back into Coach. (I like the last row because it's very close to an actual exit door. Not fond of the overwing exits - the average American has gotten so plus-size I'm convinced some of them will get stuck in that smaller opening and impede my ability to exit the aircraft. Having evacuated a plane once, I know the importance of getting the heck out when the flight attendant says it's time to go. Having evacuated a plane, I also understand why the flight attendants are really there - safety, safety, safety.)"
Kenny