Be prepared for LHR security to body scan your children

Westin

Biggles wrote: »

You've clearly got no kids, then, Westin?
;-)

ha-ha

Actually two. We started to take both away from an early age and both are now fairly seasoned travellers.

They now travel either alone or with respecting boy friends/girl friends. My son travelling independently at 17 and has been to South Africa, USA and Australia. My daughter who is 19 is now a flight attendant!

happyandcontented

I am in full agreement with anything that an airport deems it necessary to do to safeguard my life and that of my kids. Why is it an issue?

Coming back from Miami last week we were behind a family whose luggage was overweight because they had too many cases, they unpacked and repacked at the check in desk as the queue watched. Then, to my horror, the father walked over to a bank of seats and dumped one of the cases, walked away and left it. I and another lady in the line looked at each other and we were both clearly debating what to do. I tried to attract the attention of a member of staff but as I did so another staff member approached the chap and explained he wasn't allowed to simply dump a case and board his plane. They both returned to the case and the staff member removed it and presumably disposed of it safely. I would certainly have brought it to their attention had he not intervened.

As for the scanning, if my kids were young now I would make a game of it, or just simply explain it was necessary to keep us all safe. Job done, no drama.

jpsartre

Who's not prepared? Do some people think childen are exempt from airport security?

leylandsunaddict

As the info is only being related second hand, maybe a bit exaggerated along the way? There's no way the OP would have any idea what those kids thought, he didn't even see them.

If 3 kids were screaming and crying I'd have made them and their parents stand aside and wait until parents made their badly behaved children behave before 'processing' them. If they missed their flight, then so be it. The parents would make sure that their kids ceased to be special little snowflakes in the future.

soolin

My children wouldn't have batted an eyelid, in fact I suspect if one of them had been asked to have a scan we would have had issues with the two who didn't as they would be jealous.

My boys though were bought up before the modern snowflake generation

hollydays

Nice to know the airport is being thorough. The onus is on the parent to explain nicely to the 5 year old. The airport shouldn't have to babysit their emotions.
I can remember an airport worker nicely taking the teddy off one of my kids to surreptitiously check it- should I have complained?

firefox1956

Been scanning kids at Leeds Bradford for years.

peachyprice

Nomination for non-story of the week.

They've been scanning children, and pushchairs for that matter, for years. Seems OP just hasn't been in a queue near them before to notice.

If children weren't routinely scanned, where do you think the first place anyone wanting to move contraband would hide stuff?

peachyprice

richardw wrote: »

Why were they screaming?

Probably because the parents were kicking off over the indignity.

photome

Biggles wrote: »

You've clearly got no kids, then, Westin?
;-)

I have and dont see any issue

why couldnt the staff manage it and did your granddaughter/son manage ok