Tough, but fair

Start teaching them to sit still months in advance and let them be excited about flying. My kids did fine at 4 and 6 for a short flight. The only noise they made was excited noses at take off. We just watched a movie on our laptop.

Been flying with my kid since he was an infant, no more problems than the perennial bachelor two rows up getting obnoxiously intoxicated, the immigrant family whose BO wafts in a 16 sq.ft. radius, the obese American pouring over your armrest and into your lap; why are kids viewed as the only bad flyers?

Or see if a doctor can safely provide sedatives for you child to sleep through thw plane trip