Families traveling avec kids, singular or plural, for adoption or vacation ... Mary, for example... might want to take a gander at this column on kids on planes.

Seems the writer mentioned previously that she prefers the company of children over that of adults during air travel, and that earned her more than 1,600 responses, many disagreeing with her take.

Here's one guy's thoughts:

I think everyone knows for a variety of reasons, that crying infants (really don't know of any other kind) shouldn't be flying on planes. There is NOTHING so important and pressing that should require an infant under 2 to be on a plane to fly/cry."

Oh, my.

But some points are valid: "People with children need to realize that the world doesn't revolve around them and that every public venue does not have to be made 'kid-friendly' because they don't want to raise their children to be civil and well-behaved."

Kicking the backs of seats is one annoyance people mention, along with letting kids run up and down aisles, throwing tantrums, crying ... many of the same behaviors that bug strangers anywhere children are allowed to do three acts from "Lord of the Flies" without direction, but in a confined space with little chance of escape, sometimes for hour upon hour.

And from former Africa Adoption blogger, Holly, a request for input from someone putting together a book meant to inspire people to travel with their young children. (I can hear the moans from here.)

Asking for tips or stories about traveling from pregnancy to with kids six and under, if you have something to contribute on gear and accessories, food, languages, single-parent travels, travel by car, train, bus or plane, health issues, sleeping arrangements, packing, activities and games, or what have you, you can send an email to Erynn at erynn@mosaictravel.com.

I especially like one aspect of travel with kids that she's asking about: Enjoying something you might not have if your child wasn’t with you/Seeing something through their eyes.

That's cool.

But back to the realities of travel with kids, especially air travel ...

As one man puts it in this USA today piece: "I'd rather be in a stagecoach crossing the Rocky Mountains, worrying about Indian attacks and other unknown dangers, than be a family in the aviation system today."

Flight delays and cancellations, security lines that go on for miles, overflowing toilets, stressed out staff ... air travel is less fun than a root canal for everyone, but for those doing it draped in children it can be so much worse.

There are a number of websites dedicated to the topic of air travel with kids complete with tips, personal accounts and products designed to make things easier and safer.

Flying with Kids, Go.com, and Parent's Journal are all loaded with helpful information.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has it's own page for parents, as does the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). These both cover up-to-date changes in rules and restrictions, safety, and more.