Life lesson #1 : all the [adjective] kids sit in the back

When you have open seating on an airplane, you should always sit as close as possible to the front of the airplane. You will not only be the first to get out but also avoid the surprisingly large concentration of kids in the back of the flight. I don't know if parents have this innate instinct to sit in the back, if they figure they will have more space in the back or if the sound of crying will annoy fewer people if their kids are in the back, but it all turns out the same.

At first, you will be tempted to wait to claim a seat because you think you see more window or aisle seats near the back. As you get closer, you will find what looked to be empty seats are actually filled by little kids, too small to have been seen from the front. By then, it is too late. Most likely at this point you have to sit between two people anyway. Even worse, you will be surrounded by babies and children. As the rule of planes goes, there will be that one child who screams intermittently, just as you are about to fall asleep.

I sat between two guys who looked to be a few years younger than me, and slept between bouts of screaming from the kid sitting directly behind me. It was annoying, but only in the way it's supposed to be.