[...] TSA Takes Away 3-year-old’s Playdough [...]

[...] hand, is this issue too important? Kids are being treated like common criminals for everything from showing up with Play-Doh (gaaah) to having the wrong name. A kid who tries to follow their favorite children’s book and [...]

[...] TSA Takes Away 3-year-old’s Playdough [...]

The rules are the rules and I get that. But *nobody* is any safer for these pretend security practices, and it’s ridiculous that they are insisted on under the guise of “doing something.”

well this will never end because they can be accused of profiling if they do not do random things like this to people that are clearly not a threat

My first thought was – why don’t they do what they do with breastmilk and make someone taste it? Easy fix – although teaching the kid later that eating playdough isn’t ALWAYS a great idea might be a little harder.

I hate the TSA regulations but I’ve always assumed playdough would be a no-no. As tempted as I was to pack it for my two toddlers on a 15 hour flight, I opted not to.

I’ve gone through security several times with playdough, no problem. I was actually kind of surprised it didn’t get taken away. Just goes to show how inconsistent TSA is.

The first time I read this I was appalled that the TSA inspector confiscated the cans “right in front of” the child, instead of, for example, discretely speaking to the parent and letting the other parent distract the child’s attention — after all, the playdoh can likely be replaced at the other end of the trip.

On second reading, though, I see that one parent actually called the other parent’s attention to the situation, naming the playdoh aloud and thereby bringing the toddler’s attention to the situation as well.

Gee, couldn’t the parent have cooperated in the TSA inspector’s discretion … and thus avoided traumatizing the child?

Laure68 – yes, I realize that people would complain and point fingers if the TSA did not “do something.” But does any of the “something” the TSA does keep anybody actually safe or does it simply give the appearance that people are being kept safe? My argument that all of this “security theater” is going on to keep the populace feeling safe rather than actually safe. The fact that the passengers on the plane had to be the ones to foil the wanna be panty bomber, proves that none of these exercises in futility are actually accomplishing anything.

I always take play-doh, but I also always assume it will be confiscated. I take one of the very smallest cans and have never had a problem. I also always put it in a ziplock and send it through with other liquids.

I agree that it is important for people to feel safe as well, but I keep thinking of that old Ben Franklinism – Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will lose both and deserve neither.

This is totally reasonable, and way smarter than making you take your shoes off. As posters above have said, Play-Doh looks remarkably like plastic explosives. It’s actually a kind of diabolically clever idea. And if you think that some extremists are willing to sacrifice their children for (what they see as) a higher cause, that’s not something I would want to bet my life and the lives of hundreds of other people on.

When I was a little kid, my family happened to be flying out of Munich the day that the Israel athletes were killed at the Olympics. Of course, the Munich airport was in lockdown mode, and I remember vividly (I was 7, my sisters were 5) that the security people ripped our stuffed animals apart. Probably they had wires or something in them that made them look like a potential bomb threat. Of course we started wailing and screaming, but my parents explained that the police had to be very, very careful, and that my mom would sew the animals back together later. The security agents’ actions were probably overkill, but it was a crisis terrorist situation. They made the right decision, and my sisters and I were not traumatized for life.

As to the question about baby poo–that’s a bit silly. Poo is pretty easily identifiable on a quick examination, and anyway I’d be shocked if any parent would travel without a change of diapers. If the TSA were truly worried, they could demand that the parent change the diapers and dispose of the used diaper securely. Not a big imposition.

By the way, I am a die-hard liberal, and not in favor of a police state. However, as a result of years in the travel industry, I have a pretty good knowledge of safety issues, and what’s reasonable. My drag queen co-worker had his fake boobs examined closely at Heathrow (an airport that has MUCH better security than anything in the US, due to years of IRA threats). He wasn’t upset. He said it had never accured to him that “falsies” could be used to smuggle plastic explosives but, once he thought about it, he was fine with the mild humiliation. FWIW.

Frankly I’m surprised anyone brings play-doh on board for their kids. I travel long-haul, on my own, with three kids under six frequently and have never even considered play-doh appropriate. I mean, that stuff has to be a b*tch for the cleaning crew to get out of the uphostery/carpet/hinges of the fold-down tray… And really, even if you DID make a mistake, packed the stuff in your carry-on and got it confiscated, just buy some more at your destination. As alraedy pointed out, most of us fliers aren’t so desperately poor that a tub of play-doh means no supper for the children.