No four words incite more acrimonious debate among air travelers. Not "your flight is delayed." Not "here's a new fee." Not even "snakes on a plane."

On one side, you have childless customers who just want a little civility while they're locked inside a pressurized aluminum tube. And on the other, parents who believe airlines should accommodate anyone, anytime - particularly their beloved offspring.

A decade ago, the last time I wrote about this issue, my sympathies were with solo passengers who wanted to ban babies on board. But now I have three kids - ages 6, 4 and 2 -and I'm leaning to the parents' side.

Kinda.

Here are five ways we might approach the kids-on-a-plane problem - and what you can do to become part of the solution:

1. Kids-only section. Kids-only sections have been tried informally in the past, but never quite caught on. Families couldn't be forced into one section of a plane any more than kids could be excluded from, say, first class. But you can still find your own "kid-free" section on a plane. On domestic flights, children may not sit in exit rows, and they're unlikely to make an appearance in business and first-class sections.

2. Ban 'em. "I don't know whether it would be practical to have child-free flights," says Bill Armstrong, an information technology consultant from Calgary. "But certainly, I am on the list of people who would pay a little extra for that."

But is getting rid of all children a viable solution? Probably not. That's not to say crew members shouldn't be more vigilant about looking for potentially disruptive kids during boarding and warning their parents that outbursts and other forms of unapproved behavior won't be tolerated.

If you suspect you'll have a problem with an unruly child sitting next to you - and this is especially true if it's your own child - speak up before the cabin doors close. A crew member might be able to move you to a different section.

3. No, get rid of the adults! "Are there really more disruptive kids on planes than obnoxious adults?" asks Hayley Schultz, who travels with her three kids, ages 5, 7, and 9, and notes that they sit in their seats, read books, and watch TV without incident. Good point.

If you want to see annoying adults, just take a red-eye flight from Las Vegas, where half the unlucky passengers are trying to drown their sorrows in mini bottles of cheap whiskey.

Schultz's represented some of the more levelheaded comments I've received from parents who thought this whole debate shouldn't be happening at all.

4. Encourage responsible parenting. Many in-flight altercations are a result of negligent parenting, to hear some passengers tell it. A 5-year-old on a flight from Charlotte, N.C., to Albany, N.Y, recently kicked Mauranna Sherman, an administrative assistant from Forest, Va., repeatedly. When she turned around, the boy's mother just shrugged. "Mom had no bag of toys or books or techie stuff" to distract her son.

Airlines bear some responsibility in helping adults prepare for a flight with their offspring, and their Web sites could do a far better job of telling new parents what to expect on a flight. But ultimately, of course, it's the parents' job to make sure they've packed enough food and entertainment for the flight. I've heard of childless passengers packing their own snacks, toys, and games to deal with stressed-out kids they might encounter on a flight.

5. Pass new seat-belt laws. "I would like to see kids more secure during flight," says Nancy Hatten, a flight attendant who lives in Farmington, Minn. "Parents of children under 2 should be required to purchase a passenger seat for the child and then keep them buckled in a child car seat during flight."

That would almost certainly make air travel safer and saner for everyone else. Toddlers strapped in a car seat usually come to terms with their circumstances quickly and know that a stroll down the aisle to visit the pilot is not possible.

Airlines can make it easier for parents to buy an extra seat by offering a discount and providing parents with special seats or child-friendly seat belts, the same way car rental companies do.

I still can't quite bring myself to side with many parents who seem to feel their kids should be able to fly anywhere, anytime and behave any way they want to.

My offspring are capable of some of the most annoying behavior ever. So when a flight attendant tells me my kids are out of line, I'm the first to agree.