Babies not allowed on board.

Infants – not dangerous toddlers toddling around in their terrible twos – have been stopped from boarding airplanes because their names are similar to ones on the government’s “no-fly list.” How crazy is that?

If you’ve ever had a precocious tyke kicking the back of your seat on a long, crowded flight, perhaps you can understand the urge to hold them at security. But as a matter of national security, it’s time a little common sense was injected into the whole terrorist watch list thing.

The system works by flagging names that match those of suspected terrorists. But the matching is haphazard. Names that are similar in spelling or sound alike can be caught up in the database. Once a name appears on the list, without any context to help security personnel figure out who’s who, it’s nearly impossible to have it removed. Marked once, marked forever.

Some of the unlucky families traveling with their kids have been able to navigate the system and continue on their trip – after lengthy delay. For others, well, luck and the Transportation Security Administration haven’t been on their side.

Watch lists snare lots of people who are no threat to airplane security. The likes of Sen. Ted Kennedy and David Nelson, of “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet” fame, have been caught up. Regardless of your feelings about Kennedy or nostalgia for old sitcoms, neither poses a threat on a commercial airline.

And neither do babies, toddlers, waddlers and other assorted wee ones.

The demand for better security is real, but rules that overwhelm common sense don’t make us any safer.