Man Wants To Know If He’s Wrong For Not Accommodating Child On A Plane

Oct 26, 2021

You never really know what to expect when you travel on an airplane. Aside from stressing about catching your flight on time and making sure you arrive at your destination in a timely manner, there are some other unexpected things that can pop up during your travels. Something to take into consideration is how the people around you may act, since not everyone is that great with flying and may express their anxiety in pretty unusual ways.

If you’re going to be taking a long flight, you might decide to book your seat ahead of time to make sure you’re comfortable. Some people prefer the aisle seat as it has easy access to the bathroom and to the overhead compartments. Others prefer a window seat because they can look at the breathtaking scenic views below them while they are high up in the sky.

One man decided to take the window seat, but the mother sitting next to him asked if he would switch seats so her child could sit there. He declined, hoping that he could just relax on his long flight, but that, unfortunately, did not happen. The child cried multiple times during the flight with the mother blaming the man every step of the way.

He went to Reddit in September 2021 to ask other users if he was wrong for how he handled the situation and to seek their advice on the matter. Read on to find out more about how this man refused to accommodate a child while on an airplane.

At the start of his Reddit post, the original poster (OP) explained that before getting on his long flight, he had taken some edibles. A mother and her child, who looked to be about 2 or 3 years old, were sitting next to him. OP had a few issues with the pair as the flight continued, with the first problem starting almost immediately.

“The first incident happened when the mom asked if I would trade seats so her child could look out,” he said, explaining how he had a window seat. However, OP had paid to sit in that seat, so he wasn’t in the mood to trade. “I declined and said I would rather sit in the seat I paid for,” OP said. Afterward, he simply put in his headphones and began to watch an episode of “New Girl,” but could hear the child crying, upset that he wouldn’t trade seats.

“A few hours later, I was playing a game on my phone and theg child was very focused on it, but then as everyone here probably knows, you get tired of mobile games, so I turned it off,” OP said. The mother asked OP if he could keep playing the game since it was entertaining her son, but he declined since he was bored of playing it. 

OP explained, “As soon as I did that the child started crying and trying to grab my phone. I just simply raised my hand so the child couldn’t reach, so I said in a louder tone, ‘please control your child.’”

The mom was not happy about OP’s statement, and according to him, she grabbed her son and “freaked out” at OP. She accused him of only thinking about himself. OP posted his story to Reddit and asked if he was wrong for how he handled the situation, and also sought out some advice. The majority of Reddit users agreed that he definitely was not the bad guy here, and that while it would have been nice if he helped keep the child entertained, it wasn’t his job.

One user said, “The mother knew she was on a flight with a child so she should have brought things to entertain the child rather than relying on strangers. If she wanted a window seat she should have booked one. She’s entitled to ask you, but not entitled for you to say yes.”

Another user commented, “If I went through the slightly extra effort to pick my seat, I’m not giving it up for someone who either didn’t bother or was too late.” The user continued, “Also, if it’s not your kid, it’s never your responsibility. I think parents have deluded themselves with the ‘it takes a village’ saying, thinking anyone and everyone should be expected to help out with their kids. Just no, not my monkeys, not my circus.”

Parenting is pretty hard sometimes, so it’s common for parents to ask for help, but that doesn’t mean that everyone has to agree to help them. This was not OP’s child and it wasn’t his responsibility to entertain the kid.

Do you think this man was right or wrong to not help accommodate the child sitting next to him on a plane? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to your family and friends, too.