Stranger Passes Mom Note On Parenting After Her Son Falls Asleep On Train

Feb 10, 2022 by apost team

When you have young children, there are times when you might wish that you could get a break from the crying and tantrums they have. When your child begins to act out in public, it can sometimes make you feel like you can't handle anything.

That was the case for one mother from England in this story from 2015. As Sammie Welch rode the train from Birmingham to Plymouth, she faced a situation with her child that made her nervous, especially when a stranger wrote something to her in a note. However, after she read the note, Welch had to fight to hold back tears. Let's take a look at her story.

Welch is a single mother who lives in England, and on that day in 2015, when she was 23-years-old, she and her 3-year-old son Rylan were on the train, as they traveled from Birmingham to Plymouth when something charming happened.

While Welch was on the train with her son, she tried everything that she could to keep him entertained. She knew that they were going to be on the train for some time and that there was a chance the boy would act out with other adults on board.

As the young mother sat with her son, she talked to him about what he did during the day and also played a few games with him. Her son soon started to relax and was seen as a perfect little angel on the train that day. In fact, one stranger was so impressed he felt compelled to let Welch know.

A man who had sat near Welch and her son got up to exit the train, but before he left, he handed the mother a note that was wrapped around money. Then he quickly exited the train before Welch even had a moment to realize what had happened. The note he had handed her was a heartwarming message that made Welch have to fight off tears. It read:

"Have a drink on me. You are a credit to your generation, polite and teaching the little boy good manners. PS I have a daughter your age, someone did the same for her once. Hope when she has children she is as good a mother as you. Have a lovely evening."

The mystery man acknowledged how Welch interacted with her son on the train and that he wanted to treat her to a drink because she was polite in how she taught her son how to behave. He had included a £5 ($6.81) note for the young mother. Not only did the message nearly bring tears to Welch's eyes, she later spoke of just how much it really meant to her. In fact, she wanted to find the man so that she could thank him personally. 

She began the search with an online campaign that saw her story get picked up by various news outlets. She and Rylan even appeared on "Good Morning Britain," where the young boy demonstrated his good manners once again, as he sat on the couch calmly while Welch told the story to the show's hosts. 

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She explained the impact this small gesture had on her. She said:

"I can't actually describe the way it made me feel. It was shocking ... I thought, 'I'm not going to cry on a train full of people.'"

What's more, she revealed that she had no plans to spend the money he gave her but that she'd put it in Rylan's bank account. As reported by the BBC, Welch added:

"I never had the chance to thank him as he got off and I couldn't move due to my son being asleep on me and a man sat next to me ... He shows there are still good people out there and I want him to know I am truly grateful."

The team behind "Good Morning Britain" helped Welch on her search to find the man. They didn't have a lot of information to go off — except that he got off at Bristol station — but within a few days they managed to track him down. Ken Saunders, 50, was the man who made the kind gesture toward Welch and she eventually got to thank him.

In video footage of the sweet reunion, Saunders revealed that Welch's interaction with Rylan put a smile on his face that day and he was impressed with her parenting, so he wanted to pay it forward. When the two finally reunited, Welch thanked him for the money and his words of encouragement. Saunders even received a thank you note from Rylan and enjoyed a cuddle with the young boy.  

What do you think of this heartwarming story? Have you ever been impressed by a stranger and let them know? Let us know and send this article to your friends and family to brighten their day!