Nobody said travelling with young children was easy - least of all a plane journey. From tantrums in the sky to wanting to run up and down the aisles, a little stress has come to be expected on an aeroplane with a toddler.
However, also brings out the worst in adults, too, with diva demands for cabin crew, poor hygiene and rowdy behaviour after one-too-many drinks. One man has spoken out about his recent experience on a flight he took with his three-year-old son, reports the Mirror.
The anonymous person, who goes by the username MileHighHell, took to Reddit to share how baffled he was by a woman telling him to stop talking to his son. He wrote: "My son and I were flying home from vacation.
"He's young enough not to need a ticket and just sit in my lap, so we did that to save money. We ended up in a middle seat, which sucks, but oh well.
"Anyway, he was still asleep when we got on the plane (very early flight). The lady at the window also fell asleep as soon as she sat down. The guy at the aisle put headphones in and started playing on his phone. All was relatively peaceful.
"About an hour in my son woke up and we started chatting. We talked about what we did on vacation, how we're excited to see mom again, you know, typical three-year-old conversation.
"Then I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn and see window lady (sorry, I don't know her name) with her sunglasses off. Her eyes were red and she was glaring.
"I smiled at her and asked if she needed something. She said she needed me to be quiet so she could sleep. I was a bit taken aback. I joked that the quiet car is on the other side of the plane. She said no one wanted to hear my conversation.
"I got annoyed at that point and told her to wear headphones. She said she didn't have any. I shrugged and went back to talking to my son."
The woman on the flight then took the matter a step further by calling a cabin crew member over, claiming the parent and their son were 'bothering her'. She was then offered another seat on the plane but refused it as she said she'd paid extra for a window seat and suggested the other passengers should move.
He continued: "I felt like the lady was being rude and entitled and said I was happy where I was and preferred not to move. The hostess shrugged and walked off.
"Window lady said I was a d***. I said it takes one to know one and not to curse in front of my kid. She crossed her arms and turned away. I turned my attention back to my kid. Nothing else happened after that."
His wife agreed the woman 'sounded awful', but suggested the pair should've moved to avoid exposing their child to more conflict. The post, which has over 70 comments, with many agreeing he wasn't in the wrong and the woman should've been more prepared.
One user commented: "Your child was behaving. It's not your fault she's a light sleeper. She was given the opportunity to move and chose not to, so it couldn't have been that disruptive for her. She's not entitled to dictate orders to complete strangers to change seats because she'd prefer it."
"An airplane is a public space. Talking from others is to be expected. Your wife had a point though," said another. A third person wrote: "There’s a reason they invented ear plugs and noise-cancelling headphones. No one is entitled on a plane to total silence. Moving would have been letting bullies win and your kid didn’t need to see that."
What do you think about how the man was treated? Let us know in the comments.
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