Spending a day travelling is almost always exhausting, and most of us love nothing more than settling down for a nap as soon as we board a plane or train.
But sometimes that isn't always possible, especially if you've been seated next to some very noisy passengers who won't let you get the rest you desperately need to carry on with your journey.
That's the situation one woman and her boyfriend found themselves in when they boarded a two-hour flight at 2am with the hope of getting some sleep but found themselves sitting next to a family with two children - one baby who was "crying very loudly" for most of the flight, and a five-year-old who was "absolutely full of energy".
Once they boarded the plane, the woman asked a flight attendant if they could move seats, but was told it wouldn't be possible due to the weight distribution of the plane.
The woman understood the reasoning and didn't make a fuss, staying in her given seat, but was met with angry glares from the parents for the rest of the two-hour flight.
In a post on Reddit, she said: "My boyfriend and I were flying back home on a two-hour flight at 2am. While waiting in line to board the plane, there was a family of four in front of us. A man and wife who looked to be in their 40s, one child (I'm assuming five), and one baby who wasn't more than two years old.
"The five-year-old was bouncing off the walls, absolutely full of energy. He was trying to ride his carry-on like a car and kept ramming into my luggage by accident. The baby was crying very loudly as well. I felt bad for the parents because they were trying their best to keep their kids under control to no avail.
"When we boarded the plane, the family sat down across the aisle from me and my boyfriend. To be honest, I wasn't happy about sitting next to a rambunctious kid and a baby who had already been crying for 15+ minutes. All seats were assigned, but the plane was half empty even with all the passengers boarded.
"I noticed a couple, who was sitting in front of the family, asked to move to the back, most likely because they didn’t want to sit next to the children. The flight attendants allowed them to move with no problem. I decided that I also wanted to change our seats, but when I asked the flight attendant, she said no because of the weight distribution on the plane.
"I then asked her if I could purchase first-class tickets and be moved to the front because I saw there were two seats still available. Again, she said no because all transactions had to be done at the counter before we boarded. I understood her points completely, so my boyfriend and I stayed in our original seats.
"The baby cried for the first hour of the flight, and the older child kept bouncing in his seat and talking loudly. At some point, the five-year-old accidentally spilled juice on my shoes from squeezing his juice box too hard (the child and I had aisle seats so we were basically next to each other).
"The parents side-eyed me and my boyfriend the entire flight. They apologised for the juice incident when it happened, but I felt their glares until we landed."
When they got off the plane, the woman decided to ask the parents why they were glaring at her, and they accused her of being "rude" for asking to move away from them.
She added: "When we were getting off the plane, I asked them 'Excuse me. I noticed you and your husband keep looking in our direction. Can we help you with something?'. The husband basically told me off for being rude by 'putting in so much effort to get away from them'. I told them I didn't mean any harm. It was the middle of the night and I was hoping to get some sleep during the flight. I wanted to find a solution without bothering anyone."
Commenters on the post were quick to tell the woman she had done nothing wrong by asking to move, but also sympathised with the parents, whom many said were doing their best.
One person said: "You didn't do anything wrong. They were probably overtired and obviously stressed out. Not everyone likes kids, parents, in general, should know that by now.
As another wrote: "That's a nightmare scenario. You explored your options and kept it together in a situation that would make me spontaneously combust."
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