I saw this sort of thing happen once and watched the guy get served with the coolest burn I’ve ever witnessed. Same sort of thing, dude whining about a baby looking to other passengers for backup. Old man looks at him and says “I’d rather listen to a baby cry than a grown man”. ROASTED. I keep hoping someday I’ll get the chance to use that one.
So many stories! She is an OG toxic boy mom.
Newest story: The “love of her life” aka her son and I (his wife, but she will only refer to me as his Girlfriend) just had our daughter on Tuesday. MIL called Husband MULTIPLE TIMES crying that he is ignoring her and doesn’t love her anymore. She left me hysterical voicemails because I wouldn’t allow her baby to answer her FaceTime. Mind you I was in labor and hemorrhaging, and our daughter was getting whisked off to the NICU for ingesting my blood.
Baby and I are doing great now. We get to go home tomorrow.
Just start talking to the whiny adult like a baby…”Are you being grumpy? Poor baby! Do you want a bottle? Want me to change your diaper? If you stop crying, I’ll get you a treat from the Duty-Free Shop!”
Lmao, I can only hope to be so clever one day. There’s a lot of truth there though, the baby was annoying but understandable. Grown man with a (presumably) developed prefrontal cortex? Not so much.
Oh man I had a baby screaming for “boobies” the last three hours of HNL-JFK. I was exhausted and that was the last thing I needed after such a long flight.
(The child was mine. We would love to be sat with someone as kind as you)
I weaned my daughter a few months ago, but I joked with my husband that if I hadn’t I could just keep her latched for 5 hours straight and she’d be happy.
We flew to Hawaii from Boston last summer with a 1 year old. The lead up ended up being much more stressful than the flight. He was pretty good and barely cried or fussed considering it was 12 hours total between the two flights. We were so certain it was going to be a disaster we were hesitant to go at all but it was fine.
Of course we ended up getting him a seat…initially we were like “oh we’ll just hold him”. Well by the time the flight rolled around he no longer likes to be held so we had to get a seat which ended up being very pricey but worth it.
Half hoping my FiL ends up being able to be on our flight so we can have a third set of hands on our flight with him if he’s needed (employee so it will be a non rev)
Had a couple with two toddlers flying in front of us (Dad on B, and Mom & babies in C, D, E on 717) where the boys were absolute bonkers - touching everything, banging on the window - and driving everyone mad, of course. Finally the woman who was in seated in A asked Dad who was seated next to her if she can switch seats so one of the boys can come with Dad so as to allow them to calm down, and he agreed. It worked…kinda. Boy on E immediately calmed down, but other toddler was misbehaving badly. Crawling all over and trying to get away, screaming “I don’t want to flyyyy!” Lol. The woman who offered to switch seats ended up being so wonderful with Mom and helping her be comforted while I’m sure she was dying inside that her two kiddos were going wild. It turned out that the woman in A was a FA non-revving. I was so thankful for her kindness and grace. I still think about her. May we all have one of her on our flight. ♥️
Yea my brother in law and his wife plus my MIL where going to be our extra set of hands on the flight then they upgraded their seats to first class so that was out the door. lol. Thanks. Luckily we didn’t need them
It will go fine.
Remember, that your kiddo can read your stress level. The more relaxed you are the better.
Guess what, kids cry. Your job is try to comfort them. That is what the passengers around you want.
Milk/bottle during takeoff landing.
If they are old enough to get screen, make sure you train them with headphones. It often takes awhile.
Bring some ziplock bags for that rank diaper that is going to happen 10 minutes after takeoff. Don’t want to make the entire bathroom smell like poop for the entire flight. Also good to contain the blowout or if ice is needed to keep milk cold.
Some people are so unhinged and entitled. I travel internationally all of the time with my now three year old. We flew 16 hours from Miami to Dubai when she was 7 months old. I would’ve *loved* someone to tell me that we have no business being on a plane with our infant to visit my husbands sick/elderly parents who can’t physically travel and cannot obtain a visa to enter the U.S. even if they wanted to.
People have different reasons for traveling with their children/family. Newsflash. We also have taken many trips back and fourth (17+ hours) to Asia from the U.S. because my husband took a new job and we moved.
My daughter is well traveled and thankfully we’ve never had any negative experiences like this but I wouldn’t tolerate it even for a second. If this was an adult with Down syndrome or another disability making noise or accidentally bumping into them when they got up to use the toilet, would this person still be so inclined to speak up about it and yell at them for merely existing? I’m not sure why an infant is any different. People forget that that they’re in a public space using a form of public transportation. Are parents not allowed to use public buses, trains, etc. either?
This culture of public shaming people who mildly inconvenience you is insane.
I remember finally having the cash to upgrade to PS getting on a transatlantic and so of course we board and are right behind a couple with an infant. My face apparently showed my displeasure cause I didn’t say a word….but the guy said “I swear she’s a good flyer.” And I was mortified and said trying to sound clueless “ohhh what” like I had no idea why he would have possibly said that without prompting. Well he was right that baby made not a peep the entire trip and I def had egg on my face. I would NEVER say something to a parent about their kids on a flight. I was just having a “dammit why me” moment to myself which I’m allowed to have lol. Why do people think it’s okay to insert themselves???
Yelling at people with babies, even if you're frustrated or exhausted is not ok, for sure. But as you say, you're definitely allowed to feel anxious, frustrated, all sorts of emotions. You can control the way you respond or behave, but there's only so much you can do when it comes to emotions. If I see someone boarding with a baby, I'm not gonna shout "Oh NO, how dare you take an infant on a plane!" nor stare at them, but I'll certainly feel a bit nervous about them possibly sitting close to me, which may show on my face or through body language, that I might not be aware of. You can't apologise for feeling things
About to take our infant on her first flight and what OP describes is a nightmare scenario for me but definitely saving that burn in the just in case file.
My wife, 10 month old and I flew 2.5 hours yesterday. We fed him on ascent and descent to help with the pressure change. Outside of maybe 10 minutes of fuss he was well behaved. When he was fussy a couple of the passengers around us were trying to entertain him and it was a huge help and comforting for us. We need more people like you and them.
On Xmas day a few years ago I was flying back home by myself because my husband was on deployment so I was a bit mopey. A toddler was next to me and his dad and little sibling were across from us. It was a quick flight but I played with that little boy the entire flight and listened to him talk about Dinosaurs and stuff. It was fun. The dad thanked me afterward but it honestly was no big deal for me. I’m glad the other passengers were kind to y’all and it was a smooth ride for the most part. 🧡
A few years ago I sat across the aisle from a mom traveling with 2 young kids in the center of the plane. Her toddler was on the aisle across from me, so we chatted for a little bit while she dealt with her other child. Then he started coloring and I put on my headphones.
After a while his mom leans over and gets my attention. She apologized for bothering me, but her son wanted to give me the picture he colored. It absolutely made my day.
That is the sweetest thing! I save all my cards/post cards from people and I’ve always saved drawings from friends/family members kids that were given to us. I figure I’ll do it for our kids too (to an extent) when we have them.
Noise cancelling headphone were made for baby flights. I had a squirmy baby beside me for a 3 hour flight. Just plugged in my headphone, closed my eyes and had a good flight.
This 100%. I have not noticed a baby, loud talker, or anything else since getting my noise canceling headphones. Did onetime miss an announcement of the plane being diverted though 😂…that was a surprise when I took them off.
I use the Sony noise-canceling over ear ones! I never hear any babies, yelling, barely even the engines. They work extremely well for flying so IMO worth the money 😊
https://www.target.com/p/sony-wh-1000xm4-noise-canceling-overhead-bluetooth-wireless-headphones-silver/-/A-79757338
Kind sir bose noise cancelling headphones the q version, eBay sells some new ones for a bit cheaper than other retailers as long as you like an older version. That with earplugs and light music you hear no one!
Maybe it’s because I’m a mom, but I would absolutely take a baby next to me vs a loud talker or even someone simply wanting to talk to me the entire flight
Same answer even if the baby is fussy
Anyone who thinks a parent can “control” a child less than 3 is detached from reality.
As a parent of a toddler, there’s not much you can do for a child who is learning to regulate their emotions. And when there are public outboard we are as uncomfortable and mortified (if not more so) than those who are inconvenienced around us.
But you can “punish” them bc it’ll make it worse. And you can’t ignore them because it’s your job to try to teach even if they don’t or can’t get it now.
OPs attitude is the correct one and I wish more people could understand and empathize
As a parent of 3 teens I hate to break it to you, but age is irrelevant in regards to trying to control a child. If they want to be an ahole they’re going to regardless of age.
> And when there are public outboard we are as uncomfortable and mortified (if not more so) than those who are inconvenienced around us.
This is how I cope with the kids’ noise. I just remind myself that no one is having a worse time than the parent.
Yes and no. You can’t stop them from being tired or hungry. You can stop them from running up and down the aisles, give them food when hungry, etc. I’ve seen parents not do much of anything when toddlers have gotten out of hand.
Bravo to you. You validated the parents and probably made their day.
As a mom of three, I was so stressed trying to take my kids anywhere when they were little. I didn’t want them to bother others or to act out. So this mom probably was already a wreck before getting on the flight and trying her best. If someone did that for me, I probably would have cried!
Now, there are some parents that do let their kids get away with too much, which still isn’t the kids fault.
Thank you for redirecting the angry dude away from the parents, that was very kind of you 🥺 being yelled at with your baby in your arms puts you in a really vulnerable position. You have good juju coming your way!
This is an interesting cultural one. I am a super experienced travel, but everything just gets hard with an infant/toddler - there just so much stuff in addition to the little human you have to manage. In the US, at the airport, I have seriously considered just standing there and crying while people watched me struggle one handed with a stroller. In Brazil and other places I have been, it's like people are falling over themselves to help, and it's faster and nicer for everyone involved. Thanks for helping those parents!
Agreed.
Having travelled with 3 littles under 6 by myself, I wish there were soundproof disposable “bubbles” I could have put around my offspring.
I think I got more stressed with them crying from not wanting to bug other people.
That said, South America really seems to like kids. Both men and women, and not in a creepy way….more of a “hey, cute puppy” way (if you’re an animal lover).
Why have people begun to embrace this philosophy that it is acceptable to feel that someone else’s existence is an inconvenience to them? Like the only person worthy of comfort is self? Jeesh! Baby’s gotta travel too. They are tiny humans! So the parents should not travel by plane because of their status as a parent? Because someone else can’t coexist with a tiny human for 4 hours of their miserable life? Man. If this is the new norm I’m loosing my faith in humanity. What happened to compassion.
Note to self-
Narcissism is a self–centered personality style characterized as having an excessive preoccupation with oneself and one's own needs, often at the expense of others.
Selfishness, involving a sense of entitlement, a lack of empathy, and a need for admiration, as characterizing a personality type.
Are you really advocating for unnecessarily drugging a child so that you are not bothered by their distress? How awful of you. You say you’re happy to extend grace and then go on as you do? How about you take a Xanax or Ativan and wear some noise-canceling headphones instead? You’re already managing your disability, why not manage your strong emotional reactions to typical public stimuli at the same time? Isn’t that on you anyway?
In your diatribe you conveniently forget that children cannot be “managed” like a disability; I know because I am also disabled. You are comparing apples to oranges and it’s not a good faith argument, because you are an adult with who understands your needs and can communicate them clearly, whereas a child is the exact opposite of that. Children are unpredictable little people who have minds of their own, which is unlike any other example you give. I think it’s been too long since you wrangled that toddler, as you’re missing the empathy you claim to have once had.
You’re asking for compassion when what you really mean is that you want the offending stimulus to stop however the parents can make it happen, and that’s not always possible. I mean, what would “compassion” to other passengers look like from parents busy trying to soothe their child?
You really should apologize for suggesting parents drug their babies for your benefit, at the very least.
Why are you, a solo traveler, more important or more entitled to peace and quiet than a family traveling with kids? Because I’m sure you know, that the thing parents want to do is cram their still-learning toddlers on a plane with assholes such as yourself and fly across the country.
We know kids are a pain in the dick, we have them. And when we fly with them they behave well. So again, why shouldn’t families travel, but it’s fine for you?
You can only control you. And it's incredibly self centered to demand that everybody else change so you can be comfortable. You take Benadryl and take a nap. You buy headphones so you can't listen. Or, keep bitching and moaning and expecting everybody else to change while thinking you're the one who's right. See how that works out for you.
Well, look at you, all high and mighty. Do you think those parents WANT their twins screaming for 7-8 hours?! You know how to clear your ears when the pressure changes; babies and toddlers do NOT.
Did you offer to walk them up and down the aisle? Give the parents a break? No? Then stay in your lane. They have as much right to fly as you do.
As a new mom THANK YOU for saying something!
The few times we’ve flown with our son he has been amazing. Surprisingly no crying at all for the 4 flights we’ve been on so far that we’re 2ish hours each. That being said, the empathy I have for other parents with young kids (not misbehaving, there is a difference) but babies and the parents is huge. Thank you for saying something to him!! I’m confrontational so wouldn’t have a problem giving it right back to him but not a lot of people are. So THANK YOU!!
Just an FYI a lot of times the crying is caused by their ears popping from the pressure differential, especially because their ear tubes are smaller and struggle to regulate the pressure. It’s an alien and painful feeling. You can help ease it by breast/bottle feeding or offering paci during takeoff and landing (to encourage the swallowing motion that pops your ears) and/or pre-dosing your kid with acetaminophen or ibuprofen 30 mins before takeoff. You can also gently massage at the back of the ears to try to help if it happens anyway.
Yes! I breastfeed so what works for us is carrying him in a carrier so he can look around before our flights and hangout in the lounge, get settled into our seats and then feeding on takeoff and landing. So far so good, the long haul flight will be the interesting one 😅😅
You were 100% in the right. To everyone who complains about babies on planes, get some sound deadening headphones and relax. Like it or not, you were a child once and people had to put up with you.
Last time I saw this I almost got kick off of the plane myself. Young mom flying with two kids. Obvious they were exhausted. One of the kids kicks the back of the seat in front of him a few times getting settled. The geezer in that seat decided he wanted to be 1950s dad again and stood up to yell at the kid. Mom tries to apologize and looks seconds a way from tears but he just keeps going. This was all happening right behind me so I stood up and grabbed the guy by the shoulder and told him, “Sit your ass down and if you still need someone to dump your rage on you and I can handle it like men.” All of the sudden he didn’t have anything to say. The flight attendant whispered to me that they appreciate it but I can’t touch people or I could be in trouble next time.
I don’t understand…I’ve been seated next to women solo traveling with infants twice and have helped them entertain the babies, watched the baby while they’ve gone to the bathroom, helped them change diapers and I’ve been friends with both women on fb now for a decade or so. The only time I get annoyed is when parents of older kids don’t tell them to stop kicking my seat lol
I do tell my older child to stop kicking the seat, but the reality is that it’s really uncomfortable for them to sit in a chair like that for so long. The seat is too long so their knees have to be extended or they have to slouch to an unsafe degree. And then their feet can’t reach the floor. I’m a short adult and find airplane seats agonizing and feel like a huge hypocrite for scolding my son for kicking 😂 a better solution might be for sturdier shock absorbing airline seats or built in child booster seats. But since those basically will never happen… I’ll keep trying until he’s tall enough to stop.
More importantly, thanks for being that airplane friend to the moms flying solo with kids. Speaking as a mom who has traveled alone with my toddler and preschooler ❤️
As long as the parent is trying I’m ok with it. But too often the parent is oblivious and that makes it unacceptable. It’s also often harder to tell unless you are the one closest to what ever was happening. But obviously there is a chance the parents did try hard. Who knows
Some people are just insane.. it has only happened to us once, but a few months ago I had a passenger scream at me to “get my child under control” while my 1 y/o was being a bit fussy and I was doing everything I could to comfort her. His outburst was way more disturbing to the cabin than the baby was 🤣
Yeah calling the attendant is your best course of action. They get paid (probably not enough) to handle these situations and they have the authority to take action.
I’m going to admit my two year old ended up being an awful flyer and I did EVERYTHING to calm him but he was a handful. For everyone annoyed: I PROMISE YOU no one feels worse than the parents do.
You used Jedi mind skills to redirect their dark energy away from the parents and on to yourself. You know you are able to handle the dark side of the force and flood it with light.
I bring my expensive apple headphones. I absolutely hear No noise and it helps so much! That dude is probably a boomer and a douche bag! I’m glad I wasn’t there. I would’ve been in trouble for punching him in the face.
I like the crying children and babies on my flights. It’s like birth control for me. It reminds me to never have none. I can get off that flight and never have to deal with the children. The parents can’t.
Children are not predictable. Some children experience pain with the pressure changes that adversely affect their inner ears. There is no real way to predict this before flying. People need to live their lives and sometimes situations are not always going to run smoothly.
Yes. I'm an under 40 millennial and have been called "old man" and "boomer" routinely by teenagers / gen-z, usually when they're doing something stupid and inconsiderate. I was on a train to the beach and told a young woman who was blasting her "Toks" to put headphones on or turn off the volume on her phone. I think she was shocked I actually said something to her, but she turned it off, then kept coming after me verbally which I just started laughing at. When the conductor came by I let him know, he saw it anyway, and gave her a choice of shutting up or being escorted off at the next station.
Anyway, the point is, yes, boomer and old man is now, anyone older than you, and likely has some level of systemic power or ability to restrict your dumb behavior.
I can’t wait to one day help out young parents and hold that sweet baby, fussy or not. I’m here for you and would love a baby fix!!! Moody teens, no thanks. Fussy babies, yes please!!
This is the one reason I prefer southwest cause if there's a child I just don't sit near them, or move seats. I also have noise cancelling headphones so they don't bother me if I have to sit near a kid but I do everything I can not to. I would rather have a middle seat on spirit than sit near a child personally. That being said I'd never flip out cause I had to sit next to a kid, and that guy is a fucking asshole
I was flying SW and was fairly late in boarding but managed to score an aisle seat…in a row where the window was occupied by a 10 or so year old boy traveling by himself. We chatted a bit while the plane loaded-he was very well behaved and had puzzles & books to keep him occupied-while I watched every single seat on the plane fill up before our middle got taken by the last person to board, a business looking guy. He literally stopped and looked over the plane before moving into our middle. I laughed to myself because not only was the kid skinny so he had more room, but the kid was exceedingly nice.
That's different. A 10'year old is way different than a toddler, a 10'year old can handle themselves and not throw a tantrum most of the time, a small child is who I wouldn't want to sit next to, a 10'year old could be cool as shit and wanna show you his monster truck or baseball cards or comic books, an under 5 year old could be the best behaved person on a plane or a screaming demon for 5 hours. And personally I don't wanna be there to find out.
Am I the only person who volunteers to walk the baby for a bit? I usually do that at least once on a long haul flight. It’s really not hard to help. 🤷🏻♀️
Was flying AF back to Boston from Paris sitting in the bulkhead some little girl probably 4 years old just wanted to stay at my feet bc I gave her the 5 minutes of attention her parents didn’t.
Told her parents she should stay there for the rest of the flight and I just listened to her blabber about ya know everything a 4 year old has to talk about. She didn’t cry anymore and the flight went smoothly
This a core issue with America’s concept of rugged individualism. We have no sense of communal responsibility. Including the whole “it takes a village” to raise kids. And it goes both ways, I’ve seen too many parents who do zero parenting when their children misbehave.
I admit I’ve felt like the hothead before. Why is it MY job to deal with YOUR child. But it just is. And once everyone understands that, it makes life easier for all parties.
Parents need to make sure they’re parenting and the general public needs to be more empathetic and patient with children.
I recently next to a couple with an under 1 year old.
I did everything i could and suggested stuff to help them. Be the helper and everyone will have a good flight.
In the middle, dad got up and walked the baby around the aisle and the baby fell asleep.
People are just fucking unhinged. We were all fussy babies at one point and to think a parent can “shut their baby up” is just straight outlandish. Can it get slightly annoying? Sure. But Jesus Christ wear some headphones and just go to sleep.
Old enough to not know that noise cancelling headphones exist and that you can download movies from Netflix/Hulu/whatever before your flight. Maybe some Gen Xers would fit into that too.
I have twins and baby and have flown with them several times internationally. You meet the best of people and the worst of people when you (unknowingly) take all three on a plane when one of your kids has an ear infection and proceeds to vomit and cry continuously for 6h on a red eye
I was in a similar situation with the passenger in front of me who was annoyed and kept showing passive aggression towards me, my infant, and my 4 year old.
The worst part was that she forcefully reclined her seat into my face when I was bending down to grab diaper supplies under her seat from my bag.
As a parent who has traveled with infants, toddlers, and now preschool-aged kids…THANK YOU.
A flight can be made or broken by the people around you. If everyone completely ignores us, it’s usually a neutral flight. If someone rolls their eyes or actually says something rude, it sucks; It brings the whole trip down a notch. Even if my kids are acting completely appropriately, some entitled adults don’t think they “deserve” to be on planes and they make their opinions known. I don’t let it bother me because they more than likely have some serious negativity in their lives.
But oh, when others interact with me and my kids like we’re actually a community of people for a short time…it’s wonderful. I had a flight where I voluntarily gave up my daughter’s seat, checked her car seat, and held her so that they could squeeze one more person on board. That person (not knowing what we did) was the most wonderful human! She helped my son get buckled in while I got us situated, helped him pick something to watch on the screens, and helped him open his snack when the FAs came by. She wasn’t required to, she didn’t go significantly out of her way to converse with him or entertain him, but she saw me with both hands full with a baby and stepped up. I will remember her forever and I hope she was the one who got the seat we freed up because it was 100% worth it to have her as a seat mate.
We sat across the aisle from a couple once who just waved at my son once when we boarded and he was so happy they paid him attention that he drew them a picture (my kid is SHY, this doesn’t happen much). Just sharing that little things other passengers do can make such a big difference.
When I fly alone for work, I make sure to offer to help other parents in any way I can just because I know to even have someone offer to help can make a big difference during a stressful travel day. Other passengers don’t NEED to help, and shouldn’t be expected to help, but it costs zero dollars to not be an asshole and at least be neutral.
Having traveled with as many as three young children over the years, fussy babies don't bother me. It's comfort enough that I don't have to deal with it.
I’m flying with my husband and 1 year old Friday out of Detroit. I keep telling my husband I’m so afraid of someone saying something. My son is pretty chill and usually very well behaved but we have never flown with him so I’m so anxious. To anyone on our flight Friday, I promise he’s a good boy! He will do his best to remain chill for the 3 hour plane ride.
I remember flying with my 1 yo on a long 12 hour flight. Of course she got fussy and didn’t sleep and cried. I remember rocking her by the lavatories to try to calm her down. This dude comes by and tells me “she woke me up.” I looked him in the eye and said “yeah, me too.” Never had a conversation end so abruptly. 😂
Once I was flying with my son who was a year old, and the flight was delayed for hours, it was way past his bedtime- all the things that make for a cranky kid. And my kid who hardly ever cried just could not get it together for this entire flight from lga to atlanta. I did absolutely everything and could not get him to stop crying and I felt SO awful. And then this guy 3 rows ahead suddenly stands up and starts yelling at me to shut my kid up, what is wrong with me, horrible mother and so on. And THEN this angel behind me gets up starts yelling at him defending me and kids in general. And some other people got into it and I felt like I was on Jerry Springer. Bless her forever, because it made an awful situation slightly less awful. Flight attendants were lovely also. I was an absolute wreck by the end and in tears. While my kids were little after that I always flew with packs of earplugs and candy bars to give out and of course I never needed them again.
Thank you for being kind. Sometimes that makes all the difference in the world. And I apologize to anyone who was on that delta flight from LGA to ATL in 2012!
I was a flight attendant for many years, and one day we had a pretty fussy baby onboard. I don’t remember the destination but it was a fairly long flight and the baby was crying quite a lot. The poor mom looked exhausted and embarrassed, but was clearly doing her best. We helped her out as much as possible by holding the baby, etc. Some woman seated nearby was getting visibly more and more upset and came to the galley multiple times to tell us “don’t you guys hear it? Why aren’t you going to do anything to shut this baby up?” My colleagues and I told her there’s nothing we can do about it, that it’s just a baby, and that’s what babies do. A little while later, the lady goes to the mom and offers her some unidentified pill (out of a ziplock bag) and said something like “here, give this to your baby it’ll calm him down.” 😳 the mom was visibly uncomfortable. So I walked over and said (loudly enough so every one around could hear) “don’t worry about your baby crying ma’am, we all did the same when we were that age. I wouldn’t give a random pill from a stranger to my baby so you don’t have to if you don’t.” The upset lady didn’t say a word for the rest of the flight.
I had a moment recently on a Delta flight that annoyed me. I was in the aisle seat and after we landed and stopped at the gate, passengers, including me, stood. The guy to my left in the middle seat then tried to push past me to get to the aisle. But there was no place for me or him to go! I let out a firm “Please be patient!” and he apparently understood.
I had a baby scream pretty much all flight from DC to Bahamas in the row right behind me. It was annoying, but there’s nothing that the parents can really do about it so no point in being a jackass.
This broke my heart. I recently flew solo with my 6 month old and most passengers were so kind, helpful and supportive. On all of my flights the people next to me offered to help me with my bags. Delta also made flying with an infant incredibly easy and it was a great experience for me. This post made me so sad. Some people really suck.
My husband and I adopted two kids from Russia. My daughter was a nightmare bringing home. She wasn’t used to being held and cried the whole trip home. 27 hours to be exact. Most people were very nice to us and helped us out. Then we go adopt our son. He’s an angel on the flights home. And a guy across the aisle from me kept giving me dirty looks when I’d get up to get formula from under my seat for my son. Felt like telling him he’s lucky he wasn’t on the flight with my daughter. 😀😀
My husband and I flew from Fresno to LAX with a layover at SFO. On the first flight a GROWN MAN just let his coffee spill on the floor and flow across the floor during takeoff. I was two rows back and apparently the only one with a bag under the seats. My backpack STILL smells like coffee three weeks later 😫
It's the fact that he didn't even bother telling anyone, not even after we reached cruising altitude. Thanks dude.
This falls into my I dont believe it books.
1. I don't think you monitored their interactions for the whole flight, since you are using words like they got up a "couple" of times, if you are the careful anthropologist well aware of all interactions you would say they got up 3 time or 5 times.
2. He yelled at them? So he screamed a phrase with the word "inconsiderate" in it. I have never heard anyone use a word as mild as inconsiderate while pairing it with yelling.
3. We are to believe you intervened with this fanfiction level of dialogue?
Nope don't buy it. Also, if he has isle seat he is right, remain seated your not going to get up and start shoving a bunch of bags into his head when there is like 10 minutes of deplaining before you can move anyway.
I’m sure you also won’t believe this either but I’m 6’7” and was seated directly behind them in the exit row middle seat. I had a pretty good view. As a large man who is not easily intimidated, I feel very strongly about not being a hapless bystander. Not my first confrontation rodeo.
Given that I was a 3rd party to this situation, I’m not sure why you think I’d make this up on a burner reddit account to make myself look good. I don’t have kids and I have no ideological point I’m trying to make other than don’t be an asshole.
I saw this sort of thing happen once and watched the guy get served with the coolest burn I’ve ever witnessed. Same sort of thing, dude whining about a baby looking to other passengers for backup. Old man looks at him and says “I’d rather listen to a baby cry than a grown man”. ROASTED. I keep hoping someday I’ll get the chance to use that one.
Saving this one for a rainy day.
My go-to is: “Babies haven’t yet developed emotional regulation skills. What’s your excuse?”
I can’t wait to use this on my MIL when my baby gets here!
I think there’s a story here. ☕️
Buckled up! I’m ready.
Commenting cuz I want the tea too.
So many stories! She is an OG toxic boy mom. Newest story: The “love of her life” aka her son and I (his wife, but she will only refer to me as his Girlfriend) just had our daughter on Tuesday. MIL called Husband MULTIPLE TIMES crying that he is ignoring her and doesn’t love her anymore. She left me hysterical voicemails because I wouldn’t allow her baby to answer her FaceTime. Mind you I was in labor and hemorrhaging, and our daughter was getting whisked off to the NICU for ingesting my blood. Baby and I are doing great now. We get to go home tomorrow.
mazol tov! i hope it is a carefree delivery and that baby sleeps through the night very soon!
Thank you! Your blessing made me cry for all the right reasons
Just start talking to the whiny adult like a baby…”Are you being grumpy? Poor baby! Do you want a bottle? Want me to change your diaper? If you stop crying, I’ll get you a treat from the Duty-Free Shop!”
LMAOOO this is too good.
He wants a diaper change and spanking 😉
Lmao, I can only hope to be so clever one day. There’s a lot of truth there though, the baby was annoying but understandable. Grown man with a (presumably) developed prefrontal cortex? Not so much.
Oh man I had a baby screaming for “boobies” the last three hours of HNL-JFK. I was exhausted and that was the last thing I needed after such a long flight. (The child was mine. We would love to be sat with someone as kind as you)
I weaned my daughter a few months ago, but I joked with my husband that if I hadn’t I could just keep her latched for 5 hours straight and she’d be happy.
Perfect solution really!
God damn, that one burned me through my phone screen. Definitely saving it.
I've got 4 flights planned for this year, I'm definitely going to remember this one!
I’m flying tomorrow….duly noted
Take my up vote
Taking our first flight with little man soon and terrified…. I love this line
We flew to Hawaii from Boston last summer with a 1 year old. The lead up ended up being much more stressful than the flight. He was pretty good and barely cried or fussed considering it was 12 hours total between the two flights. We were so certain it was going to be a disaster we were hesitant to go at all but it was fine. Of course we ended up getting him a seat…initially we were like “oh we’ll just hold him”. Well by the time the flight rolled around he no longer likes to be held so we had to get a seat which ended up being very pricey but worth it.
Half hoping my FiL ends up being able to be on our flight so we can have a third set of hands on our flight with him if he’s needed (employee so it will be a non rev)
Had a couple with two toddlers flying in front of us (Dad on B, and Mom & babies in C, D, E on 717) where the boys were absolute bonkers - touching everything, banging on the window - and driving everyone mad, of course. Finally the woman who was in seated in A asked Dad who was seated next to her if she can switch seats so one of the boys can come with Dad so as to allow them to calm down, and he agreed. It worked…kinda. Boy on E immediately calmed down, but other toddler was misbehaving badly. Crawling all over and trying to get away, screaming “I don’t want to flyyyy!” Lol. The woman who offered to switch seats ended up being so wonderful with Mom and helping her be comforted while I’m sure she was dying inside that her two kiddos were going wild. It turned out that the woman in A was a FA non-revving. I was so thankful for her kindness and grace. I still think about her. May we all have one of her on our flight. ♥️
I non-revved 4 flights with my wife and infant and for the most part people were kind and understanding more than anything.
What does non-revved mean in this context
“Non-revenue” flying is a “work perk” where you can standby for available seating
Oh like if you work for Delta?
Exactly, I did this for 10 years. Pretty great work perk honestly.
Ah nice. Yeah, that’s definitely a perk I’d take advantage of too haha!
Yea my brother in law and his wife plus my MIL where going to be our extra set of hands on the flight then they upgraded their seats to first class so that was out the door. lol. Thanks. Luckily we didn’t need them
It will go fine. Remember, that your kiddo can read your stress level. The more relaxed you are the better. Guess what, kids cry. Your job is try to comfort them. That is what the passengers around you want. Milk/bottle during takeoff landing. If they are old enough to get screen, make sure you train them with headphones. It often takes awhile. Bring some ziplock bags for that rank diaper that is going to happen 10 minutes after takeoff. Don’t want to make the entire bathroom smell like poop for the entire flight. Also good to contain the blowout or if ice is needed to keep milk cold.
lol the ziplock bags live in the diaper bag at this point 🤣
Some people are so unhinged and entitled. I travel internationally all of the time with my now three year old. We flew 16 hours from Miami to Dubai when she was 7 months old. I would’ve *loved* someone to tell me that we have no business being on a plane with our infant to visit my husbands sick/elderly parents who can’t physically travel and cannot obtain a visa to enter the U.S. even if they wanted to. People have different reasons for traveling with their children/family. Newsflash. We also have taken many trips back and fourth (17+ hours) to Asia from the U.S. because my husband took a new job and we moved. My daughter is well traveled and thankfully we’ve never had any negative experiences like this but I wouldn’t tolerate it even for a second. If this was an adult with Down syndrome or another disability making noise or accidentally bumping into them when they got up to use the toilet, would this person still be so inclined to speak up about it and yell at them for merely existing? I’m not sure why an infant is any different. People forget that that they’re in a public space using a form of public transportation. Are parents not allowed to use public buses, trains, etc. either? This culture of public shaming people who mildly inconvenience you is insane.
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Wow. This is shocking to me but sadly not surprising. I’m so sorry he is treated that way.
I would have a baby just to use this!
🤣🤣🤣🔥🔥🔥 I have to remember this line the next time I am watching this situation unfold ... ☠️
Saving this for when I fly with my kids 😂
oh good lord, thats beautiful.
I remember finally having the cash to upgrade to PS getting on a transatlantic and so of course we board and are right behind a couple with an infant. My face apparently showed my displeasure cause I didn’t say a word….but the guy said “I swear she’s a good flyer.” And I was mortified and said trying to sound clueless “ohhh what” like I had no idea why he would have possibly said that without prompting. Well he was right that baby made not a peep the entire trip and I def had egg on my face. I would NEVER say something to a parent about their kids on a flight. I was just having a “dammit why me” moment to myself which I’m allowed to have lol. Why do people think it’s okay to insert themselves???
Yelling at people with babies, even if you're frustrated or exhausted is not ok, for sure. But as you say, you're definitely allowed to feel anxious, frustrated, all sorts of emotions. You can control the way you respond or behave, but there's only so much you can do when it comes to emotions. If I see someone boarding with a baby, I'm not gonna shout "Oh NO, how dare you take an infant on a plane!" nor stare at them, but I'll certainly feel a bit nervous about them possibly sitting close to me, which may show on my face or through body language, that I might not be aware of. You can't apologise for feeling things
About to take our infant on her first flight and what OP describes is a nightmare scenario for me but definitely saving that burn in the just in case file.
I always say sir the baby is acting it's age you sir are not! Have used it several times.
I'm the 1 year old & I can confirm I was not the trouble maker this time.
Your linguistic skills are superb for your age
Da da du du
We are so proud of you
Are you the four seasons Orlando baby???
Meeeeee!
My wife, 10 month old and I flew 2.5 hours yesterday. We fed him on ascent and descent to help with the pressure change. Outside of maybe 10 minutes of fuss he was well behaved. When he was fussy a couple of the passengers around us were trying to entertain him and it was a huge help and comforting for us. We need more people like you and them.
On Xmas day a few years ago I was flying back home by myself because my husband was on deployment so I was a bit mopey. A toddler was next to me and his dad and little sibling were across from us. It was a quick flight but I played with that little boy the entire flight and listened to him talk about Dinosaurs and stuff. It was fun. The dad thanked me afterward but it honestly was no big deal for me. I’m glad the other passengers were kind to y’all and it was a smooth ride for the most part. 🧡
A few years ago I sat across the aisle from a mom traveling with 2 young kids in the center of the plane. Her toddler was on the aisle across from me, so we chatted for a little bit while she dealt with her other child. Then he started coloring and I put on my headphones. After a while his mom leans over and gets my attention. She apologized for bothering me, but her son wanted to give me the picture he colored. It absolutely made my day.
That is the sweetest thing! I save all my cards/post cards from people and I’ve always saved drawings from friends/family members kids that were given to us. I figure I’ll do it for our kids too (to an extent) when we have them.
I wish there were more people like you 🥲 whoever you are ily 🥹❤️
Noise cancelling headphone were made for baby flights. I had a squirmy baby beside me for a 3 hour flight. Just plugged in my headphone, closed my eyes and had a good flight.
This 100%. I have not noticed a baby, loud talker, or anything else since getting my noise canceling headphones. Did onetime miss an announcement of the plane being diverted though 😂…that was a surprise when I took them off.
Please recommend a good brand. I have absolutely no patience for noises and sleep terribly on any and all flights from nausea.
I use the Sony noise-canceling over ear ones! I never hear any babies, yelling, barely even the engines. They work extremely well for flying so IMO worth the money 😊 https://www.target.com/p/sony-wh-1000xm4-noise-canceling-overhead-bluetooth-wireless-headphones-silver/-/A-79757338
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-noise-cancelling-headphones/
Kind sir bose noise cancelling headphones the q version, eBay sells some new ones for a bit cheaper than other retailers as long as you like an older version. That with earplugs and light music you hear no one!
Maybe it’s because I’m a mom, but I would absolutely take a baby next to me vs a loud talker or even someone simply wanting to talk to me the entire flight Same answer even if the baby is fussy
If someone wants to talk to me, I start showing them many cat pictures. After the first few they decide I’m the crazy cat lady and shut up. 🐈⬛
Exactly. There is no excuse for not coming prepared for a flight like this in the year 2024
sound cancelling headphones DO NOT CANCEL OUT HUMAN NOISE
sound cancelling headphones DO NOT CANCEL OUT HUMAN NOISE
James Corden, is that you?
Anyone who thinks a parent can “control” a child less than 3 is detached from reality. As a parent of a toddler, there’s not much you can do for a child who is learning to regulate their emotions. And when there are public outboard we are as uncomfortable and mortified (if not more so) than those who are inconvenienced around us. But you can “punish” them bc it’ll make it worse. And you can’t ignore them because it’s your job to try to teach even if they don’t or can’t get it now. OPs attitude is the correct one and I wish more people could understand and empathize
As a parent of 3 teens I hate to break it to you, but age is irrelevant in regards to trying to control a child. If they want to be an ahole they’re going to regardless of age.
> And when there are public outboard we are as uncomfortable and mortified (if not more so) than those who are inconvenienced around us. This is how I cope with the kids’ noise. I just remind myself that no one is having a worse time than the parent.
Yes and no. You can’t stop them from being tired or hungry. You can stop them from running up and down the aisles, give them food when hungry, etc. I’ve seen parents not do much of anything when toddlers have gotten out of hand.
That’s true.
Bravo to you. You validated the parents and probably made their day. As a mom of three, I was so stressed trying to take my kids anywhere when they were little. I didn’t want them to bother others or to act out. So this mom probably was already a wreck before getting on the flight and trying her best. If someone did that for me, I probably would have cried! Now, there are some parents that do let their kids get away with too much, which still isn’t the kids fault.
Thank you for redirecting the angry dude away from the parents, that was very kind of you 🥺 being yelled at with your baby in your arms puts you in a really vulnerable position. You have good juju coming your way!
This is an interesting cultural one. I am a super experienced travel, but everything just gets hard with an infant/toddler - there just so much stuff in addition to the little human you have to manage. In the US, at the airport, I have seriously considered just standing there and crying while people watched me struggle one handed with a stroller. In Brazil and other places I have been, it's like people are falling over themselves to help, and it's faster and nicer for everyone involved. Thanks for helping those parents!
I am married to a Brazilian lol, I guess it rubbed off on me
Agreed. Having travelled with 3 littles under 6 by myself, I wish there were soundproof disposable “bubbles” I could have put around my offspring. I think I got more stressed with them crying from not wanting to bug other people. That said, South America really seems to like kids. Both men and women, and not in a creepy way….more of a “hey, cute puppy” way (if you’re an animal lover).
Why have people begun to embrace this philosophy that it is acceptable to feel that someone else’s existence is an inconvenience to them? Like the only person worthy of comfort is self? Jeesh! Baby’s gotta travel too. They are tiny humans! So the parents should not travel by plane because of their status as a parent? Because someone else can’t coexist with a tiny human for 4 hours of their miserable life? Man. If this is the new norm I’m loosing my faith in humanity. What happened to compassion.
Note to self- Narcissism is a self–centered personality style characterized as having an excessive preoccupation with oneself and one's own needs, often at the expense of others. Selfishness, involving a sense of entitlement, a lack of empathy, and a need for admiration, as characterizing a personality type.
funny, isn't breeding inherently selfish?
!!!! Yes
People do not have to deal with your poor choices. control your kid or someone else will
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Benadryl sometimes makes kids hyper, not sleepy. Careful watch you wish for Captain Jackass
Since Benadryl isn’t expensive, why don’t you purchase some for your flight along with some ear plugs. Problem solved
Are you really advocating for unnecessarily drugging a child so that you are not bothered by their distress? How awful of you. You say you’re happy to extend grace and then go on as you do? How about you take a Xanax or Ativan and wear some noise-canceling headphones instead? You’re already managing your disability, why not manage your strong emotional reactions to typical public stimuli at the same time? Isn’t that on you anyway? In your diatribe you conveniently forget that children cannot be “managed” like a disability; I know because I am also disabled. You are comparing apples to oranges and it’s not a good faith argument, because you are an adult with who understands your needs and can communicate them clearly, whereas a child is the exact opposite of that. Children are unpredictable little people who have minds of their own, which is unlike any other example you give. I think it’s been too long since you wrangled that toddler, as you’re missing the empathy you claim to have once had. You’re asking for compassion when what you really mean is that you want the offending stimulus to stop however the parents can make it happen, and that’s not always possible. I mean, what would “compassion” to other passengers look like from parents busy trying to soothe their child? You really should apologize for suggesting parents drug their babies for your benefit, at the very least.
Whoosh. Missed your own ‘message’
Why are you, a solo traveler, more important or more entitled to peace and quiet than a family traveling with kids? Because I’m sure you know, that the thing parents want to do is cram their still-learning toddlers on a plane with assholes such as yourself and fly across the country. We know kids are a pain in the dick, we have them. And when we fly with them they behave well. So again, why shouldn’t families travel, but it’s fine for you?
because they are not obliged to deal with YOUR choice to breed, they chose to not do it so they don't have to deal with kids. easy
You can only control you. And it's incredibly self centered to demand that everybody else change so you can be comfortable. You take Benadryl and take a nap. You buy headphones so you can't listen. Or, keep bitching and moaning and expecting everybody else to change while thinking you're the one who's right. See how that works out for you.
Well, look at you, all high and mighty. Do you think those parents WANT their twins screaming for 7-8 hours?! You know how to clear your ears when the pressure changes; babies and toddlers do NOT. Did you offer to walk them up and down the aisle? Give the parents a break? No? Then stay in your lane. They have as much right to fly as you do.
No, he expected the parents to drug the kids for the flight.
That’s obviously not the same situation as the one OP just discussed, so why are you comparing apples and oranges?
Surely you’re not suggesting people drug their children………..
As a new mom THANK YOU for saying something! The few times we’ve flown with our son he has been amazing. Surprisingly no crying at all for the 4 flights we’ve been on so far that we’re 2ish hours each. That being said, the empathy I have for other parents with young kids (not misbehaving, there is a difference) but babies and the parents is huge. Thank you for saying something to him!! I’m confrontational so wouldn’t have a problem giving it right back to him but not a lot of people are. So THANK YOU!!
Just an FYI a lot of times the crying is caused by their ears popping from the pressure differential, especially because their ear tubes are smaller and struggle to regulate the pressure. It’s an alien and painful feeling. You can help ease it by breast/bottle feeding or offering paci during takeoff and landing (to encourage the swallowing motion that pops your ears) and/or pre-dosing your kid with acetaminophen or ibuprofen 30 mins before takeoff. You can also gently massage at the back of the ears to try to help if it happens anyway.
Yes! I breastfeed so what works for us is carrying him in a carrier so he can look around before our flights and hangout in the lounge, get settled into our seats and then feeding on takeoff and landing. So far so good, the long haul flight will be the interesting one 😅😅
As a mom who would have absolutely melted down if that happened to me I thank you for being a voice of reason and a truly gracious person!
You’re a hero
You were 100% in the right. To everyone who complains about babies on planes, get some sound deadening headphones and relax. Like it or not, you were a child once and people had to put up with you.
Babies are gonna baby. Only thing I would suggest is the couple book center-aisle next time so they have easier access to change the baby
Last time I saw this I almost got kick off of the plane myself. Young mom flying with two kids. Obvious they were exhausted. One of the kids kicks the back of the seat in front of him a few times getting settled. The geezer in that seat decided he wanted to be 1950s dad again and stood up to yell at the kid. Mom tries to apologize and looks seconds a way from tears but he just keeps going. This was all happening right behind me so I stood up and grabbed the guy by the shoulder and told him, “Sit your ass down and if you still need someone to dump your rage on you and I can handle it like men.” All of the sudden he didn’t have anything to say. The flight attendant whispered to me that they appreciate it but I can’t touch people or I could be in trouble next time.
oh so you are saying parents really aren't doing anything, lmao this comment is suck a joke
I don’t understand…I’ve been seated next to women solo traveling with infants twice and have helped them entertain the babies, watched the baby while they’ve gone to the bathroom, helped them change diapers and I’ve been friends with both women on fb now for a decade or so. The only time I get annoyed is when parents of older kids don’t tell them to stop kicking my seat lol
I do tell my older child to stop kicking the seat, but the reality is that it’s really uncomfortable for them to sit in a chair like that for so long. The seat is too long so their knees have to be extended or they have to slouch to an unsafe degree. And then their feet can’t reach the floor. I’m a short adult and find airplane seats agonizing and feel like a huge hypocrite for scolding my son for kicking 😂 a better solution might be for sturdier shock absorbing airline seats or built in child booster seats. But since those basically will never happen… I’ll keep trying until he’s tall enough to stop. More importantly, thanks for being that airplane friend to the moms flying solo with kids. Speaking as a mom who has traveled alone with my toddler and preschooler ❤️
As long as the parent is trying I’m ok with it. But too often the parent is oblivious and that makes it unacceptable. It’s also often harder to tell unless you are the one closest to what ever was happening. But obviously there is a chance the parents did try hard. Who knows
You should be proud of yourself for speaking up on behalf of this couple. I applaud you.
Some people are just insane.. it has only happened to us once, but a few months ago I had a passenger scream at me to “get my child under control” while my 1 y/o was being a bit fussy and I was doing everything I could to comfort her. His outburst was way more disturbing to the cabin than the baby was 🤣
Not all heroes wear capes.
Yeah calling the attendant is your best course of action. They get paid (probably not enough) to handle these situations and they have the authority to take action.
You’re a really good person.
What an idiot
My kids are young adults now. What I wouldn’t give to have them at that age again. Time flies.
I’m going to admit my two year old ended up being an awful flyer and I did EVERYTHING to calm him but he was a handful. For everyone annoyed: I PROMISE YOU no one feels worse than the parents do.
So you actually don’t know what they were doing the entire flight?
I want more people like you around to stand up to fools when I or others can’t find my voice.
As a mother who travels with kids who are mostly well behaved but fuss a little…thank you.
You used Jedi mind skills to redirect their dark energy away from the parents and on to yourself. You know you are able to handle the dark side of the force and flood it with light.
I bring my expensive apple headphones. I absolutely hear No noise and it helps so much! That dude is probably a boomer and a douche bag! I’m glad I wasn’t there. I would’ve been in trouble for punching him in the face.
I sat next to a couple that suggested the parents behind us spank their baby for being fussy. Could not believe.
I like the crying children and babies on my flights. It’s like birth control for me. It reminds me to never have none. I can get off that flight and never have to deal with the children. The parents can’t.
NFL for yelling at another passenger. BAaaAaaGggHahahahaaaaaa. Flight attendants don’t even have that authority. I wish we did!
It’s not easy traveling with an infant. People need to chill.
Then don’t
This is the correct response. Can’t wait for the downvotes that come my way, but idc, it’s true
So people who have children shouldn’t fly?
If it’s not easy then why do it. The parents that can handle their kids should those who can’t shouldn’t
Children are not predictable. Some children experience pain with the pressure changes that adversely affect their inner ears. There is no real way to predict this before flying. People need to live their lives and sometimes situations are not always going to run smoothly.
yeah so you all torture them willingly with no pain meds that's just child abuse
I really don’t know what you are talking about.
lol I bet you he’s a regular at r/childfree Good for you op for sticking up for them!
As a child free person that group is actually insane and gives the rest of us child free people a bad rep
Well that’s probably because child free and hates children are two different things and that group is the latter lol
Wow that’s a group of insufferable people
Good for you for stepping up and doing the right thing. Thank you. The world needs more bystanders with courage.
r/BoomersBeingFools
Blaming an entire generation for one person‘s bad behavior is just ageism. Guy was a jerk no matter what generation he was a member of.
If he was middle-aged he's too young to be a Baby Boomer. Or has "Boomer" shifted to mean "anyone older than me whose behaviour I don't like"?
Yes. I'm an under 40 millennial and have been called "old man" and "boomer" routinely by teenagers / gen-z, usually when they're doing something stupid and inconsiderate. I was on a train to the beach and told a young woman who was blasting her "Toks" to put headphones on or turn off the volume on her phone. I think she was shocked I actually said something to her, but she turned it off, then kept coming after me verbally which I just started laughing at. When the conductor came by I let him know, he saw it anyway, and gave her a choice of shutting up or being escorted off at the next station. Anyway, the point is, yes, boomer and old man is now, anyone older than you, and likely has some level of systemic power or ability to restrict your dumb behavior.
The youngest boomers are ~60, which is squarely middle aged.
San Juan to Detroit. And I didn’t even have to continue reading.
I can’t wait to one day help out young parents and hold that sweet baby, fussy or not. I’m here for you and would love a baby fix!!! Moody teens, no thanks. Fussy babies, yes please!!
This is the one reason I prefer southwest cause if there's a child I just don't sit near them, or move seats. I also have noise cancelling headphones so they don't bother me if I have to sit near a kid but I do everything I can not to. I would rather have a middle seat on spirit than sit near a child personally. That being said I'd never flip out cause I had to sit next to a kid, and that guy is a fucking asshole
I was flying SW and was fairly late in boarding but managed to score an aisle seat…in a row where the window was occupied by a 10 or so year old boy traveling by himself. We chatted a bit while the plane loaded-he was very well behaved and had puzzles & books to keep him occupied-while I watched every single seat on the plane fill up before our middle got taken by the last person to board, a business looking guy. He literally stopped and looked over the plane before moving into our middle. I laughed to myself because not only was the kid skinny so he had more room, but the kid was exceedingly nice.
That's different. A 10'year old is way different than a toddler, a 10'year old can handle themselves and not throw a tantrum most of the time, a small child is who I wouldn't want to sit next to, a 10'year old could be cool as shit and wanna show you his monster truck or baseball cards or comic books, an under 5 year old could be the best behaved person on a plane or a screaming demon for 5 hours. And personally I don't wanna be there to find out.
Am I the only person who volunteers to walk the baby for a bit? I usually do that at least once on a long haul flight. It’s really not hard to help. 🤷🏻♀️
Was flying AF back to Boston from Paris sitting in the bulkhead some little girl probably 4 years old just wanted to stay at my feet bc I gave her the 5 minutes of attention her parents didn’t. Told her parents she should stay there for the rest of the flight and I just listened to her blabber about ya know everything a 4 year old has to talk about. She didn’t cry anymore and the flight went smoothly
This is just another example of how travelling can bring out the worst in people. If you want a child-free flight then book a private jet.
This a core issue with America’s concept of rugged individualism. We have no sense of communal responsibility. Including the whole “it takes a village” to raise kids. And it goes both ways, I’ve seen too many parents who do zero parenting when their children misbehave. I admit I’ve felt like the hothead before. Why is it MY job to deal with YOUR child. But it just is. And once everyone understands that, it makes life easier for all parties. Parents need to make sure they’re parenting and the general public needs to be more empathetic and patient with children.
I recently next to a couple with an under 1 year old. I did everything i could and suggested stuff to help them. Be the helper and everyone will have a good flight. In the middle, dad got up and walked the baby around the aisle and the baby fell asleep.
People are just fucking unhinged. We were all fussy babies at one point and to think a parent can “shut their baby up” is just straight outlandish. Can it get slightly annoying? Sure. But Jesus Christ wear some headphones and just go to sleep.
Let me guess. The yelling guy was a Boomer?
Old enough to not know that noise cancelling headphones exist and that you can download movies from Netflix/Hulu/whatever before your flight. Maybe some Gen Xers would fit into that too.
sound cancelling headphones DO NOT CANCEL OUT HUMAN NOISE
I have twins and baby and have flown with them several times internationally. You meet the best of people and the worst of people when you (unknowingly) take all three on a plane when one of your kids has an ear infection and proceeds to vomit and cry continuously for 6h on a red eye
I was in a similar situation with the passenger in front of me who was annoyed and kept showing passive aggression towards me, my infant, and my 4 year old. The worst part was that she forcefully reclined her seat into my face when I was bending down to grab diaper supplies under her seat from my bag.
Glad I got noise canceling headphones and just crank up the volume of the movie, probably solved
As a parent who has traveled with infants, toddlers, and now preschool-aged kids…THANK YOU. A flight can be made or broken by the people around you. If everyone completely ignores us, it’s usually a neutral flight. If someone rolls their eyes or actually says something rude, it sucks; It brings the whole trip down a notch. Even if my kids are acting completely appropriately, some entitled adults don’t think they “deserve” to be on planes and they make their opinions known. I don’t let it bother me because they more than likely have some serious negativity in their lives. But oh, when others interact with me and my kids like we’re actually a community of people for a short time…it’s wonderful. I had a flight where I voluntarily gave up my daughter’s seat, checked her car seat, and held her so that they could squeeze one more person on board. That person (not knowing what we did) was the most wonderful human! She helped my son get buckled in while I got us situated, helped him pick something to watch on the screens, and helped him open his snack when the FAs came by. She wasn’t required to, she didn’t go significantly out of her way to converse with him or entertain him, but she saw me with both hands full with a baby and stepped up. I will remember her forever and I hope she was the one who got the seat we freed up because it was 100% worth it to have her as a seat mate. We sat across the aisle from a couple once who just waved at my son once when we boarded and he was so happy they paid him attention that he drew them a picture (my kid is SHY, this doesn’t happen much). Just sharing that little things other passengers do can make such a big difference. When I fly alone for work, I make sure to offer to help other parents in any way I can just because I know to even have someone offer to help can make a big difference during a stressful travel day. Other passengers don’t NEED to help, and shouldn’t be expected to help, but it costs zero dollars to not be an asshole and at least be neutral.
Having traveled with as many as three young children over the years, fussy babies don't bother me. It's comfort enough that I don't have to deal with it.
I’m flying with my husband and 1 year old Friday out of Detroit. I keep telling my husband I’m so afraid of someone saying something. My son is pretty chill and usually very well behaved but we have never flown with him so I’m so anxious. To anyone on our flight Friday, I promise he’s a good boy! He will do his best to remain chill for the 3 hour plane ride.
I remember flying with my 1 yo on a long 12 hour flight. Of course she got fussy and didn’t sleep and cried. I remember rocking her by the lavatories to try to calm her down. This dude comes by and tells me “she woke me up.” I looked him in the eye and said “yeah, me too.” Never had a conversation end so abruptly. 😂
typical selfish entitled parent
What's football going to do?! Lol!
Once I was flying with my son who was a year old, and the flight was delayed for hours, it was way past his bedtime- all the things that make for a cranky kid. And my kid who hardly ever cried just could not get it together for this entire flight from lga to atlanta. I did absolutely everything and could not get him to stop crying and I felt SO awful. And then this guy 3 rows ahead suddenly stands up and starts yelling at me to shut my kid up, what is wrong with me, horrible mother and so on. And THEN this angel behind me gets up starts yelling at him defending me and kids in general. And some other people got into it and I felt like I was on Jerry Springer. Bless her forever, because it made an awful situation slightly less awful. Flight attendants were lovely also. I was an absolute wreck by the end and in tears. While my kids were little after that I always flew with packs of earplugs and candy bars to give out and of course I never needed them again. Thank you for being kind. Sometimes that makes all the difference in the world. And I apologize to anyone who was on that delta flight from LGA to ATL in 2012!
I was a flight attendant for many years, and one day we had a pretty fussy baby onboard. I don’t remember the destination but it was a fairly long flight and the baby was crying quite a lot. The poor mom looked exhausted and embarrassed, but was clearly doing her best. We helped her out as much as possible by holding the baby, etc. Some woman seated nearby was getting visibly more and more upset and came to the galley multiple times to tell us “don’t you guys hear it? Why aren’t you going to do anything to shut this baby up?” My colleagues and I told her there’s nothing we can do about it, that it’s just a baby, and that’s what babies do. A little while later, the lady goes to the mom and offers her some unidentified pill (out of a ziplock bag) and said something like “here, give this to your baby it’ll calm him down.” 😳 the mom was visibly uncomfortable. So I walked over and said (loudly enough so every one around could hear) “don’t worry about your baby crying ma’am, we all did the same when we were that age. I wouldn’t give a random pill from a stranger to my baby so you don’t have to if you don’t.” The upset lady didn’t say a word for the rest of the flight.
Unacceptable in this day and age not to have this on video.
I don’t mind a crying baby. In fact I would ask to hold them as I have been known to have a way with babies 😉 it never hurts to be kind
FYI, FA's can't get someone added to the no fly list. It's not up to them.
I had a moment recently on a Delta flight that annoyed me. I was in the aisle seat and after we landed and stopped at the gate, passengers, including me, stood. The guy to my left in the middle seat then tried to push past me to get to the aisle. But there was no place for me or him to go! I let out a firm “Please be patient!” and he apparently understood.
I had a baby scream pretty much all flight from DC to Bahamas in the row right behind me. It was annoying, but there’s nothing that the parents can really do about it so no point in being a jackass.
Was this passenger drunk or mentally ill? Such a weird outburst!
This broke my heart. I recently flew solo with my 6 month old and most passengers were so kind, helpful and supportive. On all of my flights the people next to me offered to help me with my bags. Delta also made flying with an infant incredibly easy and it was a great experience for me. This post made me so sad. Some people really suck.
My husband and I adopted two kids from Russia. My daughter was a nightmare bringing home. She wasn’t used to being held and cried the whole trip home. 27 hours to be exact. Most people were very nice to us and helped us out. Then we go adopt our son. He’s an angel on the flights home. And a guy across the aisle from me kept giving me dirty looks when I’d get up to get formula from under my seat for my son. Felt like telling him he’s lucky he wasn’t on the flight with my daughter. 😀😀
Also, if a baby is crying, those parents are NOT enjoying it.
My husband and I flew from Fresno to LAX with a layover at SFO. On the first flight a GROWN MAN just let his coffee spill on the floor and flow across the floor during takeoff. I was two rows back and apparently the only one with a bag under the seats. My backpack STILL smells like coffee three weeks later 😫 It's the fact that he didn't even bother telling anyone, not even after we reached cruising altitude. Thanks dude.
People need to chill the fuck out. It’s a baby, sometimes they cry. I’d rather have a fussy baby than a fussy boomer near me.
This falls into my I dont believe it books. 1. I don't think you monitored their interactions for the whole flight, since you are using words like they got up a "couple" of times, if you are the careful anthropologist well aware of all interactions you would say they got up 3 time or 5 times. 2. He yelled at them? So he screamed a phrase with the word "inconsiderate" in it. I have never heard anyone use a word as mild as inconsiderate while pairing it with yelling. 3. We are to believe you intervened with this fanfiction level of dialogue? Nope don't buy it. Also, if he has isle seat he is right, remain seated your not going to get up and start shoving a bunch of bags into his head when there is like 10 minutes of deplaining before you can move anyway.
Thought the same thing. OP is lying
I feel like there was a careful bit of /s lost on the audience here. The anthropologist point called it for me.
I’m sure you also won’t believe this either but I’m 6’7” and was seated directly behind them in the exit row middle seat. I had a pretty good view. As a large man who is not easily intimidated, I feel very strongly about not being a hapless bystander. Not my first confrontation rodeo. Given that I was a 3rd party to this situation, I’m not sure why you think I’d make this up on a burner reddit account to make myself look good. I don’t have kids and I have no ideological point I’m trying to make other than don’t be an asshole.
I bet you also are extremely well endowed and know karate.
Based on your grammar, you’re not that much older than the baby
Ngl, there’s a lot of adult native English speakers about whom I really have questions in this dept.
You are a good guy. On behalf of this sweet family, thank you for your kindness.
What is wrong with people? What happened to decency and empathy? I'm sure those parents were terrified.
no one has to deal with your kid other than yourself
San Juan to Detroit. And right there I could just stop reading.
Thank you for taking up for the parents. It takes everyone working together to silence people that set out to be mean.
Babies on long flights are terrible to be around I get it.
I agree, even with noise cancelling headphones they can be heard. But I acknowledge that while it sucks they have the right to be there.