We have all been there. We see a parent boarding a plane with a small child and think to ourselves, "Oh gosh, here we go." While infants and toddlers are absolutely adorable, they can also be a bit difficult to manage on planes. Particularly, younger children do not always understand what is happening on a flight. I always feel so bad for the infants who scream during takeoff or landing because they do not know that the change in cabin pressure is what is affecting their ears. However, while I can empathize, certain situations require more patience than others. One woman took to TikTok to recount a particularly heinous story from her most recent travels. She argued that this one flight was undoubtedly the worst flight of her life, and it was all thanks to one unruly toddler.
Woman Recounts Worst Flight Of Her Life Due To Unruly Toddler
@paleandinteresting the worst experience sitting next to a child on my flight home, however it really wasn't his fault. it was down to a very unprepared mother who expected an under 18-month-old child to sit and do nothing on a flight #storytime
The TikToker, who goes by the name Pale and Interesting, shares that she, too, is a mother. She was seeking empathy early on because she began the video by expressing that she knew she would receive a lot of criticism for her complaints. However, she felt she had to share her story about the worst flight of her life anyway. The woman was traveling with her husband when the incident occurred. At first, she was excited to see that she would be sitting next to the child, whom she named Spencer for the video. Initially, she had been worried that she would have been stuck between her husband and another burly man. She was relieved to see that that was not the case.
Unfortunately for her, her relief was short-lived. Almost immediately, the mother had a problem controlling her child's outbursts. The mother couldn't get Spencer to stay in his seat or buckle his seatbelt. Additionally, Spencer began repeatedly kicking the seat of the person in front of him. From there, he started opening and closing the tray table repeatedly. At first, the TikToker paid little attention to the child. While it was mildly irritating, she expected that the boy would settle once the plane took off. Despite her wishes, that was not the case. The mother seemed to pay no mind to the child's behavior.
The Mother Avoids The Issue
Other than occasionally asking him to please stop, she did not intervene. Not even when Spence proceeded to smash his yogurt between the tray table and make a mess everywhere. Also, the woman shared that Spencer kicked her multiple times and even almost headbutted her when he was throwing himself about. Not once did the mother say anything to soothe her unruly toddler. Eventually, the woman realized that poor Spencer was seeking entertainment. After it was clear that the mother had brought no forms of entertainment, this woman decided to play with Spencer. She laid her palm out flat, and every time Spencer put his hand in hers, she would try to "catch him."
That simple game entertained the child for 10 to 15 minutes. While this TikToker acknowledges that flying with a child can be challenging, she places the blame on the mother for being unprepared. Additionally, she admitted that had the mother shown any attempts at resolving the issues, she would have gladly stepped in and assisted. As it was, the mother did nothing to control her unruly toddler and instead allowed this woman, and I am sure many others, to experience the worst flight of their life.
The Internet Reacts
While the occasional comments were defending the mother, the majority of the internet was on the side of the TikToker. Many people argued that it was the mother's responsibility not only to entertain her unruly toddler, but to reprimand him when he was acting out. Several shared stories of their encounters with rowdy children on flights as well. This clearly demonstrated that while it was the worst flight of this woman's life, it is not an uncommon occurrence. Here are some of the comments left under the video.
"Don't understand people that dont take something or a few things to keep there children entertained."
"See right there, its the mothers fault for not correcting him at the start, and then they grow up thinking they can do whatever they want."
"You were very nice to play with him for a bit, but like some people just don't want to. I have no kids, I don't want to entertain anyone else's on the flight ? I want to read or sleep! ?."
"Just sh*t parenting plane and simple, not the kids fault at all but he's not going to learn if he's not corrected."
