Passenger Seated Near Screaming Kid on Flight—Makes Controversial Choice
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A post about a frustrated airline passenger who requested a new seat during a child's mid-flight meltdown has gone viral on Reddit.
Shared by u/InternalProgrammer34 in the r/AITAH subreddit, the post has garnered almost 10,000 upvotes and hundreds of comments since it was uploaded on May 21.
The post was titled: "Am I an a****** for requesting a new seat after a special needs kid had a 2.5 hour tantrum on an international flight?"
The poster said that the incident began approximately 30 minutes after takeoff.
"The kid behind me had an inconsolable meltdown and was screaming and forcibly kicking and hitting my seat and even knocked my headphones off my head with his fist," the Reddit user wrote. "After about an hour of this and his parents not being able to control him, I rang the service button and asked if there were any other seats I could move to."
The flight attendant responded promptly, finding a new middle seat about 10 rows back. However, the act of moving drew harsh criticism from nearby passengers, who said the poster was "insensitive" and "rude."
Parenting coach Blanka Molnar told Newsweek the complexity of such interactions.
"Everyone has a different tolerance level, and you don't owe anyone an explanation for your boundaries, especially not to strangers," Molnar said. "It's nobody's business why you choose not to tolerate a certain situation."
Molnar added that perceptions of what is "valid" often depend on individual perspectives. "People tend to be more understanding when they perceive your reason as 'valid,' but valid usually just means it aligns with their perspective," she said.
There has been a surge in international family travel. The 2023 U.S. Family Travel Survey conducted by the Family Travel Association found that 81 percent of parents in the United States said they were likely to travel with their children that year. The survey, which asked more than 3,300 parents and grandparents about their travel plans, behaviors and attitudes, indicated a sustained rebound in family trips since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The passenger in the Reddit post said: "When I stood up to move I got heckled by the parents of the kid as well as a bunch of neighboring passengers for being insensitive and rude."
The passenger said that they had been respectful and limited their interactions. "I didn't say anything to anyone other than asking the parents at the very beginning to keep him from reaching between the seats and touching me and asking the flight attendant to move? Am I an a****** for not just dealing with it?" the poster asked.
Molnar said that some passengers may have projected their own discomfort onto the situation. "Chances are, the other passengers envied the OP [original poster] for doing what they also wished they could do to leave the situation," she added. "But they chose to stay, and that's their own decision and responsibility."
While she acknowledged the difficulty of parenting in transit, Molnar was clear that personal boundaries remain essential. "The parents were likely already stressed and embarrassed by their child's behavior," she said.
"The OP walking away may have unintentionally added to that emotional weight, but that still doesn't make the OP wrong for stepping away," Molnar noted.
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via the Reddit messaging system.
Stock image: A passenger on a plane appears frustrated with hands over his face.
Stock image: A passenger on a plane appears frustrated with hands over his face.
Getty
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