Latest news with #BlankaMolnar
Newsweek
21-05-2025
- General
- Newsweek
Passenger Seated Near Screaming Kid on Flight—Makes Controversial Choice
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. 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 Do you have a travel-related video or story to share? Let us know via life@ and your story could be featured on Newsweek.
Newsweek
19-05-2025
- Health
- Newsweek
Gen Zer Telling Sister Her Baby Name Is 'Completely Unacceptable' Applauded
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A 20-year-old man has described how he felt he was left with little choice but to speak up after his elder sister revealed what she and her husband had decided to name their daughter. Baby-name choice may be a matter of personal preference, but research has shown how an individual's moniker can influence how they are perceived in social circles. In a 2011 study published in Social Psychological and Personality Science, researchers concluded that people with names perceived positively by others were more likely to make a positive social impression. The importance of first impressions was emphasized in the study, with researchers noting that they provide a "strong basis for processing subsequent information about the person." Given the potential importance placed on a name, it is perhaps understandable that the Reddit user behind the profile u/Odd_Age1378 would have an issue with his sister's choice of name. The brother's post said she and her husband had been "struggling a lot" to come up with a name. "Even by the time of her baby shower, she didn't seem to be any closer to picking something out," the poster wrote. With time ticking on, the brother thought he would make light of the situation by sending her a list of joke names. "She's a nurse, and I'm a biology student, so all the names were medications, infections, unpleasant animals, etcetera, that all sound like lovely girls' names out of context," he wrote. Then, two weeks later, the most-unexpected thing happened: she chose a name from her brother's list. "The baby's name is Malassezia," he said. "The name of a very common fungal infection. One that my sister and I are both genetically predisposed to." Concerned that it was also nearly impossible to pronounce, the brother urged his sister to reconsider, but she insisted she "really liked the way it sounded." "She says that it's so obscure that no one will ever think twice about it," he added. The brother continued to push for a change, though, telling her that it was a completely unacceptable choice of name. She was furious and said he had no business telling her to change the name and was way out of line. The brother thinks otherwise, though, blaming her name choice on "pregnancy hormones" and warning that she would "regret the decision very soon after her daughter is born." The Expert's View Blanka Molnar, a conscious parenting coach, felt that, while a baby name is a matter of personal choice, sometimes a different perspective is needed. Molnar told Newsweek: "Every parent makes their own choices, and in an ideal world, nobody should criticize them for anything. But—and that's a big 'but'—there are cases when sharing a different point of view, especially from somebody who is not emotionally involved in the situation, might help to influence the parents' choices and decision-making process for the better." Though Molnar understood the desire among parents to give their child a "unique" name, she felt the practice could "create long-term challenges for a child, ranging from frequent misspellings and mispronunciations to misunderstandings and even identity confusion." "Some parents think only in the short term and forget to consider that a name is meant to be forever," Molnar said. "A name meant to be the same when the child is a toddler, or attends school—kids can be cruel picking on names; starts their first job; and when they turn 80 years old." What Reddit Said Those commenting on Reddit were inclined to agree with this stance. "While your sis is right that it's her parental right, you're not stepping out of line -- you're family and you're cautioning her," one wrote. "That is horrible to name a child that," a second commented. A third added: "Even without the fact that it's the name of a fungal infection, it's so clunky and with 'a**' smack dab in the middle, there's way too many opportunities for that baby to get teased when they get to school. It's just cruel. Hopefully your sister wakes up before she makes a huge mistake." Newsweek reached out to u/Odd_Age1378 to verify the details of this case.
Newsweek
14-05-2025
- General
- Newsweek
Fury As Family Refuses To Let Kids' Nanny Eat Their Food
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A 19-year-old au pair's account of being banned from eating most of the food in her host family's home has sparked outrage online. In a post to Reddit, the woman explained that she arrived in the U.S. in February to work as an au pair, a live-in nanny under a cultural exchange program that provides housing, meals and a small stipend in exchange for childcare. But, as she explained her situation, it quickly became clear that the reality was grimmer than promised. Since her post was published, it has received 6,000 upvotes. Newsweek spoke to Blanka Molnar, a conscious parenting coach and Family Constellation practitioner, about the power dynamics at play and how the poster should proceed. Stock photo: A woman has a fake tea party with a child she is looking after. Stock photo: A woman has a fake tea party with a child she is looking after. SementsovaLesia/Getty Images The poster wrote that the experience had been a long-time goal, and while she enjoys caring for the two children, the problem lies with their parents. "Since I arrived, they told me that I'm only allowed to eat the items from one cabinet, nothing else, and they will only replenish once a month," she wrote. "They have cameras and will see if I try anything." According to her post, the cabinet contains only tortillas, canned vegetables, beans and boxes of mac and cheese. The au pair contacted her agency but was told that "the family is allowed to do that as long as they give me food." She could either try to match with a new family or go home. Not wanting to "give up," she stayed, and began purchasing her own snacks with her own money. Spending most of the day with the children, she found herself needing to eat such snacks in front of them, which led to trouble. The kids began asking her to share, and she told them to ask their parents because she didn't have a lot to offer. When they did, their mother "blew up at me that I had a lot of audacity denying her kids food inside her home, that if I ate in front of them, I had to share, and that I couldn't bring this kind of junk into her home." Under the post, many commenters urged her to leave. "They are NOT providing you with enough food," one person wrote. "You should be allowed to eat whatever the family eats. Keep calling the agency and ask to speak to a higher up until they do something about this." Another added, "Get out of that place ASAP. Any human being who doesn't provide a person living under their roof (employee or otherwise) with fresh food (you say you only get tinned options) and then gets revved up when you don't share a huge red flag." 'Food Is Not a Privilege' Molnar, who runs a parenting coaching company called Awarenest, told Newsweek she sees troubling dynamics in the story as a family expert and former au pair herself. "Withdrawing and limiting food, consciously or unconsciously, is a 'power move' that signals control over another person, especially someone in a vulnerable position, like an au pair," she said. "Her feelings are valid, and food is not a privilege but a human necessity." Asked whether it's reasonable for the au pair to draw food boundaries with the children, Molnar said absolutely. "In this case, it's actually necessary, but it can be incredibly difficult for several reasons," she said, citing potential lack of experience, and confidence, on the au pair's part, and her limited resources. Her advice to the poster? "As a former au pair, I would ask the agency to match me with another family, as I do not think that the mother's behavior would change, and living with this kind of behavior is energy draining and can be traumatic in the long term," she said. And, for host families, she added that accepting the full emotional and logistical requirements that come with hosting someone is paramount. "This isn't optional," Molnar said. "It's a fundamental part of the au pair pairs are not cheap labor or house help. They are young people stepping into caregiving roles in unfamiliar environments. Respecting their basic needs is the bare minimum." Newsweek reached out to u/Remote-Narwhal5726 for comment via Reddit.
