“Should Have Bought Seats Together”: Woman Forces Childcare Onto Stranger, Crew Intervenes

The less chaos and more peace on your flight, the better. But that’s sometimes a bit too much to ask from the universe, isn’t it? Some of your fellow passengers may feel entitled to your seat and try to pressure you into giving it up. They can get really confused when you politely tell them ‘no.’

That’s exactly what happened to internet user u/airplanebabies. In a post on the AITA subreddit, they shared how a fellow plane passenger, a mom, demanded they switch seats so she could be next to her kids. Failing that, she wanted the author to babysit her munchkins throughout the flight. Scroll down for the full story and to read how the net reacted.

Sometimes, family members get seated separately, and it can lead to a lot of chaos when the parents want to switch seats

Two children sitting quietly in airplane seats near a window, reflecting a moment about not switching seats on a plane.

Image credits: travnikovstudio (not the actual photo)

An anonymous traveler wanted to know if they were in the wrong for refusing to accommodate the wishes of a particularly rude and entitled mom

Text post discussing AITA for not switching seats with a mother on an airplane and ignoring her children.

Text excerpt describing an airplane passenger refusing to switch seats with a mother and ignoring her children during a flight.

Text describing a person asked to switch airplane seats with a mother, relating to the topic of not switching seats and ignoring children.

Passenger refusing to switch seats with a mother on an airplane and ignoring her children during the flight.

Flight attendant walking down airplane aisle between seated passengers, highlighting airplane seat switch and children issues.

Image credits: winnievinzence (not the actual photo)

Passenger refuses to switch seats with mother on airplane and ignores her children arguing and crying nearby.

Passenger refuses to switch seats with a mother on an airplane and ignores her children during the flight.

Text about not switching airplane seats with a mother and ignoring her children during a flight due to seating issues.

Image credits: airplanebabies

While kindness is appreciated, nobody’s under any obligation to switch seats… especially when someone’s guilt-tripping them

Nobody’s advocating that you should be cold-hearted, unempathetic, overly selfish, or needlessly cruel. On the flip side, neither should you feel like you have to put your needs and comfort on the back burner for the sake of entitled and rude strangers.

As they say, “poor planning on your part does not necessitate an emergency on mine.” In other words, someone isn’t obligated to switch seats with a parent who didn’t plan ahead and failed to book their seat next to their kids.

Of course, sometimes, most seats are sold out and you take what you can get. But there are nice and polite ways to ask someone to move. And if your fellow passenger finds it in their heart to switch with you? Awesome!

But if they say ‘no,’ you can’t get mad at them for having basic boundaries. ‘No’ is a valid answer. They might have claustrophobia, like the author u/airplanebabies, which is why they want to stay in their aisle seat.

Or they might simply feel entitled to the seat they paid for, fair and square. Or a dozen other reasons. Not that they owe anyone an explanation. Nor should they be guilt-tripped into becoming an unpaid babysitter for the duration of the flight.

Again, there’s room for kindness here. However, you can’t force someone to be kind to you, a complete stranger. Especially if you have an aggressive reaction to them enforcing incredibly basic boundaries. If you want help or a favor, it really pays to be authentically likable and amicable.

Flight attendant walking down airplane aisle surrounded by passengers in seats, illustrating airplane seat conflict and children scenario.

Image credits: Kelly (not the actual photo)

If you and your family have been seated separately, raise the issue at the gate or ticket counter, not on the plane

According to Fodor’s Travel, there are a few reasons why families that travel together might not be seated next to each other.

For example, a non-revenue standby traveler, with discounted tickets, might be assigned whatever empty seats are left on board. So, they might get separated on nearly full flights.

“In other cases, travelers may opt to save money by booking a basic economy ticket, which doesn’t allow them to pre-select seats ahead of time.”

In other words, if you desperately want to sit together on a flight, it’s best to avoid being cheap and pay a bit extra to get the seats you want. This helps you avoid creating chaos for your fellow passengers if you have small kids to take care of.

“People should talk to the gate or ticket counter agent if they’re seated separately. Do this instead of going on the plane, trying to get the flight attendants involved, and asking other passengers to switch with you. Boarding is a hectic time for flight attendants, and space is tight, so reconfiguring passenger seats can be challenging,” one flight attendant told Fodor’s Travel.

What are your thoughts on this situation, dear Pandas? Would you have switched seats with the mom or babysat her kids throughout the flight? Or do you think it’s perfectly reasonable to gently say ‘no’ and leave it at that? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Passengers seated inside a commercial airplane cabin, illustrating an airplane seating situation with families and travelers.

Image credits: Daniel Frese (not the actual photo)

After going through the story, most internet users were squarely in the author’s corner. Here’s their perspective

Screenshot of an online discussion about not switching airplane seats with a mother and ignoring her children.

Reddit comment discussing stress and perspectives in a situation about switching seats with a mother on an airplane.

Reddit comment discussing not switching seats with a mother on an airplane and ignoring her children.

Text from Reddit comment discussing airplane seat switch and ignoring children during flight conflict.

Comment discussing frustration with airline seating arrangements involving a mother and children on an airplane.

Airplane passenger refuses to switch seats with mother, then ignores her children during flight situation.

Text of a Reddit comment about not switching airplane seats with a mother and ignoring her children on a flight.

Commenter explaining they are not switching seats with a mother on an airplane and ignoring her children after refusal.

Screenshot of an online forum discussing not switching seats with a mother on an airplane and related seat charge issues.

Not everyone was on the same page, however. Some readers called the traveler out as well

Reddit comment discussing not switching seats with a mother on an airplane and ignoring her children during the flight.

Screenshot of a Reddit comment discussing seat switching and ignoring children in an airplane seating conflict situation.

Reddit comment criticizing lack of common courtesy during airplane seat disputes involving a mother and her children.

Reddit comment criticizing someone for not switching seats with a mother on an airplane and ignoring her children.

Screenshot of an online forum discussing not switching airplane seats and ignoring children during a flight conflict.

Screenshot of a Reddit comment discussing not switching seats with a mother on an airplane and ignoring her children.

Comment on an online forum discussing not switching airplane seats with a mother and ignoring her children.

Reddit comment discussing not switching seats on an airplane and ignoring a mother with children during the flight.

Reddit comment discussing conflict over not switching seats with a mother on an airplane and ignoring her children.

Discussion about not switching seats with a mother on an airplane and ignoring her children in a flight scenario.

Comment discussing airplane seat switching and a mother ignoring her children during a flight conflict situation.

Comment discussing not switching airplane seats with a mother and ignoring her children, highlighting flight anxiety and courtesy.

Reddit comment discussing responsibility and supervision issues related to not switching seats with a mother on an airplane.

AITA discussion about not switching seats with a mother on an airplane and ignoring her children’s behavior.

Text post discussing AITA for not switching seats with a mother on an airplane and ignoring her children.

Comment discussing not switching airplane seats with a mother and ignoring her children during the flight conflict.

Comment from airline worker explaining why not switching seats with a mother on an airplane and ignoring her children is justified.

Screenshot of a Reddit comment discussing conflict about not switching seats with a mother on an airplane and ignoring her children.

Comment discussing a person not switching seats on an airplane and ignoring a mother’s children during the flight.

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