Plane Passenger’s Toddler Complaint Divides Internet On Parenting Etiquette

A netizen who endured a flight sitting next to a hyperactive toddler has taken to TikTok to complain about her experience.

The woman, who is a mother herself and posts from the handle Pale and Interesting, criticized the child’s parent, whom she claims made zero effort to calm her offspring.

Her qualms come in the wake of another TikTok producer,  Dominique Bird, who recounted her experience with a family in a restaurant and their toddler, who threw up in view of all the patrons.

The account gave rise to calls from advocates for child-free spaces to parents to “stay in [their] houses until [children could behave].”

The TikToker claimed the child’s mother looked tired and unprepared

Smiling woman standing in a bedroom wearing a black top and denim skirt, relating to passenger sharing worst experience with child on flight.

Image credits: paleandinteresting

“I sat next to, and had the worst experience with a child on a flight,” said the woman.

She went on to say that she did not hold it against the child, whom she named Spencer for the purposes of the video, because he was “bored and trying to entertain himself.”

The individual she did, however, blame for her bad flight was the child’s mother, whom she described as “very unprepared.”

The little one fussed and fought from the time he took his seat

Child on flight reaching overhead compartment, highlighting passenger experience with bored child sparking debate on plane journey.

Image credits: Mushvig Niftaliyev/Unsplash

The flier explained that her biggest concern getting onto the flight was being tucked in the middle of two men “manspreading,” one of whom would be her husband.

She was initially thrilled to find that this would not be the case and that she instead would be sitting next to little Spencer.

However, the child, estimated to be around 18 months old, started fussing as soon as his bottom hit the seat.

Spencer’s mother struggled to strap him in, and the TikToker claimed that is where her efforts ended.

The woman had already endured a pattern of bad behavior from the child before the plane left the runway

Passenger and child waiting at airport gate with airplane and crowd outside, reflecting on worst experience with bored child on flight.

Image credits: Thuy/Unsplash

His first infraction was kicking the seat in front of him. 

According to the TikToker, this behavior continued throughout the duration of the flight, and when the child’s mother did not correct him, Spencer escalated his antics.

“Then,” the woman’s narrative continued, “he started opening the tray, banging it down and throwing it back up” repeatedly.

Still the child’s mother did not intervene.

“I felt so sorry for the guy that [was sitting] in front,” the TikToker said.

All of this transpired before the plane even left the runway.

The video producer claimed that the mother did nothing to curb her little one’s boisterousness

Woman sharing her worst experience with a bored child on flight, sparking passenger debate on travel discomfort.

Image credits: paleandinteresting

The Tiktoker thought that the mother would eventually get the contentious tot to settle down, but she was disappointed.

The mother did not do “anything to entertain this child on the flight,” she claimed.

“He did not have a tablet. He did not have a toy. He did not have a rattle. She did not sing to him. She did not talk to him.”

“I think she was 100 percent expecting Spencer to sit there and do absolutely nothing.”

The toddler, at one point, stood on the seat and performed his antics from that position

Woman sharing her worst experience with a bored child on flight, sparking passenger debate and discussion.

Image credits: paleandinteresting

Then Spencer turned his attention to the critical TikToker, kicking her, tapping her on the arm, and passing her the in-flight magazines.

He even got up on the seat and started throwing himself backwards against the backrest, so violently that he nearly headbutted the TikToker twice, forcing her to lean against her husband on the opposite side to avoid getting hurt.

“Now, if she was making an effort to entertain Spencer and she was having a bad time, I think I would have stepped in [and] tried to help her,” she claimed. “But she did not try once.”

Apparently the mother did call on the child to stop repeatedly

@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♬ original sound – pale and interesting

Almost contradictingly, Pale and Interesting admitted later in the video that the mother, whom she claimed looked tired and unprepared, had in fact intervened repeatedly–albeit with vocalizations only–telling the child to stop his antics.

The mother also produced a distraction in the form of a yogurt.

She opened it and then placed it on Spencer’s tray. Spencer then lifted his feet, slamming the tray closed and sending the milk product seeping down the back of the chair in front of him.

When his mother saw what he had done, she responded, “Oh, Spencer. I guess you did not like your yogurt then.”

The baby spilled yogurt down the back of the seat and then rubbed his hands in it

Passenger and child on flight, child looking out window, highlighting passenger's worst experience with bored child in flight debate.

Image credits: Christopher Ott/Unsplash

The mother then flagged an attendant and tried to get it cleaned up, but she ( the cabin crewmember) put the matter on hold until she finished serving tea.

In the interim, Spencer returned to slamming the foldout tray–yogurt and all–then rubbed his hands in it.

The TikToker would eventually get involved and play with the child, causing him to giggle, but as soon as she stopped, the kicking, jumping, and smearing resumed.

Some netizens feel the TikToker is being judgmental

Child looking out airplane window during flight, illustrating passenger experience with bored child sparking debate on flight.

Image credits: Gilley Aguilar/Unsplash

The video, which drew close to 900 likes and was shared an additional 280 times, drew mixed sentiments, with some people calling the woman judgmental and others taking her side.

“Just s**t parenting plain and simple,” wrote one person. “Not the kid’s fault at all but he is not going to learn if he’s not corrected.”

“You judgemental busybodies,” another netizen ranted at the video author and those seeing things her way. “You witnessed a couple of hours out of their lives.”

Many subscribe to the saying, “You’re entitled to a child-free life, not a child-free world”

Comment expressing sadness about expecting a child to sit quietly, related to passenger experience with bored child on flight debate.

Social media comment discussing parenting amidst a passenger’s worst experience with a bored child on flight.

In July this year, Bored Panda reported a woman named Dominique Bird who took to the same platform to rage against a family who walked into a bakery where she was sitting with friends.

Among the group was a little girl who was projectile-hurled as soon as they entered the premises. 

Bird, who had permanently sterilized herself because of prevailing healthcare concerns in the United States, was interviewed by numerous outlets for her opinion on this.

She claimed she would definitely have made a great mother–at least better than that of the sick child in the bakery–but a miserable one.

She was dragged for her views, with one person summarizing the sentiment: “You’re entitled to a child-free life, not a child-free world.”

Many netizens would have said something to the child’s mother

Social media comment expressing frustration with a baby's crying during a flight, sparking passenger debate.

Comment from a passenger sharing her worst experience with a bored child on a flight, sparking debate.

Comment expressing frustration about a passenger’s worst experience with a bored child on a flight on social media.

Social media comment reacting to passenger’s worst experience with bored child on flight, sparking online debate.

Comment criticizing parenting in discussion about passenger’s worst experience with a bored child on flight debate.

Comment on a social platform discussing a passenger’s worst experience with a bored child on flight.

Comment from a parent sharing tips on traveling with a child to prevent boredom during a flight.

Comment from passenger sharing how she entertains her bored child during a flight sparking debate among travelers

Comment from passenger sharing her worst experience with a bored child on flight, sparking debate among travelers.

Comment on passenger experience showing frustration with a bored child on a flight, sparking debate online.

Comment from passenger sharing her worst experience with a bored child on flight causing disturbance and frustration.

Comment from passenger sharing her worst experience with a bored child on flight sparking online debate.

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