Flying with unruly kids can be quite a challenge. On the one hand, many of your fellow passengers understand that munchkins can act out on such a long trip. Others, however, would prefer that the parents, well, actually parent and keep their kids civil.
Reddit user u/Sinnamon_Cinnamon shared a peculiar experience that they had when flying from the UK to Central Europe. They recounted how an entitled (and likely exhausted) dad refused to get his over-active son to settle down for the landing. Instead, he suggested a peculiar alternative to the cabin crew. Check out the full story below.
Bored Panda got in touch with the author of the post, u/Sinnamon_Cinnamon, who was kind enough to share a few of their thoughts about what happened. You'll find their insights as you scroll down.
Small children can find it difficult to stay calm throughout the entire flight, so parents need to find ways to entertain and distract them
Image credits: ASphotostudio (not the actual photo)
During one flight, just before landing, one unruly kid's dad decided to get into an argument with a flight attendant
Image credits: Lukas Souza (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Sinnamon_Cinnamon
The dad didn't seem to care about any of the other passengers, just himself
According to the author of the post, the dad was traveling with two toddlers who were quite loud throughout the flight. However, when it came time to land, one of his kids wouldn’t settle down no matter what. Meanwhile, the dad wouldn’t fasten his son’s seatbelt while he was acting up.
Instead of buckling his kid up while trying to soothe him, the dad started arguing with a member of the cabin crew. “The attendant was getting clearly getting more and more frustrated when the ED [entitled dad] asked if we can just fly around for a bit longer so he can settle his son,” the author of the post shared with the r/EntitledPeople online community.
The dad apparently wanted the plane to fly around for another half-hour or so instead of landing immediately. Now, it might sound obvious, but it still needs to be said: unless there is a literal medical emergency or something else catastrophic happens, airplanes don’t depend on any single passenger’s personal schedule.
If the plane is landing, every passenger needs to fasten their seatbelts, and parents need to ensure that their children’s seatbelts are fastened, too. Failing to do so could mean that someone gets seriously hurt when the plane lands.
Though many landings are perfectly smooth, others are a bit bumpy. The last thing anyone wants is for a toddler to go flying out of their seat because their guardians couldn’t be bothered to behave like proper parents.
From the way the dad was acting, he’s either an incredibly entitled individual, utterly exhausted, or both. Let’s be clear here, parenting is a huge challenge and everyone needs a spot of help from time to time. Even the very best parents won’t be able to get their kids to behave properly all the time.
Image credits: Chalabala (not the actual photo)
There are lots of different ways that the parent could have gotten his toddler to settle down
The dad could have, for instance, asked one of the flight attendants if they had anything for his kids that could keep them occupied. A small toy or a pair of coloring books might have focused their attention on less chaotic pursuits… for a time. Hey, distractions work!
Similarly, if the dad was having so much trouble with the seatbelt, one of the staff probably would have given him a hand just to move things along. You really do not want to be known as the passenger who argues with the cabin crew who are just doing their jobs.
One of the signs of a great passenger is that they do their best to keep to themselves. Whether it’s a brief flight or one that lasts a dozen hours, everyone should respect their fellow passengers and the flight staff in order to make the trip as pleasant as possible.
That means that you shouldn’t be thrusting out your elbows into the folks sitting on either side of you or reclining your seat all the way back if there’s very little room to begin with. It also means being polite to everyone you interact with. And if you happen to be a parent with children, you know for a fact that all of your fellow passengers will appreciate it if you put in the effort to keep them calm. The parents won’t always be successful, but it’s the effort that counts.
It helps if the parents prepare for the trip in advance. They could bring some toys for their kids. Meanwhile, even giving them some snacks could keep them calm for a little while.
According to ‘Wayfaring Humans’ stickers are actually a great idea, too. You could bring a sheet of them and your kids should have a ton of fun playing with them. Alternatively, if things get really bad, you could show your children a kid-friendly video on your phone or tablet to distract them.
We were curious to hear how the OP and the other passengers reacted to how the entitled dad had behaved on the flight.
"The general feeling from myself and other passengers was shock. As in, did he really just say that?" redditor u/Sinnamon_Cinnamon told Bored Panda.
Meanwhile, we wanted to get the author's thoughts on why they thought the dad didn't simply fasten his son's seatbelt so that the plane would land.
"I just don't think he wanted the hassle of upsetting his child by making them sit down," the Reddit user mused about the dad's peculiar approach to the entire situation.
"I think the crew handled the situation well," the OP praised the flight staff for how everything went down.
However, u/Sinnamon_Cinnamon added that "it would have been interesting to see what happened if the dad did not eventually comply."
Image credits: Suhyeon Choi (not the actual photo)
Here's how some readers reacted to the story about the entitled dad
It seems like there are quite a few entitled passengers in the world. Some internet users shared their similar experiences
