Passenger refuses to humor listless child sitting next to him: an argument breaks out with the child's mother
Traveling by plane or train can either be relaxing or could turn into a real nightmare if you find yourself sitting next to the wrong fellow traveller. Unfortunately, you cannot control the thoughtlessness of other people and that is why sometimes, conflict and arguments break out. What should be the correct approach to take in cases like this? A Reddit user wrote about his unpleasant experience on a long flight and wanted to ask the users for their opinion - who was in the wrong: him or his fellow passenger with her young old son? As you can imagine, keeping a small child quiet and calm for hours of travel is not at all easy - but this responsibility should not fall on other passengers.
via Reddit
Unsplash / Not the actual photo
The man explained that he sitting at a window seat and had also bought some food during the flight. Sat beside him was a mother with her child who was about 2 or 3 years old. The child was rather listless, as can be expected from small children on occasions like this. And it is obvious that a child easily gets tired and bored from sitting for hours doing nothing. The whole incident started when the woman asked the man if they could switch places, so that her son could look out the window and be distracted for a while. The man refused the request because he had paid extra to get a window seat. The man then started to watch a movie with his earphones on. Despite wearing the headphones, he could hear the child throwing a tantrum because he couldn't sit at the window.
After a while, the man picked up his cell phone and started to pass the time by playing a few games on it. And like everyone else, he soon got tired of it and put the phone away. The woman sitting next to him, however, now had a second request to make of him: "She asked me if I would not mind continuing to play because I was entertaining her son by doing so. I told her no and, as soon as I did, the child she started crying and tried to grab my phone. I raised my hand so the baby couldn't reach my phone, and I said loudly to the mother, 'please control your child!'"
The man's reaction clearly provoked the mother, who got upset and accused him of "thinking only of himself". The man now wonders if he was too harsh in his responses and behavior - but many users have supported him, saying that he had acted correctly and appropriately: "The mother knew she was on a flight with a baby. She should have brought toys to entertain the baby rather than rely on the kindness and understanding of strangers. And if she wanted a window seat, she should have to reserved one," one user wrote.
What do you think about this incident? It is certainly an unpleasant experience to find yourself arguing with strangers.
