Plane passenger livid as kid kicks seat and pulls hair – but mum doesn’t see an issue

A passenger who was poked, prodded and kicked by a child during a night flight said she made no complaints because she understood the long trip was likely difficult for the family sat behind her, but she was left shocked when the mum then complained about her behaviour

Most passengers will admit to letting out a long sigh of relief when they board a plane and find they aren’t sat near any children. But if you lose the airplane seat lottery, it is normally best to accept defeat graciously.

Well, one woman who did just this, and made several allowances for a family travelling with a child, was left shocked after the kid’s mum then complained about her. The woman and her partner had been hoping to get some rest on their overnight flight, but quickly realised this was going to be a challenge when they were seated in front of the misbehaving passenger.

The woman claims the youngster grabbed her hair, kicked her seat, and poked her for hours during the flight, with no interference from the child’s parents whatsoever. But in an attempt to be understanding, neither she or her partner complained to the family.

Finally, when the child drifted off to sleep, the woman thought she’d have a chance to get some shut eye herself. But the moment she reclined her seat, in an attempt to do this, the mum tapped her shoulder, complaining she felt uncomfortable.

Explaining the details of her predicament in a post to Reddit’s ‘Am I the A******’ forum, the woman wrote: “I had a fifteen hour flight that began at 8 PM and had been planning to sleep throughout the flight to help the time go by, as well as catching up on sleep after traveling for 24+ hours.

“On the flight, there was a mom, dad and a child that was about three years old (older than the under 2 limit for a child to sit in a parents lap for free, for sure). Throughout the first two hours, the child kicked my husband’s and my seat, stood up on their parents lap to grab my hair and pull on my shirt and shoving the papers in the back of the seat in between our seats, poking us with the papers.

“Occasionally, I got a break from the child kicking me when she switched to her fathers lap, though at that time she began kicking my husbands seat. We remained quiet as we know it probably is difficult traveling with children.

“Finally, when the child was sleeping, about four hours into the flight , I decided I, too, could rest. I reclined my chair, about three quarters of the way, not fully, but enough to be comfortable for my sleep. But, since the child was larger than the normal under two years old for lap-sitting, it wasn’t as comfortable for the mother.

“Immediately, she tapped my shoulder asking me to move my chair up so she could be comfortable. And I’m sure having a child in your lap is not as pleasant, especially when they’re larger and on a long flight.

“I, however, remained in the reclining position, as I felt that I had put up with her child making me uncomfortable for hours and preventing me from sleeping when I was in need of it.”

Her post concluded: “However, in doing so, I made the mother more crammed in her seat, as she needed space for the both of them. for refusing to move up my seat? [ Am I the A******] for refusing to move up my seat?”

In response, people were quick to share their shock that the parents did not stop their child’s bad behaviour. Many more also said they did not think it was unreasonable for passengers to recline their seats on long flights, though some understood the mum’s frustration.

One parent wrote: “I am a parent and I would NEVER allow my child to act that way to other people, especially complete strangers.”

A second added: “I’m a parent and would never have allowed my child to do anything mentioned in the post EVER. And on a long flight like that, everyone is probably reclining. It’s part of the seat you bought!”

And someone else wrote: “A 15 hour flight with a toddler on your lap? Buy them their own seat and do everyone a favour.” However, on the problem of the reclining seat, a different commenter said: “I blame the airlines for cramming us into planes like sardines.”

And a second person agreed, claiming “Passengers just do the best they can and no one’s ever really comfortable.”

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