If You Don’t Switch Seats So A Mom Can Be Next To Her Small Child On A Plane, You’re A Jerk

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No one likes to fly, right? The seats are tiny, you have to be way too close to strangers and there’s also that little detail of the horror of being thousands of feet in the air with absolutely no control over whether you make it to your destination or not. It’s simply not enjoyable.

Because I hate flying, I try to plan ahead as much as I can and order my tickets far enough in advance to choose a seat. I try to avoid things like flying stand-by. I always choose an aisle seat because I constantly have to pee when I’m in the air. I don’t know if it’s nerves or what, but if I’m not sitting on an aisle, they trip is way less enjoyable. Still, if a parent was separated from her small child because of some scheduling snafu — I would switch seats in an instant. Because I’m not an asshole.

A mom wrote in to Cafe Mom this week to get an opinion on something she experienced while flying stand-by with her five-year-old:

“My son and I flew home from my moms on standby today. We get on the plane last, and there’s only two seats left: one at the front and one at the middle. Beside me at the one on the front was a mom and daughter who was little so I didn’t ask them to separate.

My son is 5, btw. The lady he was sitting next to in the middle wouldn’t switch with me becaue she like her seat[sic]. He just sat there scared and nervous and quietly crying during takeoff. “

Seriously? Why would you want to sit next to a nervous, crying child anyway? I understand that the passenger was entitled to keep her seat — but is your heart made of stone?

No one has to be a decent human being. It’s not required, unfortunately. So a child can be left crying into his lap because he’s scared on a plane. In this situation, I think the flight attendants should have tried to help a little to see if anyone would switch with the mom and child. How hard would it have been to make an announcement to a small section of the plane to see if anyone was willing?

I know this may be met with a chorus of “Parents are not entitled to special treatment,” and anyone who thinks that is correct. But it’s also correct that if you don’t care that a five-year-old is terrified to fly alone and refuse to make a simple switch — you’re a jerk.

(photo: diplomedia/ Shutterstock)

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